Most Philippine businesses with 20 or more staff have at least three labor compliance gaps they don't know about. We find them, fix them, and make sure they can't be used against you.
Most owners find out what's missing when it's too late to fix it quietly. Here's what that costs.
Philippine law puts the entire burden of proof on you. If your documentation is wrong or out of order, the dismissal is illegal regardless of what actually happened. Lose at the arbiter level and want to appeal? 10 days to post a cash bond equal to the full judgment — often ₱500,000 to ₱2,000,000 in cash.
OSH violations under RA 11058 aren't a one-time fine — they're ₱20,000 to ₱100,000 per day until corrected. Based on DOLE enforcement data, nearly 1 in 5 SMEs fails general labor standards on first inspection. Almost half fall short on safety.
If the cause was valid but the process was wrong (missing notice, wrong wording, skipped hearing), you still owe ₱30,000 to ₱50,000 in nominal damages. If the cause itself doesn't hold up and the case goes to appeal, backwages for an employee earning ₱20,000 a month can reach ₱1,260,000 — before legal fees, separation pay, and the 6% interest the court adds on top.
Under RA 8188, if a DOLE audit finds you've underpaid staff by ₱150,000, you don't owe ₱150,000. You owe ₱300,000. Plus criminal fines of up to ₱100,000 on top of that.
People Helm takes care of all of this. HR and legal compliance retainers for SMEs under 100 staff typically cost ₱30,000 to ₱90,000 a month. People Helm starts at ₱15,000 a month.
Owner tells a problem employee: resign, or we let you go. The employee signs. Three weeks later a DOLE complaint lands — constructive dismissal, coerced resignation. DOLE shows up at the office because the former employee told them exactly what to look for. Owner calls me. First thing I have to say: the documents that would have prevented this don't exist.
The window was the day before that ultimatum.
Here's why People Helm exists.
Eight years in corporate HR: BPOs, hospitals, restaurants, an oil company, tech firms. I spent most of that time building systems that protected businesses from exactly the problems small owners deal with alone.
The difference is that large companies have entire teams doing this. A business with 300 people has an HR department, a labor lawyer on retainer, and a compliance calendar. A business with 30 people has a group chat and a prayer.
Same labor laws. Same DOLE inspectors. Completely different level of protection.
That shouldn't be how it works.
So I built People Helm. And I don't do it alone. After 8 years I have a network of labor lawyers, compliance specialists, and HR practitioners I trust. When something escalates beyond HR advice, you're not starting from zero. You're making one call.
Start with the Monthly Plan to get covered. Add a one-time project when you need something specific built.
"We had a staff member file a complaint two weeks after resigning. Fatima told us exactly what to prepare and what to say. The case was settled at SEnA in 30 days. Without her I would have just panicked and hired a lawyer for something that didn't need to go that far."
"DOLE visited us in October. I was honestly terrified. But we had gone through the HR audit two months before and fixed the gaps Fatima found. The inspector checked our files, asked a few questions, and left in an hour. Nothing to follow up on."
"I used to dread the last day of any employee. Now we have a process. Exit papers, final pay computation, clearance — done in a week every time. We haven't had a single separation turn into a complaint since we started working with People Helm."
Short call first. Work starts after you say yes.
You tell us about your team, how you currently handle HR, and what's been keeping you up at night. We ask questions. By the end of the call you know exactly what you need, in which order, and what it costs. Nothing moves forward unless you say so.
We write your contracts, close your compliance gaps, and build the HR systems your business actually needs. Everything is written for your specific situation. Not copied from a template. Not built for someone else's business.
Staff problems don't stop after the setup. When something comes up (a complaint, a termination, an inspector at the door), you call us. We tell you exactly what to do and what not to do before you make a move.
Common questions before people apply for a call.
People Helm works specifically for businesses with 10 to 100 people. That's the range where you've outgrown informal HR but a full-time hire doesn't make financial sense yet. A full-time HR staff member costs ₱25,000 to ₱70,000 a month before benefits. People Helm starts at ₱15,000 a month.
DOLE is the Department of Labor and Employment. They can walk into your office any time work is being done — no appointment, no warning. They check your contracts, payroll records, employee files, and safety setup. If something is missing or wrong, violations under the new OSH law carry fines of ₱20,000 to ₱100,000 per day until fixed. Most businesses we've audited had at least three gaps they didn't know about.
An HR staff member costs ₱25,000 to ₱70,000 a month in salary alone, before 13th month, government contributions, and leaves. You also can't easily scale them down when business slows. With People Helm you get more experience at a fraction of the cost, no employment obligations, and a network of labor lawyers and compliance specialists behind every answer we give you.
Yes — and those are the businesses we know best. Clinics, restaurants, salons, and BPOs have specific HR problems that a generic consultant won't understand: shift work premiums, high turnover, healthcare-specific DOLE requirements, and staff structures that don't fit a standard office setup. You won't spend the first three calls explaining your context.
Most clients get their first deliverable within one week of the call. Full document sets — contracts, handbook, policies — typically take 2 to 3 weeks. If something is urgent, like an active complaint or an inspection notice, we handle that first before anything else.
You tell us about your team and current setup. We ask questions about what's been bothering you. Then we tell you what we think you need, in which order, and what it costs. You get a quote on the call. If you want to move forward, we set a start date. If not, no problem. You still leave knowing exactly where you stand.
Book a free 30-minute call. We'll tell you what's missing, what to fix first, and what it costs. You get a quote before anything starts.
If it's not worth what you paid, tell us why. If the reason is fair, you get a full refund.
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