Published — June 14, 2022
The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of your own lawyer to address your legal concerns, if any.
Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
After reading “What are the remedies of an employee whose service was terminated without just, valid, or authorized cause?”, read also “The Different Grounds for Termination of Employment”
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Reinstatement is a restoration to a state from which one has been removed or separated.
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Separation pay is computed from the commencement of employment up to the time of termination.
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Moral damages are recoverable where the dismissal of the employee was attended by bad faith.
An employee who is dismissed without just cause is entitled to any or all of the following:
- reinstatement without loss of seniority rights;
- in lieu of reinstatement, an employee may be given separation pay of one month pay for every year of service;
- full backwages, inclusive of allowances and other benefits or their monetary equivalent from the time compensation was withheld up to the time of reinstatement;
- damages if the dismissal was done in bad faith.
Jurisprudence says:
Article 294 of the Labor Code provides that an employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement. (Dumapis vs. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company, G.R. No. 204060, September 15, 2020)
Reinstatement is a restoration to a state from which one has been removed or separated.
Jurisprudence says:
It restores the employee who was unjustly dismissed to the position from which he was removed, that is, to his status quo ante dismissal. (Advan Motor, Inc. vs. Veneracion, G.R. No. 190944, December 13, 2017)
What is separation pay and how is it computed? Jurisprudence says:
Separation pay, equivalent to one month’s salary for every year of service, is awarded as an alternative to reinstatement when the latter is no longer an option. Separation pay is computed from the commencement of employment up to the time of termination, including the imputed service for which the employee is entitled to backwages, with the salary rate prevailing at the end of the period of putative service being the basis for computation. (Dumapis vs. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company, G.R. No. 204060, September 15, 2020)
Full backwages refer to all compensations, including allowances and other benefits with monetary equivalent that should have been earned by the employee but was not collected by him or her because of unjust dismissal. It includes all the amounts he or she could have earned starting from the date of dismissal up to the time of reinstatement.
Jurisprudence says:
The payment of backwages is generally granted on the ground of equity. It is a form of relief that restores the income that was lost by reason of the unlawful dismissal; the grant thereof is intended to restore the earnings that would have accrued to the dismissed employee during the period of dismissal until it is determined that the termination of employment is for a just cause. It is not private compensation or damages but is awarded in furtherance and effectuation of the public objective of the Labor Code. Nor is it a redress of a private right but rather in the nature of a command to the employer to make public reparation for dismissing an employee either due to the former’s unlawful act or bad faith. (Tomas Claudio Memorial College, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 152568, February 16, 2004)
Lastly, when an employee is dismissed without just cause, he shall be entitled to moral damages if the dismissal was done in bad faith.
Hence, jurisprudence says:
Moral damages are recoverable where the dismissal of the employee was attended by bad faith or fraud or constituted an act oppressive to labor, or was done in a manner contrary to morals, good customs or public policy. (San Miguel Corporation v. Eduardo L. Teodosio, G.R. No. 163033, October 2, 2009)
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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