Topic 4 | Types of Remote Workers

There are different types of remote work arrangements. Before you jump into remote work, it’s best to know which one would suit you best.

Here is as follows:

Both Eman and Inna work remotely, but their contractual arrangements differ.

Telecommuting Employees

As an employee with a telecommuting set-up, Eman is still employed by the company but he is allowed to work from anywhere. His mandatory benefits, such as SSS, Pag-IBIG, and Philhealth, are still provided by the company that hired him and they often take care of his taxes as well. He’s also entitled to 13th-month bonuses, mandatory leaves, and pay differentials for holiday or night shifts- as required by the Philippine Labour Code.

Companies that allow remote work arrangements are rare in the Philippines, and those that do still require their remote employees to come into the office every week.
Furthermore, some companies will require you to turn down other jobs while you’re on their payroll. Thus, working remotely as an employee would still place some geographical restrictions on you because you’d still have to be close to the head office.

General Examples of Home-Based Employees 

You work part-time or full-time as an employee. Your employer is required to provide mandatory benefits as per the labour code.  You DO NOT WORK from an office or central location. You can work from home

Inna, on the other hand, is an independent contractor. This means she is a self-employed individual who happens to provide services for a client and that she is responsible for her own government benefits.

Independent contractors may work part-time or full-time and do not need to work from an office. Like Eman, Inna can work from home.

However, unlike Eman, remote workers like Inna can enter into contracts with very specific terms, such as whether their compensation will rely on their working hours or on their output:

• Hourly Contract – The independent contractor is paid for the hours worked based on the hourly rate agreed upon.
• Project-Based Contract – The independent contractor is paid for his/her output based on the price of the output agreed upon.While an independent contractor’s cash flow may not be as stable as a telecommuting employee’s, they can take on as many clients and projects as they can handle and can potentially have a more lucrative set-up.