29. Nature of no. 27 (Transportation allowance, rice subsidy, econ. Assistance? Funeral? Education?

Representation? Cellphone?) * Backwages, what is included: Transportation allowance;

Representation allowance; Educational assistance; Rice subsidy; Funeral Benefit; Overtime?

Atty G: Transportation allowance, representation allowance,educational assistance, rice subsidy –

included.

Funeral benefit and OT not included. For OT employee has to prove overtime work. See provisions of
CBA.

30. Bank of Lubao v. Manabat

31. Golden Builders v. Talde

32. Doctrine of Strained Relations

Under the circumstances where the employment relationship has become so strained to preclude a
harmonious working relationship, and that all hopes of reconciliation are nil after reinstatement, it
would be more beneficial to accord the employee backwages and separation pay.

Requisites

a. The employee concerned occupies a position where he enjoys the trust and confidence of his
employer; and

b. If reinstated, an atmosphere of antipathy and antagonism may be generated as to adversely affect the
efficiency and productivity of the employee concerned.

33. May LA award separation pay based on EE’s prayer?

No. The law provides for the proper computation of separation pay.

From 2019 Statutory Monetary Benefits

a. An employee is entitled to receive a separation pay equivalent to one half (1/2) month pay for every
year of service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one (1) whole year, if his/her
separation from the service is due to any of the following authorized causes:

i. Retrenchment to prevent losses (i.e., reduction of personnel effected by management to prevent

losses);

ii. Closure or cessation of operation of an establishment not due to serious losses or financial

reverses;

iii. When the employee is suffering from a disease not curable within a period of six (6) months and
his/her continued employment is prejudicial to his/her health or to the health of his/her co employees;

iv. Lack of service assignment of security guard for a continuous period of six (6) months months; and

In no case will an employee get less than one (1) month separation pay if the separation is due to the
above stated causes

b. An employee is entitled to separation pay equivalent to his/her one month pay for every year of
service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one whole year, if his/her separation
from service is due to any of the following:

i. Installation by employer of labor saving devices;

ii. Redundancy, as when the position of the employee has been found to be excessive or unnecessary in

the operation of the enterprise;

iii. Impossible reinstatement of the employee to his or her former position or to a substantially
equivalent position for reasons not attributable to the fault of the employer, as when the reinstatement
ordered by a competent authority cannot be implemented due to closure or cessation of operations of
the establishment/employer, or the position to which he or she is to be reinstated no longer exists and

there is no substantially equivalent position in the establishment to which he or she can be assigned;

and

iv. Lack of service assignment of security guard by reason of age.

34. Art. 295

Regular and casual employment. - The provisions of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding
and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular
where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in
the usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has been fixed for a specific
project or undertaking the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time of the
engagement of the employee or where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and
the employment is for the duration of the season.

An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding paragraph: Provided,
That any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is continuous or
broken, shall be considered a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and
his employment shall continue while such activity exists.

35. Regular v. Casual EEs

Regular employees are those who have been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary
or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer. On the other hand, Casual employees are
those who, as a general rule, perform activities not usually necessary or desirable in the employer’s
usual business or trade and are neither regular, project, nor seasonal employees.

36. Project Employee –

Those whose employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking, the completion or
termination of which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee.

37. Seasonal ee

Those who work or perform services which are seasonal in nature, and the employment is for the
duration of the season.

38. Fixed Term ee

Those whose employment contract specifies that the same will last only for a definite period.

39. Requirements of fixed term (Brent school v. Zamora)

Fixed period of employment was agreed upon knowingly and voluntarily by the parties, without any
force, duress or improper pressure being brought to bear upon the employee and absent any other
circumstances vitiating his consent, or where it satisfactorily appears that the employer and employee
dealt with each other on more or less equal terms with no moral dominance whatever being exercised
by the former over the latter.

40. Gardener in Hotel? Regular or casual?

It depends. When a casual employee has rendered at least 1 year of service, whether such service is
continuous or broken, with respect to the activity in which he is employed, he shall be considered a
regular employee.

41. Benefits (Regular vs. Casual)

Those whose employment does not exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started working,
unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period.

42. Casual ee required to be registered to SSS?

Section 8 of RA 8282 provides:

"(j) Employment - Any service performed by an employee for his employer except:

"(1) Employment purely casual and not for the purpose of occupation or business of the employer;

Hence, purely casual employees are not subject to the compulsary coverage of SSS.

*Also see SSS website where it expressly provides that casual employees are EXEMPT from
compulsary coverage (https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/appmanager/pages.jsp?page=faqsmembership)
43. William Uy v. Trinidad

44. DMCI v. Gobres

45. DMC v. Jamin

46. Regular seasonal employee

Regular seasonal employees are those called to work from time to time. The nature of their relationship
with the employer is such that during the off-season, they are temporarily laid off; but reemployed
during the summer season or when their services may be needed. They are in regular employment
because of the nature of their job,and not because of the length of time they have worked.” (Gapayao v.
Fulo, et al., G.R. No. 193493, 13 June 2013)

Seasonal employees considered as regular:

a. When there is reasonable connection between the particular activity performed by the employee in
relation to the usual trade or business of the employer;

b. when seasonal workers are repeatedly engaged to perform the same tasks for more than 1 season
(Zamudio v. NLRC, 1990)

47. Lynvil v. Ariola

48. Sps. Lim v. Legazpi Hope Christian School

49. Mercado v. AMA

50. Leyte Geothermal v. PNCC

51. xxx

52 Convoy Marketing vs. Albio

53. Innodata v. Inting

54. Probationary ee

Those whose employment does not exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started
working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period.

55. xxx

56. Computation of 6 months period –

The computation of the 6-month probationary period is reckoned from the date of appointment up to
the same calendar date of the 6th month following (Alcira v. NLRC, 2004)

57. Tamson enterprises v. CA

58. PDI vs Magtibay

59. Universidad de Sta. Isabel . Sambajon

60. Extend of management prerogatives

An employer is free to regulate, according to his own discretion and judgment, all aspects of
employment, including hiring, work assignments, working methods, the time, place and manner of work,
work supervision, transfer of employees, lay-off of workers, and discipline, dismissal, and recall of
employees.

61. Is it absolute?

No. the limitations are:

1. Law
2. Employment contract
3. Collective bargaining agreements
4. Employer policy or practice
5. General principles of fair-play and justice (Mendoza v. Rural Bank of Lucban, 2004)

62. Transfer v. Promotion v. Demotion

Transfer involves lateral movement from one position to another of equivalent level, rank or salary.
Whereas, Promotion, denotes a scalar ascent of an officer or an employee to another position, higher
either in rank or salary. And, demotion, on the contrary is a situation where an employee is relegated to
a subordinate or less important position constituting a reduction to a lower grade or rank with
corresponding decrease in duties and responsibilities, usually accompanying decrease in salary.

63. Grounds for refusal of transfer

1. Refusal to transfer to overseas assignment.

2. Refusal to transfer consequent to promotion. (see CHAN, and memaide 2018, pg. 99)

64. Requisites of valid transfer

Must not amount to constructive dismissal.

The following three (3) conditions must concur in order for the transfer to be considered as constructive
dismissal:

a. When the transfer is unreasonable, inconvenient or prejudicial to the employee;

b. When the transfer involves a demotion in rank or diminution of salaries, benefits and other privileges;
and
c. When the employer performs a clear act of discrimination, insensibility, or disdain towards the
employee, which forecloses any choice by the latter except to forego his continued employment