Nanay Notebook | Work at home Philippines

Jun 17, 2013

SSS Arrears and the Kasambahay Law: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Jun 17, 2013

After I posted my article on the SSS, Philhealth, HDMF and the Kasambahay Law, a few follow-up questions on the SSS were posted by some readers – and all of them are about arrears.

I'm posting the questions here, and the answers, based on what the SSS customer service hotline told me.

1. Our helper has been with us for several years already, but we are beginning to pay for his/her SSS contributions only this year. Will we need to pay for the past years?

Yes. If your househelp has been with you since 2010, you will have to pay contributions for all months starting from 2010. (Ouch, I know.)

In addition, there is a 3% penalty per month of delay. As per Section 22 of the Social Security Act of 1997, "if any contribution is not paid to the SSS as herein prescribed, [the employer] shall pay besides the contribution a penalty thereon of three percent (3%) per month from the date the contribution falls due until paid." (Ouch, ouch, ouch!)

But if you're shaking now, your kasambahay would be shaking a bit too. Because not only will the SSS collect arrears from you, they will also be collecting arrears from your kasambahay. Remember, before the kasambahay law, even those whose salary fell below P5,000 also had to contribute an employee share.

The difference is, your kasambahay will not be charged a 3% penalty. You're the only one who will receive that extra expense.

2. What figures will the computation of SSS contribution arrears be based on?

Before the Kasambahay Law took effect on June 3, 2013, the employee had a corresponding share on SSS payments even though his/her salary was below P5,000. Therefore, the computation will be based on the employer share only, not the entire amount of the kasambahay's salary.

3. Will I have to pay the entire sum in full all in one blow?

You may be able to arrange for payment in installments with your SSS branch office.

4. After the contribution arrears have been paid, will my kasambahay be considered an active member for all the years paid? Will those years be included in the computation of the kasambahay's retirement pension?

Yes.

5. Ever since our kasambahay has been with us, we have been giving him/her money to pay SSS contributions. But recently, we discovered that our kasambahay has not been remitting those payments to SSS! What happens now? Will the SSS charge me for all those years that I inadvertently failed to pay for my kasambahay's contributions?

Unfortunately, yes. This issue is one between you and your kasambahay. The SSS will have no part in it. As far as the SSS is concerned, you did not pay contributions, and they will base their computation of arrears on what they have on record.

6. Our kasambahay has been given a raise four times already since he/she began working with us. Which salary shall the SSS use to base its computation for my arrears?

You shall be asked to fill out a form on how much your kasambahay's wages had been in past years. This is a legal document, so you are expected to tell the truth.

DISCLAIMER: All information posted on this article are based on what I understood from my calls to the SSS hotline. I have made every effort to make it as accurate as possible, but I accept no responsibility for consequences that may befall you should any of the information here turn out to be wrong. Should you be aware of any inaccuracies in the information posted here, please inform me so that the erratum may be announced and the correction made. Thanks!

The Nanay Notebook is written by Blessie Adlaon, a work-at-home and homeschooling mom of four. Check out our About page to know more about this blog's author and our policies on advertising, press releases, and reposting.

The Philhealth Household Employer Under the Kasambahay Law: Register, Pay, Report

Jun 14, 2013

Under the Kasambahay Law, kasambahays need to be registered as Philhealth members. If your kasambahay is not yet registered as an Individually Paying Member of the Philhealth, you could fulfill the Kasambahay Law by registering as a household employer and declaring your kasambahay as a household employee.

So what are the steps for registering as a Philhealth household employer? And what are your obligations after you have registered?

Here's a step-by-step guide :

1. To register as employer, fill out the forms ER-1 and ER-2.

2. To register your kasambahay as member, have him/her fill out the Philhealth Member Registration Form for enrollment or to update member details.

3. To complete your registration, submit the forms and required supporting documents to a Philhealth office.

4. Start paying your kasambahay's Philhealth contributions.

If your kasambahay is earning less than P5,000 per month, you are required to pay P175 per month. You shoulder this entirely.
If your kasambahay is earning from P5,000 to P7,999 per month, you are required to pay P87.50, while your kasambahay is required to contribute P87.50 as well.
If your kasambahay is earning P8,000 or more per month, click on the Premium Contribution Table link at Philhealth's Employed page to see how much you and your employee needs to pay.

Remit your employees' Philhealth contributions on or before the 10th of the following month. Use the PhilHealth Premium Payment Slip to remit contributions.

