• My wife’s recruitment agency wants us to pay 50 thousand pesos as placement fee. Is this legal?

-          The legal placement fee to be collected by licensed recruitment agencies from applicants for overseas jobs must be equivalent to one month salary of the worker as stipulated in the employment contract. The amount, however, does not include documentation and processing costs.

-          Documentation costs include fees for passport, NBI/Police clearance, medical examinations, medicare premium, trade tests, authentication, birth certificate. Processing costs include visa, POEA processing fee, and OWWA membership fee to be paid by the employer.

•        Our company wants to hire Filipino workers for our overseas projects. What are the requirements before we can recruit the workers?

-          Only entities licensed by the Department of Labor and Employment through the Philippine Overseas Employ­ment Administration may recruit Filipino workers for employment overseas. A foreign company may therefore hire Filipino workers by engaging the services of a licensed recruitment agency in the Philippines.

•        My husband is an OFW My children and I want to go to the place where he is work­ing. Do we have to pay for the travel tax?

-          The family of an overseas Filipino worker may avail of a reduced travel tax when they go abroad while the OFW has an existing employment contract. The reduced travel tax certificate is issued by the Department of Tourism. Call (02) 524-7141 loc. 109 or visit them at the Ground Floor, Room 117, Revenue Depart­ment, Department of Tourism Building, T.M. Kalaw, Malate, Manila.

•        My son wants to withdraw his application from an agency because it has failed to deploy him after so many months now. Can we claim for reimbursement of my expenses?

-          Yes, you can claim for reimbursement of placement fee, documentation and processing expenses from the agency if deployment did not happen without your fault. You may file an administrative case against the recruitment agency through POEA’s Legal Assistance Division.

•        My wife’s contract was for 2 years but my employer dismissed her after 3 months of work. Can we sue for breach of contract and claim for unpaid wages.  Where shall I file the case?

-          You may sue your employer and its agent if you were dismissed without valid reasons. Money arising from employer-employee relationship such as unpaid wages, breach of contract or illegal dismissal may be filed with the Migrant Worker’s Desk of the National Labor Relations Commission in Quezon City or in NLRC’s Regional Arbitration Branch in the region you reside.

•        My husband is spending his vacation in the Philippines and will go back employer  after one month. Does he have to go through POEA processing again?

-          No, he need not go through the whole process again. The employer and employment contra already verified. As a returning overseas Filipino worker or “balik-manggagawa” all that needs to I Is secure an overseas employment certificate (OEC) at the POEA Balik-Manggagawa Processing I regional centers and satellite offices and some Philippine Overseas Labor Offices to enable OFWs to the country again and avail of the same privileges such as exemption from travel tax and airport fee.

•        I was hired as a consultant in facilitating the documentation of immigrant being recruited for employment in US hospitals. Do we have to secure a license for the with immigrant workers?

-          Yes, you need to secure a license from POEA if your immigration consultancy and other similar en- not limit your assistance to processing and facilitation in the issuance of immigrant visa but will engage in the recruitment and placement of workers, whether on worker’s visa or employment-based immigration visa, without a license or authority issued by POEA, you shall be subjected to prosecution for illegal recruitment  and such other appropriate action as may be necessary pursuant to the pertinent provision RA 8042 and its implementing rules and regulation (MC #10).

Source: www.poea.gov.ph

Technorati Tags: ofw, Ofw Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the advertising tactics or usual Modus Operandi of illegal recruiters so that you can avoid them?

-  Bewary of the following schemes commonly employed by illegal recruiters:

• ESCORT SERVICES – undocumented workers are escorted at the airport or any international port, often through a syndicate, to evade the legal process of documenting workers.

• TOURIST-WORKERS SCHEME – workers leave the country as purportedly as tourists but have been promised jobs abroad, whether existing or non-existing.

• DIRECT HIRING – workers are hired and deployed by foreign employers without passing through the POEA and/or licensed recruitment agencies. Being undocumented, they are therefore without protection.

• SPORTS COMPETITION, RELIGIOUS OR MISSIONARY SCHEME – hired workers are disguised as part of a group with legitimate purposes like sports competition or religious missions abroad.

• MAIL ORDER BRIDE SCHEME – A Filipina is paired with a foreigner allegedly for marriage but in reality being hired to work for the prospective groom.

• BACKDOOR EXIT POINTS SCHEME – workers are sent abroad not through regular exit channel like airports but are deployed usually through seaports to board cargo ships.

• VISA ASSISTANCE IMMIGRATION/CONSULTANCY SCHEME – Immigration consultants or travel agencies offer services in securing immigrant visas for applicants, but in reality, these offices are engaging in the recruitment business where they are prohibited.

• BLIND ADS SCHEME – workers are enticed to apply and send cash or postal order (PO) payment addressed to a Postal Office Box where workers have no choice to see and communicate personally with the recruiter.

