The Covid-19 pandemic has seen businesses closing, leaving employees with no safety net. While some were able to thrive, others need more support to get back on their feet.
Here's something to look forward to for solo parents, which comprise 13 percent of the entire population. Solo working parents will soon receive double insurance if they get laid off from their jobs.
A new bill has been filed to double the unemployment insurance benefits of solo parents if they get displaced from their jobs, for reasons other than their performance.
Quezon City Representative Marvin Rillo filed the House Bill 2229, which entitled solo parents to receive an involuntary separation payment equal to 100 percent of their average monthly salary credit (AMSC) for two months. This applies to solo parents who are laid off from their jobs
Rillo said, “Single parents, being the only breadwinner in the household, are exceptionally vulnerable to economic hardship. They deserve greater financial support if they lose their jobs for reasons unrelated to their performance as employees.”
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“Thus, once our bill is enacted, a solo parent with an AMSC of P20,000 will receive an unemployment insurance benefit of P40,000, instead of only P20,000 as currently provided by law,” Rillo said.
Currently, under the law, laid-off and qualified employees covered by the SSS are entitled to an involuntary separation payment equal to 50 percent of their average AMSC for two months.
“We have to assure solo parents ample financial protection when they get thrown out of work. This way, while they are looking for new employment, their families will have the means to make ends meet,” Rillo said.
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Involuntarily separation means job loss due to closure or cessation of operation of a business; retrenchment or downsizing; redundancy; installation of labor-saving devices; or disease/illness of the employee whose continued service is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or her co-workers’ health.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWSolo parents now comprise over 13 percent of the 109 million national population.
There are up to 15 million solo parents in the country, with 95 percent of them women, according to a World Health Organization-funded study by the University of the Philippines’ National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health.
“Solo parent” as defined by existing law refers to:
- An unmarried mother or father solely raising a child or children;
- A parent solely bringing up a child or children due to the death, incarceration, or physical or mental incapacity of the spouse;
- A parent solely rearing a child or children due to abandonment by the spouse, legal or de facto separation from the spouse, or declaration of nullity or annulment of marriage;
- A legal guardian, adoptive or foster parent solely taking care of a child or children;
- Under certain circumstances, the spouse, family member, or guardian solely looking after an OFW’s child or children;
- Any relative within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of the parent or legal guardian solely caring for a child or children due to the disappearance or absence of the parent or legal guardian; or
- A pregnant woman solely nurturing her unborn child.
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This bill will be a good addition to the growing benefits for solo parents.
Last June, the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act or Republic Act No. 11861 lapsed into law. It provides additional benefits to solo parents such as a monthly subsidy of P1,000 for those earning a minimum wage and below, discounts for baby milk and food products, and prioritization in government housing projects.
Read all you need to know about this law (including how to get a solo parent ID) here.
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