ADMINISTRATIVE CIRCULAR NO. 57-2004
PRESCRIBING
THE GUIDELINES FOR THE GRANT OF HAZARD ALLOWANCE TO THE PERSONNEL OF
THE SC MEDICAL AND DENTAL SERVICES
(SCMDS).
I.
RATIONALE
By the very nature of their duties and
responsibilities, the
personnel of the Supreme Court Medical and Dental Services (SCMDS) are
in
frequent, direct and unavoidable contact with patients who seek
treatment due
to various ailments, which include communicable, contagious, or
infectious
diseases.
In pursuit of their duties, SCMDS personnel
perform hospital
visitations, ambulance conductions, and out-of-town medical services,
thereby
making them constantly exposed and vulnerable to virulent agents which
are
potentially hazardous to their physiological well-being.
In cognizance of their valuable role as public
health workers and
in consonance with the mandate of Republic Act No. 7305, otherwise
known as the Magna
Carta for Public Health Workers,
hazard
allowance is hereby
granted to the personnel of the SCMDS.
The following guidelines are prescribed to govern
the payment of
hazard allowance among SCMDS personnel in accordance with Section 21 of
R.A.
7305 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.
II.
ELIGIBILITY
SCMDS employees, whether permanent, temporary,
casual, or
co-terminus, including those assigned or detailed at the SC Clinic who
render
actual medical, dental and/or other health-related services, as well as
those
who provide administrative and technical support are entitled to
receive hazard
allowance.
For the purpose of these guidelines, SCMDS
personnel are
classified as follows:
1. Those who, by the nature of their
functions, are subject to
high risk exposure being directly and frequently exposed to
communicable,
contagious, infectious and biological hazards. These are the
physicians,
dentists, nurses, medical technologists, nursing aides, dental aides
and
physical therapists who render direct, actual, and frequent medical
services in
the form of consultations, physical examinations, treatment and
ancillary care;
and
2. Those who are subject to low risk
exposure in view of their
indirect and/or infrequent exposure to patients with communicable and
infectious ailments in the Supreme Court clinics. These personnel
include
psychologists, pharmacists, optometrists, who render health-related
services as
well as clerks, data encoders, utility workers, ambulance drivers and
all those
who, regardless of their official job titles, provide administrative
and
technical support to the SCMDS.
III.
RATES OF PAYMENT
In consonance with Section 7.1.5 of the
Implementing Rules and
Regulations of R.A. 7305, SCMDS personnel shall be granted hazard
allowance as
follows:
1. SCMDS personnel exposed to high-risk
hazard with Salary Grades
19 and below shall receive hazard allowance equivalent to twenty-seven
percent
(27%) of their monthly basic salary. Those with Salary Grades 20 and
above
shall receive hazard allowance equivalent to seven percent (7%) of
their basic
salary.
2. SCMDS personnel exposed to low risk
hazard with Salary Grades
19 and below shall receive hazard allowance equivalent to twenty five
percent
(25%) of their monthly basic salary. Those with Salary Grades 20 and
above
shall receive hazard allowance equivalent to five percent (5%) of their
basic
salary.
The allowance shall be
computed monthly but shall be given on a quarterly basis.
IV.
CRITERIA AND LIMITATIONS
To be entitled to hazard allowance, an employee
must have
rendered actual service for at least 50% of the total working hours
within a
calendar month.
Employees who fall under the following
circumstances shall not be
entitled to hazard allowance:
1. Those on vacation, sick,
maternity/paternity or study leave
with or without pay for more than half the number of the total working
hours in
a calendar month;
2. Those on full-time attendance in training
grant, scholarship
grant, seminar, or any other similar activity for more than half the
total
number of working hours in a calendar month, except when the place of
activity
is certified by the Department of Health to be risky or hazardous area
as
specified under Section 7.1.2 and Section 7.1.3 of the Implementing
Rules and
Regulations of R.A. 7305.
In all cases of payment, the Leave Division of
the Office of
Administrative Services, shall certify that an employee has rendered
actual
service in the SCMDS for at least 50% of the total working hours in a
calendar
month.
An employee, who from time to time, renders
actual service upon
the request of the Head of the SCMDS, shall be entitled to hazard
allowance
provided that a certification is issued by the latter that said
employee
rendered actual service in the SCMDS for at least 50% of the total
working
hours in a calendar month.
V.
FUNDING
Initial allocations for the grant of hazard
allowance shall be
taken from the savings of the Supreme Court. Thereafter, funds shall be
regularly set-aside for the purpose.
VI.
EFFECTIVITY
This Administrative Circular shall take effect on
15 November 2004.
Issued this 11th day of November 2004.
HILARIO
G. DAVIDE,
JR.
Chief
Justice
See:
Annex
"A"
Annex
"B"
Annex
"C"
Annex
"D"
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