An employee may only be terminated for just causes or for authorized causes under the Labor Code.
The following are considered as just causes:
1. Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work;
2. Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
3. Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative;
4. Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representative; and
5. Other Analogous cases.
More importantly, the law requires the observance of the following steps in order for the employer not to be held liable for illegal dismissal:
a) A written notice served on the employee specifying the grounds for termination, and giving said employee reasonable opportunity or five (5) days within which to explain his side;
b) A hearing or conference during which the employee concerned, with the assistance of counsel if he so desires is given opportunity to respond to the charge, present his evidence, or rebut the evidence presented against him; and
c) A written notice of termination served on the employee, indicating that upon due consideration of all the circumstances, grounds have been established to justify his termination.
In case of termination, the foregoing notices shall be served on the employee’s last known address.
It must be borne in mind that failure to observe the process and requirements enunciated above will classify the termination as illegal or unjust dismissal. An employee unjustly dismissed 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.
This is how to terminate an employee based on just causes in the Philippines.
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