DOLE Issued the Revised Rules and Regulations Regarding the Mandatory Conciliation-Mediation, or the Single-Entry Approach Implementing Rules and Regulations

The Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”) issued Department Order No. 249-25 (“DO 248-29” or “Issuance”), which outlines revised rules and regulations regarding the mandatory conciliation-mediation, or the “Single Entry Approach Implementing Rules and Regulations”, or the “SEnA Rules”.  

The issuance provides that all issues arising from labor and employment shall be subject to mandatory conciliation-mediation, and shall be initiated through a Request for Assistance (“RFA”) filed with the appropriate Single Entry Assistance Desk (“SEAD”) of the DOLE, National Conciliation and Mediation Board (“NCMB”), or National Labor Relations Commission (“NLRC”), which shall have thirty (30) calendar days within which to facilitate a settlement or to take other appropriate action in the disposition of the RFA. However, certain issues, claims, or grievances shall not be subject to mandatory conciliation-mediation. 

An important feature added by the new issuance is the fact that an RFA may either be filed physically or virtually, through the SEnA online filing system. An RFA may also be sent through social media applications. 

The issuance further provides additional rules should the RFA involve contractors, subcontractors, or non-standard forms of work or employment (e.g. flexible or gig arrangements such as digital labor platforms, web-based platforms, etc.). Also, conciliation-mediation conferences may be held either face-to-face or through digital platforms provided that these platforms are available to all parties. 

In such conferences, the parties and the Single Entry Assistance Desk Officer (“SEADO”) shall exhaust all-out efforts to reach a voluntary settlement of the issues within the 30-mandatory conciliation-mediation period. Such settlement agreement, if any, shall be in writing in the language or dialect clearly understood by the parties, signed by both of them and attested to by the SEADO. The SEADO shall ensure that the settlement agreement is fully explained to the parties and that the terms are fair, reasonable and not contrary to law, public morals, or public policy. The issuance also provides for certain provisions that shall be included in the agreement. 

The issuance introduces walk-in settlements, which occur when the parties reach a settlement agreement by themselves. Such agreement may be submitted to the SEADO for confirmation and attestation. Additionally, the SEADO shall convene a conference for the parties to personally appear and attest to the authenticity and due execution of the settlement agreement. The SEADO shall perform due diligence to ascertain the voluntariness, fairness, veracity, and enforceability of the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement, ensure that the terms thereof are fully understood by the parties, and to ensure that such terms are not contrary to law, morals or public policy. A settlement agreement confirmed by the SEADO shall be final and executory, and shall have the same effect as a settlement agreement arrived at through conciliation mediation.

DO 248-29 also explains what simulated settlements are. Such are agreements executed by the parties after the conduct of conciliation-mediation or after confirmation by the SEADO whose terms appear valid, but the parties do not have any intention of implementing or complying with it. In such a settlement, the attestation or confirmation by the SEADO shall be deemed to have no binding effect.

It must be noted that, under certain circumstances, immediate referral to the appropriate DOLE office or agency that has jurisdiction may be done over an issue or issues not settled through conciliation-mediation. This may be done by the SEADO at the request of either or both parties at any stage of the proceedings. Furthermore, if the settlement agreement was not complied with despite all-out efforts exerted by the SEADO to effect compliance, the requesting party may file a motion for execution with the DOLE Regional Office or NLRC Regional Arbitration Branch, as the case may be.