REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 104-2022 issued on July 19, 2022 circularizes Civil Service Commission (CSC) Resolution No. 2200209 regarding policies on Flexible Work Arrangements in the government.
As a general rule, government officials and employees shall render work from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays.
All agencies, including those adopting/implementing flexible work arrangements, shall ensure that all their stakeholders are assured of continuous delivery of services from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, including lunch break, throughout the workweek. However, the implementation of such arrangements shall not prejudice the participation or involvement of their officials and employees in official activities of the agency.
Agencies shall formulate their internal guidelines on the flexible work arrangement/s they have adopted and implemented, which are appropriate/applicable to their mandate and functions and shall comply with the provisions of CSC-Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Department of Health (DOH) Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, s. 2020, to be submitted to CSC Regional Offices for records and reference purposes. Said internal guidelines shall include tasks that may be allowed to be accomplished outside the office and other protocols, such as health emergency plans to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Agencies shall incorporate in their Public Service Continuity Plan pursuant to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Memorandum No. 33, s. 2018, the adoption of flexible work arrangements. Officials and employees under flexible work arrangement shall be entitled to Compensatory Overtime Credit/Overtime Pay if they physically reported for work and rendered services beyond the normal eight (8) hours on scheduled workdays or forty (40) hours a week, and those rendered on rest days or scheduled days off, holidays, and special nonworking days, both exclusive of time for lunch and rest, subject to the provisions of CSC-DBM
Joint Circular No. 2, s. 2015, as amended, and other related civil service, budgeting,
accounting, and auditing rules and regulations. Agencies shall adopt performance standards and timelines in accordance with Republic Act (RA) No. 11032, in consonance with the approved Office/Division/ Individual Performance Commitment and Review (OPCR/DPCR/IPCR) to guide government officials and employees in the performance of their assigned task/s. Failure to accomplish the assigned task/s within the timelines set by the agency may be a ground to deny subsequent requests for flexiplace work arrangement.
Agencies shall adopt a monitoring mechanism, such as submission of daily/ weekly accomplishment report/s, etc., in consonance with the performance standards they adopted. They may also adopt the use of videoconferencing/ teleconferencing in conducting meetings/assemblies and other official activities, whenever applicable. Agencies shall adopt reasonable and appropriate organizational, technical, and physical security measures to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of official documents and other relevant information. Personal data shall be processed by the employees pursuant to RA No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
Agencies are encouraged to use the Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure (PNPKI), which secures communications among individuals and government agencies, of the Department of Information, Communications and Technology. As such, government officials and employees should register their respective signatures on the PNPKI and use it for official government transactions in compliance with Executive Order No. 810, s. 2009. Online government transactions must be implemented in accordance with Commission on Audit
Circular No. 2021-006.
The parameters in the implementation of the following Flexible Work Arrangement/s
are specified in the CSC Resolution:
a. Flexiplace
Work-from-Home
Work from Satellite Office
Work from another fixed place
b. Compressed Workweek
c. Skeleton Workforce
d. Work Shifting
e. Flexitime
f. Combination of Flexible Work Arrangements
Agencies shall provide appropriate personal protective equipment to frontline service providers, government officials, and employees who are required to physically report to work during the pandemic or other calamities.
During a pandemic or occurrence of calamities, agencies shall provide service vehicle or transportation facilities to transport government officials and employees required to physically report to work, whenever practicable, subject to budgeting, accounting, and auditing
rules and regulations.
Agencies shall shoulder the reimbursement of laboratory and medical expenses incurred by government officials and employees in compliance with protocols, as issued by proper authorities, who are on official travel during the period of pandemic or emergence of any infectious disease:
Agencies shall ensure that their government officials and employees are afforded health/psychosocial interventions (e.g., free counselling sessions, online webinars, etc.) to support government officials and employees in addressing problems related to mental wellbeing;
Reasonable expenses incurred by government officials and employees (e.g., electricity bills, internet connection cost, etc.) may be defrayed by the agency only when there is imposition of WFH arrangement due to emergence of national or local outbreak of a severe
infectious disease and/or the occurrence of natural or man-made calamities subject to budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules and regulations.
Other monetary and forms of incentives as may be allowed by the Office of the President or other authorized agencies or upon approval by the head of office/agency subject
to budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules and regulations, shall also be provided by the agencies.
Government officials and employees shall be provided equal opportunities in terms of awards, promotions, training, and career development (e.g., Information Technology-literacy programs and other related employment considerations), regardless of the work arrangement that they have adopted, in consonance with the existing civil service law, rules and regulations. Medical benefits shall be granted to government officials and employees, who sustained wounds and/or injuries while in the performance of their official duties, regardless of their work arrangement subject to the conditions under CSC-DBM JC No. 1, s. 2006, as amended by CSCDBM JC No. 1, s. 2015, and the agency’s Collective Negotiation Agreement with the accredited employees’ association.
Agencies are enjoined to invest on annual subscriptions to software that enables secure
and more efficient management of task/s and remote collaboration for all officials and
employees.
Agencies shall provide its government officials and employees appropriate ICT resources, such as but not limited to computers/laptops, phones, authorized software, including
reimbursement of internet and mobile data subscription expenses, subject to budgeting,
accounting, and auditing rules and regulations to adequately perform their duties.
Personal devices and equipment of government officials and employees may be used if the provision of agency-owned ICT resources is not feasible. Such practice must be included in the agency’s internal guidelines with provisions that these personal devices and equipment to be used by government officials and employees on flexible work arrangement must be properly recorded (e.g., device model and serial number) by the agency.
Agencies shall adopt measures to ensure protection of government properties (e.g., office equipment) and provide necessary support (e.g., troubleshooting and maintenance of mobile office equipment) for government officials and employees under the flexible work arrangements.