Termination of employment

Published in Daily Tribune on March 16, 2023
by: Henio M. Pajarito

Resignation is the act of severing the employer-employee relationship. It is a formal act of relinquishment of an office or a position. An employee may terminate the employer-employee relationship at any time. However, it should be done in accordance with the law.

Under the law, there are two types of resignation: (1) voluntary and (2) involuntary. Voluntary resignation is the termination of the employment contract without just cause. Here, the employee is compelled by personal reasons to disassociate himself from employment. For a voluntary resignation to be valid, there must be intention on the part of the employee to relinquish an office or position and must be accompanied by the act of abandonment.

Also, the notice must be served on the employer at least one month in advance, and the resignation must be accepted in writing by the employer. Hence, a mere text message or a letter signifying an employee’s intention to resign immediately is not the proper way of resignation under the law.

The 30-day notice period must be observed by the employee when he is voluntarily resigning. This is to afford the employer enough time to find a replacement, if necessary. However, in Paredes v. Feed the Children Inc. GR 184397 (2015), the Supreme Court ruled that the 30-day notice period may be waived by the employer who may move the effectivity of the resignation to an earlier date. Failure on the part of the employee to serve notice to the employer for the required period warrants the filing of a civil action for damages and breach of contractual obligation by the aggrieved employer with the proper court.

Involuntary resignation, on the other hand, is the act of terminating the employment contract by an employee with just cause. Article 300 (b) of the Labor Code laid down the just causes in which an employee may put an end to the employment without the need of serving any notice to the employer, that is, (1) serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee; (2) inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his representative; (3) commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against the person of the employee or any of the immediate members of his family; and (4) other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.

Constructive dismissal is an involuntary resignation that is resorted to when continued employment becomes impossible or unbearable.

In Gan v. Gaderma Philippines Inc., GR 177167 (2013), the Supreme Court defined constructive dismissal as quitting or cessation of work because continued employment is rendered impossible, unreasonable, or unlikely; when there is a demotion in rank or a diminution of pay and other benefits. It exists if an act of clear discrimination, insensibility, or disdain by an employer becomes so unbearable on the part of the employee that it could foreclose any choice by him except to forego his continued employment. A constructive dismissal is a form of illegal dismissal, and the employer may face legal sanctions for violating the Labor Code.

Read more: https://tribune.net.ph/2023/03/16/termination-of-employment/

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