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1. DEPARTMENT ORDER 215-2020
On October 23, 2020, The Department of Labor and Employment
signed the Department Order 215 series of 2020, which amended Section
12 of Rule 1 of the Implementing Book VI on Employment Relationship,
which previously read as the following:
SECTION 12. Suspension of relationship. — The
employer-employee relationship shall be deemed suspended in case
of suspension of operation of the business or undertaking of the
employer for a period not exceeding six (6) months, unless the
suspension is for the purpose of defeating the rights of the
employees under the Code, and in case of mandatory fulfillment by
the employee of a military or civic duty. The payment of wages of the
employee as well as the grant of other benefits and privileges while
he is on a military or civic duty shall be subject to special laws and
decrees and to the applicable individual or collective bargaining
agreement and voluntary employer practice or policy.
Said Department Order took effect 15 days after its publication
and it primarily provides for the extension of suspension of work
relationship for another six (6) months.
Accordingly, the following requirements must be observed in order
to avail or apply the provisions on extension of suspended employment in
the said Order:
A. There must be declaration of war, pandemic or other similar
national emergencies;
B. The employer and employees or union must meet in good
faith to tackle the the extension of suspension of
employment up to six (6) months during the aforementioned
events;
C. The employer is mandated to report to the DOLE at least ten
(10) days prior to the effectivity of the said Order and subject
to inspection; and
- This Department Order was posted on the official
website of the DOLE on August 26, 2020.
Furthermore, the Department Order states that employees shall
not lose their employment if they find other work during the suspension,
unless there is written, unequivocal and voluntary resignation. If
retrenchment becomes necessary before or after the expiration of the
period extended suspension, said employees are still entitled to
separation pay and they shall be prioritized should the employment
resume.
The DOLE further stressed in that Department Order that the
extension of suspension of employment shall not affect workers’ right to
separation pay as prescribed by the Labor Code, company policies or
collective bargaining agreement, whichever is higher. Accordingly, the
first six (6) months of suspension shall be included in the computation of
separation pay.
2. Labor Advisory No. 17-B in relation to Labor Advisory No. 6 on
payment of Separation Pay
Section 5. Entitlement of Separated Employees. -Employees who
are separated from employment due to authorized cause shall be entitled
to final pay pursuant to Labor Advisory No. 6 series of 2020, without
prejudice to other benefits as provided for by law, company policy and/or
collective bargaining agreement.
3. Applicability of Collective Bargaining Agreement
“A Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is a contract entered into
by an employer and a legitimate labor organization concerning the terms
and conditions of employment. Like any other contract, it has the force of
law between the parties and, thus, should be complied with in good faith.
Unilateral changes or suspensions in the implementation of the
provisions of the CBA, therefore, cannot be allowed without the consent
of both parties.” (WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY-PHILIPPINES v WESLEYAN
UNIVERSITY-PHILIPPINES FACULTY and STAFF ASSOCIATION; G.R.
No. 181806, March 12, 2014)
“All given, business losses are a feeble ground for petitioner to
repudiate its obligation under the CBA. The rule is settled that any
benefit and supplement being enjoyed by the employees cannot be
reduced, diminished, discontinued or eliminated by the employer. The
principle of non-diminution of benefits is founded on the constitutional
mandate to protect the rights of workers and to promote their welfare
and to afford labor full protection.
Hence, absent any proof that petitioner’s consent was vitiated by
fraud, mistake or duress, it is presumed that it entered into the CBA
voluntarily and had full knowledge of the contents thereof and was aware
of its commitments under the contract.” (Lepanto Ceramics, Inc. v.
Lepanto Ceramics Employees Association; G.R. No. 180866, March
2, 2010, 614 SCRA 63)
1. “The rule is that unless expressly assumed, labor contracts such
as employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements are
not enforceable against a transferee of an enterprise, labor
contracts being in personam, thus binding only between the
parties. A labor contract merely creates an action in personam and
does not create any real right which should be respected by third
parties.” (BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS v BPI EMPLOYEES
UNION-DAVAO CHAPTER- FEDERATION OF UNIONS IN BPI
UNIBANK; G.R. No. 164301, August 10, 2010)
“This conclusion draws its force from the right of an employer to
select his employees and to decide when to engage them as
protected under our Constitution, and the same can only be
restricted by law through the exercise of the police power.”
(Sundowner Development Corporation v. Drilon, G.R. No.
82341, December 6, 1989, 180 SCRA 14, 18)
2. “Nevertheless, "where the circumstances evidently show that the
employer imposed the period precisely to preclude the employee
from acquiring tenurial security, the law and this Court will not
hesitate to strike down or disregard the period as contrary to
public policy, morals, etc. In such a case, the general restrictive
rule under Article 280 of the Labor Code will apply and the
employee shall be deemed regular.
Under the system, the plantation workers or the mill employees do
not work continuously for one whole year but only for the duration
of the growing of the sugarcane or the milling season. Their
seasonal work, however, does not detract from considering them in
regular employment since in a litany of cases, this Court has
already settled that seasonal workers who are called to work from
time to time and are temporarily laid off during the off-season are
not separated from the service in said period, but are merely
considered on leave until re-employment. Be this as it may, regular
seasonal employees, like the respondents in this case, should not
be confused with the regular employees of the sugar mill such as
the administrative or office personnel who perform their tasks for
the entire year regardless of the season. The NLRC, therefore,
gravely erred when it declared the respondents regular employees of
URSUMCO without qualification and that they were entitled to the
benefits granted, under the CBA, to URSUMCO’S regular
employees.” (UNIVERSAL ROBINA SUGAR MILLING
CORPORATION and RENE CABATI v Acibo Et Al; G.R. No.
186439, January 15, 2014)
3. When the provisions of the CBA are contrary to law, morals or
public policy.