The Short Answer
Usually after six months of probation (a trial period), or right away if you were not told on day one that you were on probation. If you do work that is usually necessary or desirable to the employer's business, you are generally a regular employee, whatever your contract calls you. The main exceptions are real project work, seasonal work, and a fixed term you truly agreed to. Being rehired again and again for the same job can be a sign you are already regular.
Example: Ella Navarro, a Sales Clerk on "5-5-5" Contracts in Muntinlupa
Names and details in this example are made up.
Ella Navarro was hired in 2024 through a manpower agency as a sales clerk at a department store in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa City. Her contract was for five months. When it ended, she stayed home for two weeks, then signed a new five-month contract with the same agency, for the same counter at the same store. By October 2026 she has had five contracts in a row. She wears the store's uniform, follows the store supervisor's orders, and the agency has no office or staff at the store.
Is she regular? Selling the store's goods is directly related to its main business. If the agency is only supplying workers, without enough capital or equipment of its own and without really controlling her work, that is labor-only contracting, which the law prohibits. Then the store is treated as her employer, and she is generally a regular employee of the store.
If the agency is a legitimate contractor, registered with DOLE, with its own capital and actually directing her work, she is the agency's employee. Even then, she has the same right to security of tenure (the right not to be dismissed without a valid cause and due process) and to the benefits of any employee, and the store is answerable with the agency for unpaid wages and benefits.
What Ella can do. She keeps her contracts, IDs, payslips and schedules. She can file a request for assistance at the DOLE office that covers Muntinlupa. If it does not settle, the question of who her real employer is, and whether she is regular, goes to the NLRC. Only DOLE or the NLRC can decide it, after hearing both sides.
Compare: Paolo, probationary in Iloilo City. Paolo Ramos started as a probationary customer service agent in Iloilo City on 1 March 2026. Nobody ever told him the standards he had to meet to become regular. On 1 September 2026, six months later, he is still working there. Because the standards were not made known when he was hired, and because he was allowed to keep working after six months, he is generally already a regular employee.
The Kinds of Employees
Article 295 of the Labor Code (formerly Art. 280) says an employee is regular when they do work that is usually necessary or desirable in the employer's usual business or trade. This applies whatever the written contract says, and whatever the parties call the job. The exceptions:
| Kind | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Probationary | A trial period, generally no more than six months, to see if you meet the standards for becoming regular (Art. 296) |
| Project | Hired for a specific project or undertaking, and told when hired that the job ends when the project ends |
| Seasonal | Work that by its nature is only for a season, like harvesting in a sugar or rice farm |
| Casual | Work not usually necessary to the business. A casual who has worked for at least one year, continuous or broken, becomes regular for that activity (Art. 295) |
| Fixed-term | A job for an agreed period. The Supreme Court allows this only when the term was knowingly and freely agreed, with no pressure, and is not used to avoid making workers regular |
A project or seasonal worker who is hired again and again for the same work, in a way that shows the work is really continuing, may be treated as regular. Courts look at the facts in each case.
Probation: Six Months, With Standards Known on Day One
Under Article 296 (formerly Art. 281):
- Probation generally cannot be longer than six months from the day you start. The main exception is when a longer period is allowed by law, such as an Apprenticeship Agreement.
- The employer must make known to you, when you are hired, the reasonable standards you have to meet to become regular. If it does not, you are generally treated as regular from the start.
- If you are allowed to keep working after the probation period, you become regular.
- During probation, you can be let go for a just cause, or for failing to meet the standards made known to you. You should be told in writing within a reasonable time before your employment ends.
See can my employer fire me without notice for the rules on dismissal.
Endo and Agency Work
"Endo" (end of contract) usually means hiring workers on short contracts, often five months, and replacing or rehiring them so they never pass probation. Contracting through agencies is governed by Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code and DOLE Department Order No. 174, Series of 2017 (DO 174-17).
- Legitimate contracting is allowed. The contractor must be registered with the DOLE regional office, have enough capital or investment of its own, carry on an independent business, and control how its workers do the job. Its workers are its employees, with the same rights as any employee, and the principal (the company where they work) is answerable with the contractor for unpaid wages and benefits.
- Labor-only contracting is prohibited. It happens when the "contractor" only supplies workers who do work directly related to the principal's main business, and lacks substantial capital or investment, or does not really control the work. The law then treats the principal as the employer of those workers.
- DO 174-17 also bars schemes such as repeated short contracts that cut workers' security of tenure, or making workers sign contracts that waive (give up) their rights.
What Being Regular Gives You
- Security of tenure: you can be dismissed only for a just cause (your own serious fault) or an authorized cause (a business reason), with the notices the law requires.
- Your employment does not simply end when a contract date passes.
- Many company benefits, like HMO, leave conversion or retirement plans, are often given only to regular employees under company policy.
The benefits the law gives every employee do not wait for regularization. Probationary and contractual workers already get at least the minimum wage, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG coverage, overtime and holiday pay if covered, and 13th month pay. See overtime and holiday pay.
If You Think You Should Be Regular
- Keep your contracts, IDs, payslips, schedules and any written standards or evaluations. Note when you started and every rehiring.
- File a request for assistance at DOLE under the Single Entry Approach (SEnA), a 30-day settlement process.
- If it does not settle, a claim for regularization, usually with money claims, goes to the NLRC. DOLE may also inspect the company or the agency.
If you are dismissed or your contract is not renewed, the deadline for an illegal dismissal case is four years. Money claims must be filed within three years.
For the steps and papers, see complaining about your employer.
Common Questions
Six Months na Ako. Regular na ba Ako Automatically?
Generally yes, if you were on probation and are allowed to keep working after six months. You do not need a new contract or a memo to become regular. Some employers issue one anyway; ask for it in writing if you want proof.
Can My Employer Extend My Probation?
The law sets six months as the general limit. The Supreme Court has allowed a short extension in some cases where the worker freely agreed to it, to give them another chance. An extension forced on you, or one used only to delay regularization, is open to challenge. DOLE or the NLRC decides from the facts.
Is "5-5-5" or Endo Illegal?
Short contracts are not illegal in themselves. They become unlawful when used to avoid making workers regular, for example by repeatedly hiring people for work the business always needs, or through labor-only contracting. Whether a particular arrangement is unlawful depends on the facts.
I Am an Agency Worker. Who Is My Employer?
If the agency is a legitimate, DOLE-registered contractor, the agency is your employer, and the company where you work is answerable with it for your wages and benefits. If the agency only supplies workers and is engaged in labor-only contracting, the law treats the company where you work as your employer.
Does a Project Employee Ever Become Regular?
Yes, in some cases. If you were not told when hired that the job was for a specific project, or if you are hired again and again for work that is really continuing, you may be treated as regular. Courts decide this from the facts.
Not legal advice. This is general information. For advice on your own situation, consult a lawyer. If you cannot afford one, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or an IBP legal aid office may help for free.
Government fees, rules and requirements change, so always check with the office concerned before you go. This page explains the general rules; it cannot tell you how they apply to your own family or case. Last reviewed October 8, 2026.