• TRAINING CENTERS – Trainees are given courses for certain skills under the guise of guaranteed employment upon completion of the training and promised immediate placement abroad after the training.

2.   If I’m victimized by an illegal recruiter, where do I go and what must I do?

-          You can report to the following offices:

• POEA, Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch, 4/F Blas F. Ople (BFO) Bldg. , Ortigas Avenue cor. EDSA, Mandaluyong City Tel. No. (632) 722-1189 or (632) 722-1192 .
• POEA Regional Offices
• National Bureau of Investigation Task Force Anti-Illegal Recruitment (NBI-TFAIR)
• Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG)
• Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

-          You can file an illegal recruitment case directly with the Fiscal’s office.

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The Philippine government has put up a plan to provide livelihood and skills training programs to Overseas Filipino Workers to help them reintegrate, ease the impact of their transition of working back home and increase their chances of gaining work again.

Here you will find the most common questions about working abroad or overseas.  How to go about finding job vacancies, basic steps in applying for a job, the documents required and more more, check the article below for more details.

1. What are the safest ways to get an overseas job?

-  The safest ways to get an overseas job are through any of the following:

• POEA – Government Placement Branch

Job vacancies are announced through the POEA website: check below for the link, newspapers, radio, TV and posted notices on bulletin boards.

• Private Recruitment Agencies Licensed by POEA

2.  How do I know that the agency I’m applying with is licensed and the job vacancy abroad is true or cleared with the POEA.

-          You can check and verify at the POEA 24-hour hotlines at (632) 722-1144 or  (632) 722-1155.

-          You can also visit the website at www.poea.gov.ph

3.  What are the basic steps I need to undergo when applying and after being selected/hired for an overseas job?

-          The following are the procedures that are usually being  observed in recruitment:

• File an application form and submit all the requirements being asked of you. The basic required documents are: personal data sheets, transcript of records (TOR), high school and or college diplomas, certificate(s) of employment, board certificate(s), training and trade testing certificates (if applicable), passport and 2×2 pictures.

• If you meet the minimum qualifications of the job, you will be asked to undergo testing and/or interviews among other screening procedures.

• If selected, you will be instructed to proceed to an accredited medical clinic for a general physical examination to ensure that you are fit to work.

• When you pass the medical exam, you will already be asked to sign an employment contract. REMEMBER, that before signing a contract, make sure that you have read and understood first all the provisions stated in the contract. DO NOT sign it nor pay any fee unless you have fully understood and agreed to the terms and conditions of the employment contract.

• Your agent will proceed to process your paper with any of the following concerned entities:

-  Concerned Embassy for visa issuance and stamping

- POEA for registration and documentation of employment contracts as well as issuance of overseas employment certificates (OEC) or e-receipt among other travel documents.

-  DFA if certain documents need translation and authentication (e.g. employment contract written wholly in a foreign language)

• You should undergo a compulsory pre-departure orientation seminar before leaving the country.

4.  What are the requirements for registration of applicant workers at POEA?

-    You have to submit the following original documents in one folder in one folder at the Manpower Registry Division, Blas F. Ople (BFO) Bldg., Ortigas Avenue cor. EDSA Mandaluyong  City or to any POEA regional office.

• Self-made Bio-data or resume with detailed job description
• Two (2) pieces passport size or 2”x2” pictures
• Six  (6) pieces passport size or 2”x2” pictures for Ministry of Health – KSA applicants
• Certificate of Employment of at least two (2) years experience in one position
• School credentials such as High School Diploma, College Diploma, Transcript of Records (TOR)
• Birth certificate
• Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA) certificate for Muslim applicants (Certificate from DFA or Camp Crame)
• Passport for applicants with overseas job experience

IF APPLICABLE

• Training certificate(s)
• Marriage contract for female applicants
• License Board

- Valid PRC ID

- Board License

- Board Rating

Note: Same set of documents will be required at the POEA Government Placement Branch which is located at the ground floor of the POEA bldg. in EDSA.

5.  How much will my agency collect from me for the placement fee?

-  POEA does not allow the collection of placement fees on countries where it is prohibited.    Seafarers and workers recruited through POEA-GPB do not pay placement fees.

In countries where collection is allowed, the maximum legal placement fee charged by licensed recruitment agencies from applicants must not be more than one-month salary of the worker, except like countries like Taiwan/Korea which have special placement fee schedules.

The amount does not include documentation and processing costs.

6.  What are included under the documentation and processing costs?

-  Documentation costs, which is usually paid by the worker, includes: fee for POEA processing,   OWWA membership, passport, NBI/Police clearance, medical examination, Philhealth/Medicare premium, trade test and authentication procedures.

- Processing cost for visa, airfare and on-site documentation are normally shouldered by the employers.

Source:  www.poea.gov.ph