are nurses under volunteer training programs considered probationary employees?

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"Under the Labor Code of the Philippines:

Book 3:

"Employee" includes any individual employed by an employer.

"Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work.

Book 6:

Art. 281. Probationary employment. Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period. The services of an employee who has been engaged on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made known by the employer to the employee at the time of his engagement. An employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered a regular employee."

http://www.dole.gov.ph/labor_codes.php?id=42

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Does this mean that if a person is put under a work force even as a volunteer, after 6 months of being under a program, the employer has to show proof that this person was evaluated, showing evidence that this person did not pass the requirements needed to be a regular employee. Otherwise, the person must be made a REGULAR employee, regardless of overstaffing?

Specializes in Ophthalmology.

Sad to say, but for volunteer nurses, hospitals don't provide them with a contract stating the "employee-employer" relationship. Volunteers are not considered employees of the hospital since the legal definition of "employee" is "a person who is hired for a wage, salary, fee or payment to perform work for an employer".

ansap already released a statement on these volunteering or paying for training.

nursing law states that hospitals are supposed to give free 3-month traning and automatically hire the nurse after that.

but really doesn't happen and i don't really see a possible solution given the high volume of nurses in the philippines.

i would like to voice out that PH nurses should STOP doing volunteer/trainee programs NOW. it is an obvious EXPLOITATION. the only way that we could stop this JOKE from happening is for us to simply

STOP

why do we let ourselves to be fooled?

because WE LET THEM...

I am a nurse and it's not FAIR.

shame on these HOSPITALS. heartless.

its been 4 years since i graduated and have been unemployed since. people have been convincing me to give the volunteer programs a try. ive stubbornly refused believing that im helping my fellow unemployed nurses get a job by not joining such programs.

think of it this way, when a nurse resigns to leave for another job, instead of having a vacant position for a new nurse, the position will be filled by 10 or more volunteer nurses to avoid giving salary and benefits which is due for that vacant position.

so if we unemployed nurses stop accepting volunteer positions then maybe hospitals will soon realize how undere staffed they are and maybe start hiring people.

its time we stand up for ourselves and not let others exploit us.

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