HB 11642: The end of the floating status?

For many of the Philippines' more than 1.5 million BPO workers, hearing "your account is closing, and you're on floating status starting Monday” is far scarier than "you're fired." No assignment. Usually no pay. And for up to six months, no clear answer about whether the job will still exist at the end of it.

A new measure in the House of Representatives wants to change that. House Bill No. 11642, popularly called the "No To Floating Status Bill," was filed in October 2026 by the Makabayan bloc in partnership with the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN). It targets one of the most common, and most feared, practices in the outsourcing industry, though its protections would cover workers in every industry, not just BPO.

Here's what floating status is, why workers are pushing back, and what the bill proposes.

Floating status, also called "off-detail" or temporary layoff, happens when an employer stops giving an employee work without formally ending the job. In the BPO world, it usually follows a client pull-out: a foreign company ends its contract, the campaign closes, and the agents assigned to it are suddenly left without an account.

The Labor Code doesn't actually use the term. Instead, courts rely on Article 301 (formerly Article 286), which says a bona fide suspension of business operations for up to six months doesn't end employment. The Supreme Court has applied that six-month rule by analogy to agency workers waiting for a new assignment.

In practice, that means:

• An employer may place a worker on floating status for up to six months, but only for a genuine business reason.
• Floating status is generally unpaid, since no work is being done.
• By the end of six months, the employer must recall the worker or properly terminate them, with notice and separation pay where required.
• A float that goes past six months without either can amount to constructive dismissal.

On paper, that's a safeguard. Workers' groups say that in reality, it has become a loophole.

BIEN has campaigned against floating status for years. During the pandemic, the group demanded an end to what it called the "floating while hiring" practice, where companies put existing agents on float while continuing to recruit new ones. It argued that labor flexibility shouldn't come at the cost of job security. In 2026, those concerns resurfaced. In July, ahead of the State of the Nation Address, BIEN Cebu and other labor groups raised the problem of prolonged, unpaid floating status caused by client pull-outs and AI integration. They also accused some employers of deliberately using the six-month window to avoid paying separation benefits.

Workers' groups point to four main problems:

1. Six months without income is a crisis. Most BPO workers live paycheck to paycheck. Half a year with no salary can mean missed rent, unpaid loans, and families pushed into debt, even if the worker is eventually recalled.

2. The burden falls on the worker, not the company. When a client leaves, it's a business risk. But under floating status, the worker absorbs nearly all the financial cost, while the company keeps the option to call them back.

3. It can be used as a backdoor exit. Advocates say some employers place workers on float, wait them out, and hope they resign. A resignation can mean no separation pay and no dismissal case. Workers simply can't survive six months without income, BIEN vice president Jupeter Delda told BLVD. Most end up resigning to find new jobs, which lets the company skip the separation pay it would owe if it declared their positions redundant.

4. Transfers that come with strings attached. BIEN says some companies keep hiring for campaigns while claiming their clients have cut back. Others offer floating workers a transfer to another account, but at lower pay, a diminution of benefits the Labor Code prohibits, or with qualifications the workers can't realistically meet.

New pressures are making things more urgent. AI tools are changing how customer service work is done: BIEN says it has already received redundancy reports for quality analyst positions, as companies use AI to evaluate chats and calls. Proposed US legislation aimed at keeping call center jobs onshore has also raised fears about future client pull-outs. Each of these could mean more accounts closing, and more workers left floating.

Why a separate bill, when Congress is already considering a Magna Carta for BPO Workers? BIEN argues that security of tenure is already protected on paper, but enforcement in the IT-BPO sector is severely lacking. Most BPO companies are registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and, the group says, run on self-regulating policies that often sidestep standard labor laws.

Based on BIEN's public statements, the bill's core provisions include:

A ban on arbitrary floating status. The bill aims to stop companies from placing employees on prolonged, unpaid floating status. Advocates frame this as protection against "backdoor" constructive dismissal and sudden, arbitrary loss of income.

