POLO contract verification Contract addendum

POLO will request for an addendum to the employee's work contract. For them to verify your work contract, it'll need to have all the provisions required by the Employment standards defined in the POEA Revised Rules and Regulations of 2016.

Your work contract most likely will not include all the provisions required by the POEA. In these cases, POEA's advise is to create an addendum to account for these rules.

Clauses

An addendum adds provisions that will account for items in the POEA employment standards that may not be covered by the original employment contract. These may include some or all of the following:

• Overtime pay
  in compliance with §135(g) and (h), POEA requests that the overtime pay be defined in writing.

• Leave policy
  in compliance with §135(i), POEA requests that the leave policy be defined in writing.

• Place of work
  in compliance with §135(b), POEA requests that the place of work be defined in writing. This can be as simple as "The Employer may assign the employee within Victoria, Australia only" or similar.

• Airfare/repatriation provisions
  in compliance with §135(m), POEA requests that the employer provide airfare in cases of termination, war, calamity, and other circumstances.

• Termination
  in compliance with §135(k), POEA requests that the causes of termination be defined in writing. This can be something that describes the cases of "termination by employer", "termination by employee", and "termination by illness."

• Repatriation of remains
  in compliance with §135(n), POEA requests that employers send their employee's remains and personal belongings to the Philippines at their expense.

• Settlement of disputes
  in compliance with §135(l), POEA requests that the Labor Attache be able to intercede on any employer/employee disputes.

Sample addendums

• Addendum Japan contract.pdf (poea.gov.ph) — This is geared towards household staff, but many of the provisions here should apply for skilled workers as well.

• GBMLT Standard Employment Contract.pdf (gbmlt.com.ph) — A contract addendum for Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia, but most provisions should be applicable to other territories as well.

Ask your POLO

Your best bet is to email the POLO that will process your documents. Ask for a sample contract addendum. I've personally done this with the POLO in Australia, and they sent a template over.

To do

• Review the sample addendums.

• Have your employer and you agree upon terms needed in the addendum.

• Have this addendum signed by both parties.

• Send a copy of this, along with the other requirements, to POLO for your contract verification.

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