Balmori Software Inc.

[ Article ]

A. Philhealth Circular No. 2018-0001

Click here to download a PDF copy.

In May 2018, our attention was called to yet another change in Philhealth rules - Circular No. 2018-0001. Payroll managers and clerks will recall that Philhealth had just issued another set of major changes very recently.

The change is a major one, from the point of view of the salaried worker's pocketbook: it is designed quite frankly to extract more contribution pesos from Philhealth members.

Circular 2018-0001 accomplishes this very simply: it decrees that the basis for contributions shall be the declared "official" monthly salary of the salaried worker, or the equivalent monthly salary of the daily paid worker, without adjusting for any undertime, absences, or leaves without pay.

Before Circular 2018-0001, contributions were based on the actual cash compensation the worker received, NET of undertime, absences, or leaves without pay.

The net result, in the aggregate, is to increase Philhealth's contribution take from workers in the formal economy.

Let's take a couple of not-so-unrealistic examples to get a feel for the real-world impact of the new PHIC ruling:

• A daily-wage worker works his usual shift on Monday, then is forced to stay home for the rest of the quincena with the flu. Or rushes to his home province to tend to a dying parent. Or simply decides to stay home to woo an incredible look-alike of Anne Curtis who has unbelievably moved into his neighborhood. Under Circular 2018-0001, Philhealth will still assume that he worked and earned for the entire quincena, and require him and his employer to contribute accordingly.


• A salaried worker falls sick, and exceeds his allotment of paid sick leaves, because he is so sick, such that he takes an extra week or two of sick leave, which are now UNpaid sick leaves. Philhealth will still assume that he worked and earned during his unpaid excess sick days, and require him and his employer to contribute accordingly.

Click here to download a PDF copy.

(Note: Philhealth Circular 2018-0001 relies for some of its implementing mechanics on a much older circular: Circular 32 s-2003, so you should read that too.)

With the newly available Version 7.10.1c., SURE! PayMaster is now fully aligned with this new requirement. SURE! PayMaster users can upgrade to this latest version for a nominal sum. Call us.

B. Streamlining the SURE! PayMaster experience in interfacing with SSS

As long as we - and everyone else in the Philippine formal economy - are being obliged to change our payroll software algorithms, Balmori Software is taking this opportunity to incorporate a fresh refinement to Sure! PayMaster. It's an upgrade that saves users a lot of tedium and time - this time in dealing with the SSS's computers.

There are two major areas of improvement in the SSS interface experience (we refer here to the SSS's online system, known as the Account Management System - Contribution Collection List):

1. SURE! PayMaster users can now upload and automatically enroll all employees (SSS Number, Salary, Status, Date hired) to the contribution collection list. Prior to this refinement, users needed to manually add/enroll each employee to the list.

2. SURE! PayMaster users can now automatically update the contribution collection list each month

Previously, SURE! PayMaster users were obliged to manually check the contribution remittance report each month for any changes.

1. They would need to manually retrieve and edit each record if
- The employee's compensation changed compared to the previous month
- Employee status changed (resigned, terminated, inactive or no earnings)

2. Manually add new employees to the contribution list

SURE! PayMaster users can obtain all the above refinements (and of course the Philhealth-mandated changes) by upgrading to SURE! PayMaster Ver. 7.10.1c.

CAVEATS. There is, to be fair and accurate, a big fat fly in the ointment. Be warned: the "SSS Account Management System - Contribution Collection List" online facility is not very user-friendly. Payroll officers whose job is to feed this beast will have to take some time to learn it, and to be careful going about it. And the new ability to port your SURE! PayMaster data into it automatically - requires that you execute some confirmation procedures. The problem is that these confirmations are embedded deep in this un-intuitive system. You have been warned.

Aside from this, your life should become a lot easier under SURE! PayMaster Ver. 7.10.1c.

Call Balmori Software now to upgrade your SURE! PayMaster.