220 American Power Conversion Corporation v.

Lim (SAN PEDRO, APC Japan - all in furtherance of APCC's objective of doing business here
Irvin)
January 11, 2018 | Del Castillo, J. | Illegal Dismissal
PETITIONER: American Power Conversion Corporation; American
Power Conversion Singapore Pte. Ltd.; American Power Conversion
(A.P.C.), B.V.; American Power Conversion (Phils.) B.V.; David W.
Plumer, Jr.; George Kong; and Alicia Hendy
RESPONDENTS: Jayson Yu Lim
SUMMARY: APC Phils. Sales Office hired Lim as its Country General
Manager. APC Phils. Sales Office was not registered with SEC but APC Phils.
Inc. was registered. Since APC Phils Sales Office was unregistered but doing
business in the Philippines, Lim was included in the list of employees of APC
Phils. Inc.. APC Phils. B.V. was established, and it acquired and continued the
business of APC Phils. Inc. Lim was eventually promoted to Regional Manager
of APC North Asean. The Country General Manager eventually became Kong.
Lim discovered irregularities committed by Kong and reported these to Kong’s
immediate superior. Kong indicated his displeasure to Lim. Eventually, Kong
informed Lim of a supposed company restructuring which rendered Lim’s
position as Regional Manager redundant. When Lim inquired DOLE if there
was a notice of termination, DOLE confirmed that there was none filed by the
petitioners. Lim was given separation pay, but he wanted reinstatement.
unfettered by government regulation.
Applying the four-fold test of an employer-employee relationship, all of the
petitioners are for all practical purposes Lim's employers. This bizarre labor
relation was made possible and necessary only by the petitioners' common
objective: to enable APCC to skirt the law. For all legal purposes, APCC is
Lim's employer.
The Court holds that the subject redundancy scheme is a sham, the same being
an integral part of petitioners' illegitimate scheme to defraud the public -
including Lim - and the State. It is null and void for being contrary to law and
public policy.
DOCTRINE: Redundancy cannot be effective if carried out by persons
belonging only to related companies and not by the company that hired the
employee.
NOTES:
1. This is not a stray case. It emphasizes that employees dismissed pursuant to
an illegal redundancy scheme are illegally dismissed.

Issue: WON Lim’s dismissal on the ground of redundancy was valid?

Held: NO. When Lim was hired directly by APC, an American entity not
registered to do business in the Philippines, to sell products and services here,
he was tossed over to another APC corporation (APC Phils Inc and now APC
Phils BV), a Philippine-registered manufacturing corporation. APC sanctioned
the use of APC BV as Lim’s cover where he conducted his sales operations for
APC. Thus, APC conducted business in the Philippines as an unregistered and
unregulated enterprise, earning income without paying taxes. APC BV was
licensed only to do manufacturing and not sales. Meanwhile, Lim took orders
from APC. This manner of conducting business is illegal.

There is this unique situation where Lim was hired directly by APC of the
USA., but was being paid his remuneration by a separate entity-APCP BV of
the Philippines and is supervised and controlled by APCS from Singapore and