Is 'endo' (end-of-contract / kontraktwalisasyon) legal in the Philippines?
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
Fixed-term and legitimate job contracting are not themselves illegal, but "labor-only contracting" — the abusive core of "endo" — is prohibited. Under Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code and DOLE Department Order No. 174-17, an arrangement is labor-only contracting when the agency lacks substantial capital or investment and the workers it supplies perform tasks directly related to the principal's main business, or when the agency does not control the work. When that is the case, the law treats the principal (the company where you actually work) as your true employer, and you are deemed its regular employee — the middle-man agency cannot be used to deny you security of tenure.
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Frequently asked
Is being rehired every 5 months to avoid regularization legal?
Repeatedly ending and renewing contracts to prevent an employee from reaching regular status is a recognized abuse. If your work is necessary and desirable to the employer's usual business and the cycle exists mainly to defeat security of tenure, DOLE and the NLRC can rule you a regular employee regardless of the contract's label.
How do I tell a legitimate contractor from labor-only contracting?
A legitimate contractor is DOLE-registered under D.O. 174-17, has substantial capital or its own tools/equipment, and controls how the work is done. If the agency merely supplies bodies to do the principal's core work without real capital or control, that is labor-only contracting.
Who do I claim against — the agency or the company?
In labor-only contracting the principal is deemed your employer and is liable; the law also makes the principal solidarily (jointly) liable with the contractor for wages and labor-standards claims. You can name both in a DOLE/NLRC case.
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Boses ng kumakayod — your everyday rights as a Filipino worker on pay and dismissal: when your final/back pay must be released (DOLE Labor Advisory 06-20 — within 30 days of separation), 13th-month pay (PD 851 — 1/12 of your basic salary, on or before December 24), legal vs illegal salary deductions, unpaid wages and overtime, the twin-notice due-process rule before you can be dismissed, just causes vs authorized causes, separation pay, your Certificate of Employment (within 3 days of request), resignation notice, the regional minimum wage set by your RTWPB, and how to file with DOLE (SEnA conciliation first) or the NLRC.