Coverage beyond BPO. Although BIEN pushed for the bill, it would protect workers in all industries, not only BPO and IT employees, Delda confirmed to BLVD.

Job security safeguards. The bill reportedly sets up accountability measures so workers don't carry the full financial burden when an account or campaign suddenly closes. [CONFIRM: Does it require paid floating status, a shorter maximum period, mandatory redeployment, a ban on hiring while workers are on float, or separation pay at a specific point?]

Broader BPO protections. BIEN's materials also mention safer workplaces, including the right to refuse unsafe work during earthquakes and climate disasters, higher entry-level wages, and expanded HMO coverage.

The Makabayan bloc in the 20th Congress is made up of Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co, and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio. The same lawmakers refiled the Magna Carta for BPO Workers in 2025, which covers living wages, paid leave, disaster protocols, and the right to unionize.

BIEN, the bill's partner organization, is one of the most visible worker groups in the industry. It has operated for about 13 years and has been registered with the Department of Labor and Employment as an independent labor association for 11. In recent years it has spoken out on work-from-home allowances, return-to-office policies, the threat of US reshoring bills, and a proposed ₱36,000 monthly entry-level living wage for BPO workers.

Employers haven't yet publicly responded to HB 11642, and BIEN says it has received no feedback from management because the bill hasn't been taken up in Congress yet. Management has strongly opposed BIEN's earlier Magna Carta for BPO Workers, though, and in labor debates like this, industry groups typically raise a few points:

• Flexibility. BPO work depends on client contracts. Companies argue that floating status lets them hold on to trained staff between accounts instead of laying them off right away.
• Cost and competitiveness. Paying idle workers, or speeding up separation pay, raises costs in an industry competing with India, Latin America, and AI automation.
• Unintended effects. If floating status becomes too costly, some firms might choose immediate retrenchment instead, which could leave workers worse off.
• "BPO workers are already well paid." BIEN says management and some government officials often argue that BPO workers are privileged because they earn higher salaries than many other workers, an argument the group expects to hear again.

These are the questions the bill's supporters will need to answer as it moves through Congress.

If you're a VA employed by a Philippine BPO, staffing agency, or VA firm, this bill could directly affect you. Many agency-employed VAs are placed on floating status when a client ends a contract.

If you're an independent freelancer working directly with foreign clients, floating status rules don't apply to you, and neither would this bill. But the debate highlights a bigger question every remote worker faces: who carries the risk when a client walks away?

Like all House bills, HB 11642 must be referred to a committee, likely the Committee on Labor and Employment, go through hearings, and pass three readings in the House. A Senate counterpart would also need to be filed and passed before it can become law. Many bills never make it past the committee stage, so public pressure and industry engagement will shape its chances.

BIEN hopes the labor committee will open discussions based on workers' demands. Its Magna Carta for BPO Workers, filed with the Makabayan bloc last year, shows how slow the road can be: it has reached the subcommittee level as a consolidated bill combining versions from several lawmakers, and BIEN worries it could be watered down along the way.

Until any new law is passed, the current rules still apply. If you're placed on floating status:

• Ask for a written notice with the reason and start date.
• Mark the six-month deadline on your calendar.
• Don't rush to resign. It could affect claims you'd otherwise have.
• If six months pass without recall or proper termination, seek help through DOLE's free Single Entry Approach (SEnA), or contact a worker group like BIEN.

-Interview with Jupeter Delda, vice president, BPO Industry Employees Network, via Zoom, Oct 12, 2026

- Outsource Accelerator: Philippine lawmakers refile Magna Carta to protect BPO workers (Oct 2025)

- SunStar: Cebu labor groups launch "People's Sona" (July 2026)

- BusinessWorld: BPO workers seek end to floating status

- People Matters: BIEN on the expanded remote work cap

- The Lance: US bill puts PH BPO jobs at risk (Oct 2025)

- Daily Tribune: How long can I be on floating status? (Sept 2026)

- Supreme Court E-Library: decision on floating status of agency workers