Delivery riders and Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) drivers registered as self-employed members of the Social Security System (SSS) can claim benefits under the Employees’ Compensation (EC) Program, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) confirmed this week.
The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC), which administers the program, said coverage applies to job-related sickness, accidental injury, and disability incurred while on duty. DOLE Secretary Francis Tolentino said the EC Program remains a cornerstone of worker welfare under the SSS system.
For a large share of the Philippines’ gig economy – riders for GrabFood, Foodpanda, and similar platforms, along with TNVS drivers under GrabCar and Angkas – the announcement clarifies that self-employed status does not exclude them from work-related compensation. Since September 2020, EC coverage has extended to all self-employed SSS members, not only company-employed workers, putting gig and platform workers on the same footing as salaried employees for this specific benefit.
To qualify, a worker must have paid at least one month of SSS contributions before the illness, injury, or disability occurred. Claims can be filed with the SSS by the worker or a family member and must be submitted within three years of the incident.
The program will not pay out compensation if the injury, sickness, disability, or death results from intoxication, an attempt to injure or kill oneself or another person, or notorious negligence.
The ECC is urging self-employed platform workers – gig workers, app-based contractors, delivery riders, and TNVS drivers registered with SSS – to check their eligibility and file claims where applicable. Documentary requirements are posted on the SSS and the ECC websites.
DOLE has not indicated any planned changes to contribution requirements or expansions of the coverage beyond the existing self-employed SSS framework.
