Unpaid wages: the three-year clock on money claims

Labor Code, Art. 291: all money claims arising from employer-employee relations must be filed within three (3) years from the time the cause of action accrued. After that they are forever barred.

Count per claim. Each unpaid payday has its own start date, so one old claim can expire while a newer one is still alive.

Example

Illustrative example only.

Claim	Should have been paid	Three years end
OT ₱2,400	Feb 15, 2024	Feb 15, 2027
OT ₱1,800	Jun 30, 2024	Jun 30, 2027
Holiday pay ₱755	Dec 31, 2025	Dec 31, 2028

⚠️ Tandaan

Art. 129 lets the DOLE Regional Director hear wage claims where the aggregate per employee does not exceed ₱5,000 and there is no claim for reinstatement. Art. 111: in cases of unlawful withholding of wages, the culpable party may be assessed attorney's fees equivalent to ten percent of the wages recovered.

Bago mag-demand

• ☐ List each unpaid item and its payday
• ☐ Add three years to each date
• ☐ Keep payslips, DTR and messages
• ☐ Write the total in pesos

Demand letter, handa na: ilagay ang listahan mo 👇

Basis: P.D. 442 (Labor Code), Arts. 111, 129 and 291, as numbered on Lawphil.