5. Report your payment to Philhealth on or before the 15th of the following month using the Remittance Report Form, or RF-1. To do this, you either go to a Philhealth office or report online using the Electronic Premium Reporting System (EPRS).

Important: To use the EPRS, you must attend the training so that your user account can be activated.

Where to pay: Click on the link to find a list of Philhealth accredited collecting partners.

If your kasambahay has never been an SSS member, then you need to register as household employer so that your kasambahay can get an SSS number. (If your kasambahay has been an active member before being employed with you, he/she can simply continue as a volunteer member. Click here for details.)

Here are the things you need to know in registering, paying, and reporting your kasambahay's SSS contributions, as an SSS household employer.

1. To register yourself as an employer, get the forms R-1, R-1A, and L-501 from an SSS office, or download them from the SSS portal, then fill them out and submit to the SSS office nearest you.

2. To register your kasambahay, get the form E-1 and ask your kasambahay to fill it out. You will need to submit this to the SSS, along with the original copy (for presentation) and photocopy (for submission) of supporting documents.

You will find all required supporting documents at the back or bottom of the forms.

Important reminder: In the form R-1A, you will be asked for your kasambahay's date of employment. The SSS will require you to pay your kasambahay's contributions starting from the date of employment. Therefore, if you have receipts of payment in previous years, bring your receipts with you so you do not get charged a second time. It is also good to bring your kasambahay with you, in case the SSS wants to interview him/her, to make sure that the payments have been made in the past years.

3. Start paying your kasambahay's SSS contributions. Do so before the 10th of the following month. For your convenience, it is better to pay through SM Payment Centers, Bayad Centers, or SSS accredited banks, such as Chinabank, Metrobank, and BPI.

How much should you pay? Please refer to the 7th, 8th, and 9th columns in the table below (click the image to enlarge).

Note that if your kasambahay is earning less than five thousand pesos per month, you are required to shoulder 100% of the contribution. If your kasambahay is earning five thousand pesos or more, the contributions are divided, as indicated on the table:

4. Report your contributions quarterly. After you have paid your employees' premiums, you need to submit a summary of your employees’ contributions using forms R-3, R-5, and a copy of the bank's receipts within 10 days after the applicable quarter.

UPDATE: What if our kasambahay has been employed with us since the year 2000 but we only began paying contributions this year? Click on the link to see the answer: SSS Arrears and the Kasambahay Law.

SSS, HDMF, Philhealth, and the Kasambahay Law

Jun 12, 2013

By this time, all of us must have heard about the Kasambahay Law. We know that under the law, we are required to pay for our household worker's SSS, HDMF (PAG-IBIG), and Philhealth benefits.

How do you go about it, and what do you need to know?

SSS

If your kasambahay has been an SSS member in the past, you can fulfill the Kasambahay Law by simply registering your kasambahay as voluntary member and shouldering your legal share of the SSS payments. You do not need to register as employer.

I got the above information from a supervisor at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) contact center. (The agent passed the phone to her when she found out I was writing all these in my blog.)

If you are using this method of SSS payments for your kasambahay, the DOLE advises that you clearly indicate in the contract that although your kasambahay is registered as voluntary member, you are shouldering your legal share of the payments as employer. And make sure to keep your own copy of all receipts.

To change your kasambahay's membership status to Voluntary, simply make payments in his/her behalf using his/her SSS number, using the SSS Form RS-5. According to the SSS website, "Posting of said payment will change the membership status from covered employee, self-employed, OFW or non-working spouse to a voluntary paying member."

If your kasambahay has never been an SSS member, then he/she cannot begin as a voluntary member (SSS rules forbid that; don't ask me why) and you, alas, will need to register as employer. I have a separate article on that. Click the link to read The SSS Household Employer Under the Kasambahay Law: Register, Pay, Report.

Now you can start paying your kasambahay's SSS contributions. Do so before the 10th of the following month. For your convenience, it is better to pay through SM Payment Centers, Bayad Centers, or SSS accredited banks, such as Chinabank, Metrobank, and BPI.

How much should you pay? See the table below (click to enlarge). If your kasambahay is registered as a voluntary member, then the required contribution is found on the last column (SE/VM/OFW).

Note that if your kasambahay is earning less than five thousand pesos per month, you are required to shoulder 100% of the contribution. If your kasambahay is earning five thousand pesos or more, the contributions are divided, as indicated on the table:

UPDATE: What if our kasambahay has been with us since the year 2000 but we only began paying contributions this year? Click on the link to see the answer: SSS Arrears and the Kasambahay Law.

