Kasambahay employer duties: contract, pay slip, 13th month, barangay
You hired a yaya, cook or all-around helper. Registering with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG is only one of your duties. This guide is for the household employer. At the end you will have the written contract, a pay slip for every pay day, and a list of what the Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361) asks of you through the year. Every rule below links the law or DOLE's own explanation of it.
Who is covered, and who is not
The law covers any person doing domestic work within an employment relationship: a general househelp, yaya, cook, gardener, laundry person, a worker aged 15 to 17, and anyone who regularly does domestic work for one household on an occupational basis, live-out included (DOLE Q&A on Batas Kasambahay, Part II questions 1–2). DOLE lists as not covered: service providers, family drivers, children under a foster family arrangement, and anyone who works only occasionally (same Q&A). SSS says a family driver is registered with each agency separately (SSS, Kasambahay).
Nobody below 15 may be employed as a kasambahay (RA 10361, section 16).
Before work starts: the written contract
The contract is signed before the work begins, in a language or dialect you both understand, and the kasambahay gets a signed copy (RA 10361, section 11). It must cover:
Section 11 item · What to write; (a) Duties · Each task: childcare, cooking, cleaning, laundry; (b) Period · Start date, and an end date if there is one; (c) Compensation · The monthly cash wage and the pay day; (d) Deductions · Only what the law allows, unless the worker consents in writing (section 25); (e) Hours · The hours, and extra pay for extra hours; (f) Rest days and leaves · The weekly rest day, the 5-day leave; (g) Board, lodging, medical attention · At least three adequate meals a day and a safe, humane place to sleep (section 6); (h) Deployment expenses · Fare and costs of bringing them to you, which you pay; (i) Loan agreement · Any cash advance and how it is repaid; (j) Termination · How the contract ends; (k) Other lawful conditions · Anything else you both agree
DOLE's model contract is Form BK-1, "Kontrata sa Paglilingkod sa Tahanan" (DOLE Form BK-1, published by NWPC). The kasambahay employment contract here fills the same 18 items in Tagalog as DOLE prints them, or in English. Before hiring you may ask for a medical certificate, barangay and police clearance, NBI clearance and a birth certificate; you pay for them (section 12).
Wage: the regional minimum, in cash
The wage is paid in cash, directly, at least once a month (RA 10361, section 25). The amounts printed in the law in 2013 are no longer the minimum: the regional wage boards adjust them (section 24). In Metro Manila the minimum is ₱7,800 a month from February 7, 2026 under Wage Order No. NCR-DW-06 (NWPC, NCR). Outside Metro Manila, open your region's page on nwpc.dole.gov.ph and look for "Minimum wage rates for domestic workers".
Every pay day: the pay slip
Give the kasambahay a pay slip every pay day showing the cash paid and every deduction, and keep your copies for three years (RA 10361, section 26). The kasambahay pay slip does the arithmetic: from a monthly wage of ₱5,000 the kasambahay pays a share of the contributions (section 30). It computes the SSS share by the household schedule, the same one as the SSS contribution calculator. Below ₱5,000 you pay all of it. You type the Pag-IBIG share yourself; ask Pag-IBIG for the current amount.
Rest, leave and the 13th month
What · Rule · Source; Daily rest · 8 hours in total a day · RA 10361, section 20; Weekly rest · At least 24 consecutive hours, the day agreed in writing · Section 21; Service incentive leave · 5 days with pay after one year of service; unused days do not carry over and are not paid in cash · Section 29; 13th month pay · Total basic wage of the year ÷ 12, not later than December 24 · Section 25; DOLE Q&A, question 33; SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG · After one month of service · Section 30
The 13th month pay calculator does the division. Registering with the three agencies is in the kasambahay registration guide.
The barangay Registry of Domestic Workers
The law tells the employer to register every kasambahay in the Registry of Domestic Workers of the barangay where the employer lives. The DILG, with DOLE, sets up the registration system (RA 10361, section 17; DOLE Q&A, question 19). The law does not list the papers to bring or a fee; your barangay decides that. Go to your barangay hall and ask for the kasambahay registry. A copy of the signed contract and the kasambahay's ID are the obvious things to have with you, but ask first.
When it ends
- With no fixed term, either of you may end it by giving notice five days before (section 32). - A kasambahay dismissed without a just cause is paid the wage earned plus 15 days' wage (section 32); the causes for either side are in sections 33 and 34. - Within five days of a request, give a certificate of employment stating the work, how long, and the performance (section 35). - Labor disputes go to the DOLE Regional Office covering the workplace (section 37); DOLE's model contract says to try the barangay first (Form BK-1, item 17).
Mistakes
- Paying the 2013 amounts in the law. The regional wage order decides the minimum. - Deducting a loan, breakage or a "deposit" from the wage. Deposits for loss or damage are unlawful (section 14), and other deductions need the worker's written consent. - Holding back the wage. Withholding wages is unlawful (section 28). - Deducting the helper's share when the wage is below ₱5,000. - Thinking the 13th month does not apply to a household. It does, since RA 10361.
Questions
Kailangan ba ng written contract ang kasambahay? Yes. It is signed before the work starts, in a language you both understand, and the kasambahay keeps a copy (RA 10361, section 11). DOLE's model is Form BK-1.
Magkano ang minimum na sahod ng kasambahay sa Metro Manila? ₱7,800 a month from February 7, 2026, under Wage Order No. NCR-DW-06 (NWPC, NCR). Other regions have their own wage order.
May 13th month at 5 days leave ba ang kasambahay ko? Yes: a 13th month pay by December 24, and five days of paid leave after one year of service (RA 10361, sections 25 and 29).
Paano iregister ang kasambahay sa barangay? At the barangay where you live, in its Registry of Domestic Workers (RA 10361, section 17). Ask the barangay hall what to bring.
Does PhilForms register my kasambahay or file anything? No. It fills the contract, the pay slip and the registration forms. You sign them and hand them in yourself.
PhilForms is not affiliated with DOLE, DILG, SSS, PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG and does not give legal advice; ask your DOLE field office.
Last checked 2026-10-23. Not affiliated with BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG or any government agency.
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