ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | Nov. 26, 2024
Dear Chief Acosta,
Ako ay isang receptionist sa isang hotel bilang, ayon sa aking amo, isang probationary employee. Nang tanggapin ko ang trabaho, kami ng aking amo ay nagpirmahan sa isang kapirasong papel kung saan nakasaad na sa pagganap ko ng aking tungkulin ay kailangan kong matugunan ang objectives ng kumpanya. Kung hindi ay maaari akong mapatawan ng penalty na suspensyon o kaya ay pagkatanggal sa trabaho. Bukod dito ay wala na kaming pinirmahang kontrata. Pagkalipas ng apat na buwan ay sinabihan ako ng aking amo na hindi ko natugunan ang standards o pamantayan ng kumpanya kaya ako ay binigyan ng notice na ako ay natanggal na sa trabaho. Ako ay nagulat at nanlumo sa balitang ito kaya naisip kong magsampa ng kasong illegal dismissal. Maaari ko bang gawin ito? — Chelsea
Dear Chelsea,
Ang sagot sa iyong katanungan ay matatagpuan sa kasong REDENTOR Y. AGUSTIN vs. ALPHALAND CORPORATION, ET AL., G.R. No. 218282, September 09, 2020, sa panulat ni Kagalang-galang na Kasamang Mahistrado Rosmari D. Carandang. Sinabi ng Korte Suprema sa kasong ito na:
“(T)his Court holds that Agustin was a regular employee of Alphaland.
First, The LA, NLRC, and later on the CA uniformly found that Agustin was hired from the management's standpoint as a probationary employee but was not informed of the reasonable standards by which his probationary employment was to be assessed. The standards set are too general and failed to specify with clarity what is expected of Agustin as an Executive Chef. Consequently, the lower courts found that Agustin's dismissal was illegal. This finding warrants the application of the following self-explanatory provisions:
Article 296 of the Labor Code
Article 296. 281 Probationary Employment. – Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started working, xxx. 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.
Section 6 (d) of the Implementing Rules of Book VI, Rule I of the Labor Code provides,
Section 6. Probationary Employment. – Probationary employment shall be governed by the following rules: x x x
(d) In all cases of probationary employment, the employer shall make known to the employee the standards under which he will qualify as a regular employee at the time of his engagement. Where no standards are made known to the employee at that time, he shall be deemed a regular employee.
Dismissal of regular employees by the employer requires the observance of the two-fold due process, namely: (1) substantive due process; and (2) procedural due process. Xxx.
Substantive due process means that the dismissal must be for any of the: (1) just causes provided under Article 297 of the Labor Code or the company rules and regulations promulgated by the employer; or (2) authorized causes under Article 298 and 299 thereof. None of these causes exist in the case at bar.”
Base sa nasabing kaso at batas, maituturing kayong regular employee ng kumpanya dahil hindi nasabi o naipaliwanag sa inyo ng tiyak, nang kayo ay nagkapirmahan sa isang kapirasong papel hinggil sa pagganap ninyo ng inyong tungkulin, ang mga pamantayan o objectives ng kumpanya na kailangan ninyong gawin o sundin bilang receptionist upang maging regular employee. Kaya nang pirmahan ninyo ang nasabing papel, kayo ay agad na maituturing na regular employee at hindi probationary gaya ng sinabi sa inyo ng inyong amo. Makikita rin na bigong sundin ng inyong amo ang procedural at substantive due processes sa inyong pagkatanggal sa trabaho dahil hindi man lang niya kayo binigyan ng pagkakataon na malaman ang tiyak na dahilan ng inyong pagkatanggal at sagutin kung mayroon kayong paglabag sa pamantayan o alituntunin ng kumpanya. Bukod pa rito, hindi malinaw kung may just o legal na basehan para kayo ay tanggalin sa trabaho. Kaugnay nito ay maaari ninyong kasuhan ng illegal dismissal ang inyong amo.
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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