Philhealth

According to the DOLE, you can register your kasambahay as Individually Paying Member (IPM). Do this by filling out the Philhealth Member Registration Form and submitting it, along with supporting documents, to the nearest Philhealth office. To find the Philhealth office nearest you, call the Philhealth contact center at (02) 441-7442.

As IPM, your kasambahay is required to pay P450 quarterly or P1,800 per year. As employer, you are required to shoulder this in full if your kasambahay is earning less than P5,000. If your kasambahay is earning P5,000 or more, you shoulder half of the payments while your kasambahay shoulders the other half.

Now if you want to register as employer rather than register your kasambahay as an IPM, I've written a separate article on that. Please click the link to read The Philhealth Household Employer Under the Kasambahay Law: Register, Pay, Report.

Where to pay: Click on the link to find a list of Philhealth accredited collecting partners.

PAG-IBIG/HDMF

For HDMF, you don't have to register as employer. All you have to do is help your kasambahay open an HDMF account. You could do this using their online membership registration portal. For member type, choose "Private Household."

After your online registration, print out the Member Data Form that will be generated. Submit that form to the nearest HDMF office, along with

proof of income, which is basically a statement from you saying that your kasambahay is indeed employed with you, the date of first employment, and how much your kasambahay is being paid per month, and
two of your kasambahay's valid IDs.

Then, you can remit payments to the nearest PAG-IBIG office. Unfortunately, banks only accept loan repayments, not member contributions.

How much to pay? PAG-IBIG contributions are 4% of the kasambahay's salary, with maximum salary set at P5,000.

So if your kasambahay is earning, say, P4,000 per month, you pay the entire 4%, or P80, every month.

If your kasambahay's salary is P5,000 or more, you need to pay P100, but you can split this amount 50-50 between you and your kasambahay, so you only pay P50 each.

More Info

If you have more questions about the Kasambahay Law, like "Is our live-out yaya considered a kasambahay?" or "Am I required to provide my kasambahay with shampoo and soap, etc.?" then check out this FAQ published by the DOLE: Q&A on Batas Kasambahay.

For an easy-to-understand document on the Batas Kasambahay, here's GMA's Batas Kasambahay infographic.

And for a sample contract that you can use for your kasambahay, check out Smart Parenting's sample kasambahay contract. (Look at the bottom of the Smart Parenting page for the contract links.)

Here's to all of us who strive to be good citizens by following the law! Cheers!

Where to Find Products for Your Online Business

May 31, 2013

I just came upon this website that may help jumpstart that online business you've been dreaming of.

Dropery.asia is a clearinghouse of product suppliers that are duly registered in the Philippines. If you're looking for a reputable supplier and drop shipper for products that you would like to sell in your online store, it's worth checking this site out.

How does it work?

Through certification, Dropery.asia ensures that a company is duly registered locally before it is included in the website's database. Then, the website reviews these companies' profiles and provide honest feedback for the users, that is, you!

Once you are in the site, you can find suppliers and apply to them for a reseller account. When your reseller account application is approved, you can search or browse Dropery.asia for the supplier's products that you want to sell under your own account at eBay.ph, Sulit.com.ph, etc.

Then, you can simply copy and paste the product's description into your website. You receive the buyers' orders and payments, and you can forward the order with corresponding payment to your supplier.

The supplier will then ship directly to your buyer. This system is called drop shipping, and it has helped many online sellers put up successful stores even without huge warehouses.

If you want to know more about drop shipping, you can search for it online.

To get access to Dropery.asia, you need to request for an invitation. Just click on the "Request an Invite" button at the bottom of their homepage. There's nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time. Why not check it out and get that online store of your dreams started (before the BIR makes it expensive and complicated to start online businesses as well)? Log on to Dropery.asia now.

DISCLOSURE: This blog and its author received no compensation in cash or in kind from Dropery.asia and its owners/stockholders.

Book Review: Bugtong Bugtong 2

Apr 26, 2013

I loved Filipino riddles very much when I was a kid. My mother and siblings and I would take turns asking the riddles we knew, and we had fun guessing the answers.

Heto na si Kaka,

Bubuka-bukaka.

What made the riddles even more fun were the funny images a lot of them evoked in our minds. Plus, they were a good way to expand our Filipino vocabulary. (Did you know there is such a Filipino word as kaka?)

Naturally, when I had kids of my own, I wanted to introduce Filipino riddles to them too.

Isang bayabas,

Pito ang butas.

