Most Philippine SMEs have at least three compliance gaps they don't know about. We find them, fix them, and make sure they can't be used against you.
Most owners don't lose a DOLE case because they're bad employers. They lose it because the right document didn't exist on the right day.
Philippine law puts the entire burden of proof on you - not the employee. Wrong documentation means illegal dismissal regardless of what actually happened. Appeal? 10 days to post ₱500,000 to ₱2,000,000 in cash.
OSH violations under RA 11058 run ₱20,000-₱100,000 per day until corrected. 1 in 5 SMEs fails general labor standards on first inspection. Almost half fail on safety.
Wrong process: ₱30,000-₱50,000 in nominal damages. Wrong reason, case goes to appeal: backwages alone reach ₱1,260,000. Before legal fees, separation pay, and court interest.
Under RA 8188, if a DOLE If DOLE finds you underpaid by ₱150,000, you owe ₱300,000. Plus criminal fines up to ₱100,000.
People Helm handles all of this. SME compliance retainers typically run ₱30,000-₱90,000 a month. We start at ₱15,000.
Owner tells a problem employee: resign, or we let you go. Employee signs. Three weeks later - a DOLE complaint. Constructive dismissal. Coerced resignation. DOLE shows up 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.
That's why People Helm exists.
Eight years in corporate HR: BPOs, hospitals, restaurants, an oil company, tech firms.
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 laws. Same inspectors. Completely different protection.
The gap isn't knowledge. It's access.
So I built People Helm. After 8 years, I have a network of labor lawyers, compliance specialists, and HR practitioners I trust. When something escalates, you're not starting from zero. You're making one call.
One client: a 63-person restaurant. Zero separation complaints since we started.
A 63-person restaurant. Zero separation complaints since we started working together. Here’s what their team says - and others like them.
"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."
Not every business is the right fit. Here's how to know.
Tell us about your team, how you handle HR now, and what's been keeping you up at night. 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 what your business actually needs. Written for your situation - not copied from a template.
When something comes up - a complaint, a termination, an inspector at the door - you call us. We tell you exactly what to do before you make a move.
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 tell you what's missing, what to fix first, and what it costs. 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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