Libre lahat · Walang signupwww.tanggapkana.com
Pay & rights · Leaving a job

Your last pay has a deadline. So does your COE.

Almost everything written about final pay in the Philippines is written for employers or for other lawyers. Here it is for you. There is a DOLE rule with actual numbers in it: final pay within 30 days, Certificate of Employment within 3 days. If you are being told “wait for clearance, baka 2–3 months,” that is not the rule.

Final pay

Within 30 days

Counted from the date of your separation from employment — resignation, end of contract, or termination. A shorter period can apply if your company policy or CBA says so.

Certificate of Employment

Within 3 days

Counted from when the employer receives your request. Three days, not three weeks — and a COE is not a favour, it is a document you are entitled to.

Both deadlines come from DOLE Labor Advisory No. 06, series of 2020, issued 31 January 2020.

What “final pay” should include

Check the computation against this list rather than just accepting the number. Depending on your situation it can include:

On “clearance” An employer may set off legitimate claims against your last pay — an unreturned laptop, a cash advance, an accountable item. That is allowed. What is not allowed is treating clearance as an open-ended reason to hold everything indefinitely. The 30 days still runs.

Ask properly first — in writing

Most of these end without a complaint, because a dated written request changes the conversation and starts a clock you can point to later. Email is fine. Keep the thread.

Email template — final pay and COE Subject: Request for final pay and Certificate of Employment — [Your Full Name], last day [date]

Dear [HR contact],

I am formally requesting the release of my final pay and the issuance of my Certificate of Employment. My last day of employment was [date].

Under DOLE Labor Advisory No. 06-20, final pay is to be released within thirty (30) days from the date of separation, and a Certificate of Employment issued within three (3) days from receipt of the request.

Kindly confirm the release date and send me a copy of the computation. I am happy to complete any remaining clearance step — please let me know specifically what is outstanding.

Thank you,
[Your name] · [contact number] · [employee number]

Save everything. Your contract or offer letter, payslips, your resignation letter and its acknowledgement, and this email thread. That is your whole case if it goes further.

If the deadline passes: SEnA

The escalation route is the Single Entry Approach (SEnA) — a mandatory 30-day conciliation step before anything becomes a formal case. It is designed to be used without a lawyer.

  1. File a Request for Assistance (RFA)

    Online through DOLE’s ARMS portal, or in person at the Single Entry Assistance Desk of a DOLE, NCMB, or NLRC office — you can use the one nearest your residence.

    arms.dole.gov.ph — choose “Submit Request,” and later “Track RFA Status” with your reference or docket number.

  2. Bring what you have — a missing contract does not stop you

    There is no single checklist that fits every case. Useful: your details and the employer’s, proof of employment (contract, payslips, attendance records), documents about the dispute (resignation letter, notices, any computation you were given), and a simple computation of what you say you are owed. Not having a written contract does not prevent you from filing.

  3. Attend the conference

    The mandatory conciliation period is 30 calendar days from when both parties first appear, extendable by up to 15 more days if both agree. Many money claims settle here. Note the honest limit: the 30 days is a conciliation period, not a guaranteed payment date.

  4. If it does not settle

    The matter can proceed as a formal case — typically to the NLRC for money claims and illegal dismissal. That is the point at which legal advice is genuinely worth getting, and PAO or a law school legal aid clinic may be able to help free.

Filing is free There is no ordinary filing fee for an RFA. If anyone offers to “file it for you” for a fee, or asks for payment just to submit a request, that is not how this works. Reach DOLE directly on 1349.

Two deadlines worth knowing

Money claims generally prescribe in three years from when the cause of action accrued. Do not sit on it for years.
Illegal dismissal has a much shorter practical window than most people expect. If you believe you were dismissed without just cause or due process, get advice early rather than after you have exhausted every polite follow-up.
This is not legal advice We are not lawyers and this page is not legal advice. It is a plain-language summary of a published DOLE advisory and a published DOLE process, with the sources linked so you can read them yourself. For a dispute with real money in it, SEnA is the free first step, and PAO or a law school legal aid clinic is the free next one.

Read it yourself

Next

Why your payslip is smaller than the offer

Every deduction itemised at current rates, with the circular each one comes from. Then compute your own.

Take-home pay calculator →

What your deductions buy you

SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG benefits you can actually claim — including the ones nobody tells you about.

Gov't benefits →

Written by Arbie · Last reviewed 24 October 2026 · Sources

The 30-day and 3-day deadlines come from DOLE Labor Advisory No. 06, series of 2020 (31 January 2020). Checked 24 October 2026.

I am not a recruiter or an HR professional. I built this site after watching people close to me spend months looking for work and paying for “courses” that just repackaged free information. Every guide here is researched from official sources, every source is linked so you can check it yourself, and anything I cannot back up is labelled as an estimate. Read the full story and how I verify things →

Something wrong or outdated? Tell me and I will fix it.