ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | Enero 13, 2024
Dear Chief Acosta,
Noong nakaraang buwan ay nag-resign ako sa pinapasukan kong kumpanya rito sa Metro Manila bilang Administrative Aide. Sa loob ng sampung taon na pagtatrabaho sa kanila, wala akong sahod sa tuwing hindi ako papasok, kung kaya, nilimitahan ko talaga ang pag-absent. Pero may nakapagsabi sa akin na may karapatan diumano ako sa leave at kung hindi nagamit, maaari diumano akong mag-demand ng bayad para rito. Kung ganoon, maaari ko bang habulin ang kabuuang bayad para sa sampung taon ko sa kumpanya? - Melai
Dear Melai,
Para sa iyong kaalaman, nakasaad sa Labor Code of the Philippines na ang bawat empleyado na nakapaglingkod ng hindi bababa sa isang taon ay may karapatan sa taunang service incentive leave (SIL) na limang araw.
“ART. 95. Right to service incentive leave. - (a) Every employee who has rendered at least one year of service shall be entitled to a yearly service incentive leave of five days with pay.
(b) This provision shall not apply to those who are already enjoying the benefit herein provided, those enjoying vacation leave with pay of at least five days and those employed in establishments regularly employing less than ten employees or in establishments exempted from granting this benefit by the Secretary of Labor and Employment after considering the viability or financial condition of such establishment.
(c) The grant of benefit in excess of that provided herein shall not be made a subject of arbitration or any court or administrative action.”
Gayunpaman, ang nasabing probisyon ay hindi mag-a-apply sa mga nagtatrabaho sa mga establisimyento na regular na nag-eempleyo ng mas mababa sa 10 empleyado.
Kaugnay nito, sa kasong Lourdes C. Rodriguez vs. Park N Ride Inc./Vicest (Phils) Inc./Grand Leisure Corp./Sps. Vicente & Estelita B. Javier, G.R. No. 222980, 20 March 2017, sa panulat ni Honorable Senior Associate Justice Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen, pinasyahan ng ating Korte Suprema ang mga sumusunod:
“However, Auto Bus Transport System, Inc. v. Bautista clarified the correct reckoning of the prescriptive period for service incentive leave pay:
It is essential at this point, however, to recognize that the service incentive leave is a curious animal in relation to other benefits granted by the law to every employee. In the case of service incentive leave, the employee may choose to either use his leave credits or commute it to its monetary equivalent if not exhausted at the end of the year.
Furthermore, if the employee entitled to service incentive leave does not use or commute the same, he is entitled upon his resignation or separation from work to the commutation of his accrued service incentive leave. xxx
Correspondingly, it can be conscientiously deduced that the cause of action of an entitled employee to claim his service incentive leave pay accrues from the moment the employer refuses to remunerate its monetary equivalent if the employee did not make use of said leave credits but instead chose to avail of its commutation. Accordingly, if the employee wishes to accumulate his leave credits and opts for its commutation upon his resignation or separation from employment, his cause of action to claim the whole amount of his accumulated service incentive leave shall arise when the employer fails to pay such amount at the time of his resignation or separation from employment.
Applying Article 291 of the Labor Code in light of this peculiarity of the service incentive leave, we can conclude that the three (3)-year prescriptive period commences, not at the end of the year when the employee becomes entitled to the commutation of his service incentive leave, but from the time when the employer refuses to pay its monetary equivalent after demand of commutation or upon termination of the employee's services, as the case may be.
x x x x x x x x x
Thus, the prescriptive period with respect to petitioner’s claim for her entire service incentive leave pay commenced only from the time of her resignation or separation from employment. Since petitioner had filed her complaint on October 7, 2009, or a few days after her resignation in September 2009, her claim for service incentive leave pay has not prescribed. Accordingly, petitioner must be awarded service incentive leave pay for her entire 25 years of service — from 1984 to 2009 — and not only three (3) years’ worth (2006 to 2009) as determined by the Court of Appeals.”
Alinsunod dito, maaaring piliin ng empleyado na gamitin ang kanyang leave credits o i-commute ito sa katumbas nitong bayad kung hindi maubos sa pagtatapos ng taon.
Dagdag pa rito, kung ang empleyado na may karapatan sa SIL ay hindi nagamit ito, siya ay may karapatan, sa oras na siya ay magbitiw sa trabaho, sa commutation o sa kaukulang bayad para sa naipong SIL. Sa katunayan, iginawad ng Korte Suprema sa empleyado sa nasabing kaso ang SIL pay para sa buong 25 taon niyang paglilingkod.
Kung gayon, sa iyong sitwasyon, kung ang kumpanya, kung saan ka nagtatrabaho ay may empleyado na hindi bababa sa 10, maaari mong i-demand o habulin sa kumpanya ang bayad para sa mga hindi mo nagamit na SIL credits na naipon sa loob ng 10 taong pagtatrabaho sa kumpanya.
Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay.
Maraming salamat sa iyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.
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