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Running a household, which includes doing household chores and taking care of the family members, takes a lot of time and energy. It is even harder when you are working full-time and still have to tend to your household duties and
your children.
To many working women, household help or kasambahays are a blessing. Many kasambahays have stayed with their employers for many years and have become like an extended family member.
On September 1, 1993, Republic Act 7655 was enacted into law, mandating the coverage of household helpers under Social Security System. The passage into law of RA 10361 or the Batas Kasambahay on January 18, 2013, strengthened the social protection of household helpers with legislated terms on employer contribution and coverage under SSS, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG).
A kasambahay has an employment contract with his or her employer. This employee-employer relationship mandates that a kasambahay be registered by his or her employer as a worker to SSS within 30 days from first day of employment. As a member of SSS, a kasambahay is entitled to seven benefits, including sickness, maternity, unemployment, disability, retirement, funeral and death claims. Kasambahays are also covered by the Employees’ Compensation Program for work-related illnesses or accidents.
The household employer shoulders the full SSS contribution when the kasambahay earns a monthly income of P5,000 or less.
Sadly, despite the many years of the existence of the law, many household employers do not report their kasambahays to SSS for coverage and, worse, do not remit their monthly contributions. Coverage of kasambahays is a continuing challenge for SSS.
Today is the best time for employers to show their kasambahays their appreciation and gratitude by paying all their unpaid SSS contributions through the ongoing Contribution Penalty Condonation Program (CPCP). The program will end on September 6, 2019. You can pay the contributions of your kasambahay without penalty regardless of the number of years that he or she has served your household.
The CPCP is one of the provisions in RA 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018 that mandates the condonation of contribution penalty of employers for six months from the effectivity of the law in March. The new law also brought down the penalty to 2 percent from the previous 3 percent. Those who will avail themselves of the CPCP can opt to pay in installment mode up to a maximum of 48 months. Initial payment is only a minimum of 5 percent of the principal amount of unpaid contributions.
To illustrate an actual case, Shiela (not her real name) started working for her employer as a kasambahay in January 2016 with a monthly income of P3,000. Her employer only registered her to SSS and started paying her contributions in January 2019. In effect, she has 36 months of unpaid contributions from January 2016 to December 2018. If not for the CPCP, her employer would have paid a total of P20,849.40. But because of CPCP, her employer only paid P11,880 of unpaid contributions. The penalties amounting to P8,969.40 were waived.
With more than 36 months of contributions, Shiela is qualified for maternity, sickness, unemployment, disability, funeral and death benefits. With continuous SSS contributions, she will be entitled to a retirement pension.
Others who may also apply under the CPCP are delinquent employers who have pending or approved proposals under the installment scheme of SSS, including those with pending or approved applications under the program for acceptance of properties through dacion en pago; employers with cases pending before the Social Security Commission, Courts or Office of the Prosecutor; and employers who have settled all contributions before the effectivity of RA 11199 but with unpaid penalties as well as those who were given a Warrant of Distraint/Levy/Garnishment or encumbrance.
To avail themselves of CPCP, delinquent employers must visit their nearest SSS branch for assessment of their account. Those who wish to pay through installment may submit an installment proposal to the Head of the SSS Branch/Office or Large Account Department.
Our kasambahays are our daily warriors at home, ensuring everything is in order while we are busy at work. Giving them social protection against life’s contingencies is one of the best ways to show that we care for them.
Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.
We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss.gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.