Freelancing is no longer just a temporary state while looking for your dream job. For many intelligent and skilled Filipinos with a strong network and marketable services, it is a long-term career choice.
For many people that value mobility, their own time, and freedom from a fixed employer, freelancing is a dream job and fundamental source of livelihood.
With more and more freelancers in the country, we are confronted with an urgent need to protect this new sector and empower them with ease of doing business.
One of the biggest challenges of a freelancer is non-payment, which is why the Freelancer Bill gives freelancers the power to demand from their employer what they are rightfully due as per their signed contract.
In the event that an employer refuses to pay a freelancer for services rendered, the aggrieved party can file a complaint to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and can expect the agency to investigate and, should the complaint be considered valid, a penalty of up to P250,000 shall be imposed on the non-compliant employer.
Further civil penalties will also be imposed for every day that the employer refuses to compensate the freelancer and, in addition, the aggrieved party has the option of filing a civil case against his or her employer.
This measure also takes into account ease of doing business for freelancers, making it easier for freelancers to register in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and mandates that freelancers be exempted from tax payments for the first 3 years.
In our age of instantaneous global communication and interconnectivity, increased specialization, and a millennialism that values mobility, creativity, and entrepreneurship, we can only expect our pool of freelancers to grow.
Let us waste no time in ensuring that they are not inconvenienced by red tape and that they are protected from difficult, even fraudulent clients.
In view of the forgoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
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