I attended a Kasambahay Law Orientation conducted by the SSS last Friday here in our area. I was so happy that this service was available since to be honest, I'm still a bit clueless on this and still had a lots of questions on the matter. And I definitely needed all the information possible on how to go about applying and filling out all the necessary documents.
As expected, a lot of people attended the orientation. Forms were distributed and the SSS people were very helpful in providing assistance in the processing of the applications. The talk was very informative as well, and I think the representatives did a good job in clearly asnwering all the questions, considering there were some heated arguments later on. Let me tell you, I'm so glad that I brought my camera since I didn't have to take notes anymore! I just took a photo of all the slides hehe. ;p
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| within 30 days? E un ibang kasambahay hindi nga tumatagal ng 1 month e! |
For the mode of payment, you can opt for the
Auto-Debit Arrangement (ADA) wherein you enroll your SSS payments in your bank and it automatically gets deducted from your account (I'm definitely doing this). Also, this is better since if you pay manually, you still have to submit something called a
Contribution Collection List (a summary of the contributions paid) at the SSS, which you won't have to do if you pay electronically. Actually, they said that they hope all payments will be done via
ADA in the future to make it easier for everyone.
It got really interesting when the floor was opened up for questions and clarifications. Here were some of the questions asked and the responses of the SSS representatives (hope I can remember them correctly!):
Q: How about househelpers like drivers and labanderas who are not stay-in. Meaning they just come to your house to do a particular service when needed? Do you still have to get them SS coverage?
A: You will have to enroll them as your househelper if they do the service only for you and no one else. For example, you have a labandera who comes to your house only 3x a week. Even if she is not stay-in but she does laundry for you and your family alone, then you are considered her employer and must be enrolled in the SSS.
But if she does your laundry, and also does laundry for other families on the days she is not with you, then she is not considered your househelper. Since washing clothes is her nature of "business", she can enroll herself as
self-employed.
Q: If you are enrolled in the ADA and your helper suddenly leaves, how about the payments that get deducted automatically?
A: You just have to call and inform your bank to stop the payments.
Q: What about househelpers who have been employed before June 4, 2013 (the date of the implementation of the Kasambahay Law)?
A: Unfortunately, you will have to pay for the months your helper has been with you beyond the June 4 date and you will also get a
3% penalty per month (what?!).
According to the SSS, since there was already a Republic Act No. 7655 implemented last Sept. 1, 1993, everybody should have already started paying the SSS of their househelpers back then. So, since the law is now in FULL effect, those who will only start now will have to pay for all those months/years prior that their househelpers have been with them.
Understandably, people started getting really upset and angry when they heard this, expecially those with long-time helpers. Some of the reactions were "why should we be punished for something we were not aware of?", "this is crazy!", "you should fix this law of yours!", etc. etc... Some people were even saying that maybe this was just a money making scheme of the SSS for extorting more money from the people. The poor SSS representatives were getting a full beating from an angry mob! I have to agree and say that I didn't even know about this Republic Act back in 1993 (I mean, I was 11 years old for crying out loud!). And now you're telling me that I have to pay and be penalized for this?! wth?!
Q: What if after explaining the Kasambahay Law to your househelper, for some reason they say "wag na lang po" or they don't want to avail it?
A: Since this is now a LAW, you have to explain to your househelpers that this is not compulsory and it is for their benefit in the future.
Q: Can we just tell our househelpers to apply as"self-employed" or "voluntary" (but we will still pay their contributions) just so that it won't be a problem if they suddenly leave our services?
A: According to the SSS, the contributions are different per category and the househelpers might encounter future problems when claiming benefits. Or for example, if your maid gets in an accident while doing household chores and they find out that she is under your employment, she will not get the necessary benefits (as well as you, the employer). Plus other complications may arise. So according to the SSS, just file everything correctly because instead of making your life easier, you might encounter more problems later on.
Well, those were just the Q&A I was able to sit through since I had to leave to pick up my daughter from school. I really wished I could have stayed and finished it since there might have been other useful questions I could have learned from.
Again, these were just the answers the SSS representatives gave during the talk and I just wrote down what I remembered. If you have questions / clarifications, better to call an SSS branch to get official answers.
Here were the forms and brochures given during the orientation:
The first thing you have to do is fill up the
Employer Registration (SS Form R-1) and
Employment Report (SS Form R-1A) to be able to get an
Employer Number. This number is what you will use in all your transactions with the SSS regarding your househelpers.
Then of course, you have to get your househelpers an SS number by filling out the
Personal Record (SS Form E-1) and then submitting this to the nearest SSS branch with any one of these necessary primary documents (birth certificate, baptismal certificate, driver's license, passport, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Card or Seaman's Book).
According to the orientation, these were the important fields to fill up in our forms (those highlighted in blue):
Whew, it seems like a lot of work doesn't it? But according to the SSS, this is for everyone's benefit in the future.
Anyway, I'm not an expert on this Kasambahay Law and again, I have to stress out that the information I posted above are from the orientation I attended and what I remembered from the Q&A.
For more information, visit your nearest SSS branch or check out their
website.
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