The problem was that my kids were raised with English as their first language. (My bad, I know.) It was not only because I spoke to them in English but also because when they watch kids' videos such as "My Little Pony," or when they play games, like the ones in Starfall.com, the language they hear is English.

So riddles were hard to introduce to them. The language, for them, was almost completely foreign.

Balong malalim,

Punong-puno ng patalim.

"What's a balon? What is malalim? What's a patalim?" they would query. (Well, do you know what those are?)

And so I had to explain to them the meanings of the words, and that would completely ruin the momentum of the game.

In addition, they had so gotten used to visual stimulation (yes, yes, still my bad, I know), that they would get bored if one simply recited the riddle aloud to them. They wanted pictures, not just to help them understand the words, but also to excite their fancy.

Sa umaga'y bumbong,

Sa gabi ay dahon.

Now there are a number of books on Filipino riddles in the local bookstores today, but I have not found any that had nice pictures to attract the modern kid – until I discovered Bugtong Bugtong 2, from Ilaw ng Tahanan Publishing, a.k.a. Tahanan Books.

Needless to say, there is a Bugtong Bugtong 1, and I discovered the books a little late, but what matters is that I found them! Because if you're a mother looking to share the beauty of the Filipino language with your kids, these Bugtong Bugtong books are a valuable part of your arsenal.

Dalawang batong itim,

Malayo ang nararating.

Each page of Bugtong Bugtong 2 contains just one riddle. The rest of the page is an illustration that hints at the answer but does not give it away. The illustrations often clue the readers in too on the meanings of the words in the riddle.

What about the answers? Oh, you don't have to look for them at the last pages of the book. They're right there, on the same page as the riddle – but they are written not just upside down but also in mirror image form! So for your children to be able to read the answer, they do not only need to turn the page upside down, they also need to put it in front of a mirror.

How brilliant is that?

Limang puno ng niyog,

Ang isa ay matayog.

It's so beautiful, I could cry. No, seriously. There would at least be some moisture around the eyes.

If you don't believe me, I suggest you go to your local bookstore and find Bugtong Bugtong 2, or drop by at Tahanan Books' main office, to see the book yourself and see what I'm talking about. Read it and weep.

Here's Tahanan Books' office address: Unit 402, Cityland 3 Condominium, 105 V.A. Rufino corner Esteban Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City. You can also call them at (02) 813-7165. If you get your books straight from the publishing house, you get a 10% discount!

Oh, by the way, in case you're wondering about the answers to the riddles embedded in this post – well, I could give you the answers, but that would totally defeat the purpose of the riddle, wouldn't it?

How about you try to guess, and I'll tell you if you got the answers right? Happy guessing!

DISCLOSURE: The Nanay Notebook and its author received no compensation for this article. A copy of the book was provided by the publisher for an unbiased review.

Easy Mobile Shopping with the New Zalora iPhone App

Apr 25, 2013

25 April 2013 – ZALORA, the Philippines’ first and leading fashion and beauty e-commerce site, today announced the expansion of its mobile repertoire with the launch of its iPhone shopping app in the country which can be found at the local app store (http://itunes.com/apps/zalora).

Now all on-the-go shoppers can navigate over 1000 brands and 30,000 products in apparel, shoes, accessories, and beauty products seamlessly through their iPhone. Downloading the ZALORA iPhone app allows users to

receive push notifications on new arrivals and flash sales so that they are always in the know;
easily browse for a quick overview of product information, images, ratings and reviews;
add items to cart and infinitely save them for later (*as long as the app is kept active); and
pick from multiple payment methods – Credit Card, PayPal, Cash-On-Delivery.

The app provides a richer and more exciting mobile experience by catering to all ZALORA markets. Through the built-in capabilities of the Apple iOS, engaging native animations can be seen in simple options such as with the ‘add-to-cart’ action. Plus, the app routes shoppers into their respective locations so they can browse ZALORA’s product collections in their own respective locations, be it in the Philippines or around Southeast Asia.

“The launch of the ZALORA iPhone app represents a milestone for us in taking mobile yet another step further”, says Paolo Campos, managing director and co-founder of ZALORA Philippines. “We are confident that mCommerce can help us grow our market share in the online shopping sphere, particularly so in Southeast Asia, a region with an already high mobile penetration and still even more potential for higher mobile reach as its telecommunications infrastructure develops exponentially.”

Download the official ZALORA App at the local app store today and get a 20% discount! Voucher code will be revealed in app upon download. Per DTI-NCR permit No. 3904, series of 2013.

Visit ZALORA for further information at www.zalora.com.ph/mobile-apps/.

(Press release)