Last updated: June 2026 · Labor Code of the Philippines · DOLE Labor Advisory 06-20 · PD 851 · RA 11199
What You’re Owed When You Leave
Leaving a job in the Philippines — whether you resigned, were retrenched, or your company closed — almost always means money is still owed to you. The pieces are scattered across different laws and agencies, so it is easy to leave some behind. This guide walks through everything you can claim, in plain language, and points you to a calculator for each amount so you can compute your own numbers. The single most important rule to remember: under DOLE Labor Advisory No. 06-20, your final pay must be released within 30 days from the date your employment ends, unless your contract or a company policy sets an earlier date.
Final pay (also called back pay or last pay) is not one item — it is the sum of several. Some apply to everyone who leaves; one of them, separation pay, only applies in specific situations; and a separate benefit from the SSS may be available if you lost your job involuntarily. Knowing which is which is what stops an employer from quietly shortchanging you on your last payslip.
The Parts of Your Final Pay
Your final pay bundles together four things. Unpaid salary is any wage you have earned but not yet been paid. Pro-rated 13th month pay is the share of your 13th month you built up during the year — your total basic salary earned that year divided by 12 — so leaving mid-year still entitles you to a portion. Unused leave conversion turns your unused Service Incentive Leave (the five days of paid leave per year rank-and-file workers earn after one year) into cash at your daily rate. Separation pay applies only in the cases below.
You can add all of these up in one place with the Final Pay Calculator, or work out a single component on its own with the 13th Month Pay Calculator.
Separation Pay: When You Get It (and When You Don’t)
Separation pay is only required when employment ends through an authorized cause under Articles 298–299 of the Labor Code. Redundancy and the installation of labor-saving devices pay one month per year of service; retrenchment to prevent losses, closure not due to serious losses, and disease pay one-half month per year. A fraction of at least six months counts as one whole year, and the law guarantees a minimum of one month’s pay. If you resign voluntarily, or you are dismissed for a just cause such as serious misconduct, no separation pay is due unless your contract or collective agreement grants it. Work out your figure with the Separation Pay Calculator.
SSS Unemployment Benefit
If you were involuntarily separated — retrenched, made redundant, or your company closed — you may also claim a cash benefit from the SSS that is completely separate from your employer’s final pay. Under RA 11199, the unemployment benefit pays 50% of your average monthly salary credit for up to two months. To qualify you must have paid at least 36 monthly contributions (12 of them in the 18 months before separation), be no older than 60, and have no settled unemployment benefit in the last three years. Resignation and just-cause dismissals do not qualify. Estimate yours with the SSS Unemployment Benefit Calculator.
Taxes on What You Receive
Not everything you receive is taxed the same way. Your unpaid salary is taxed like ordinary wages. The first ₱90,000 of your 13th month pay and other benefits is tax-exempt under the TRAIN Law, with anything above that subject to withholding. Separation pay received for an authorized-cause termination — redundancy, retrenchment, closure, or disease — is fully exempt from income tax. The cash value of unused leave generally forms part of your taxable income, subject to that same ₱90,000 combined cap with your 13th month. The SSS unemployment benefit is a social-security benefit and is not part of your taxable compensation.
Your Step-by-Step Checklist
- Confirm the reason for separation. It decides whether you get separation pay and whether you can claim SSS unemployment.
- Request your Certificate of Employment. Your employer must issue it within three days of your request, and you need it for any SSS claim.
- Compute your final pay — unpaid salary + pro-rated 13th month + unused leave + separation pay (if due). Use the Final Pay Calculator.
- File your SSS unemployment claim if you were involuntarily separated — do it promptly, as there is a filing window after separation.
- Hold your employer to the 30-day deadline. If your final pay is late or short, raise it with HR in writing, then with the DOLE if unresolved.
Related calculators & guides
📋 Rates verified — Official sources: DOLE Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits · DOLE Labor Advisory 06-20 · Labor Code Arts. 95, 298–299 · PD 851 · RA 11199 (SSS Act of 2018)
⚠️ This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. KnowMyGovt is not affiliated with DOLE, the SSS, nor the Philippine government. For official computation and claims, consult DOLE or your employer’s HR.
