"'Employers who don't give full day off to FDH face $50,000 fine'", 3 April 2019

AN employer who does not give a full rest day to her foreign domestic worker faces a fine of up to $50,000, according to a legal expert.

Speaking during a forum at the Philippine Consulate General, lawyer Louise Le Pla urged Filipino domestic workers to assert their right to a full day off.

"A rest day is a full 24 hours. So, if your boss is asking you to walk the dog before you go visit your friends on Sunday, that's not allowed. That's illegal," said Le Pla....

"If your boss is telling you to be home by 8 p.m. so you can put the kids to bed on Sunday, that is not right. That Sunday is a 24-hour period and an employer who fails to provide a rest day, they can be fined $50,000 if they do not provide that full 24-hour period," she added.

..."So, if any of you have bosses asking to do this, obviously you should tell them that you have the right. That's in your contract. Some employers are unaware so I think the first step should be speaking with the employer," she said.

...Le Pla said she understood the concern of workers that their employers might terminate them if they complain but she noted that the Labour Tribunal had also "enforced" workers' rights.