LABOR LAW 1

Rachelle Aileen Santos

SY 2021-2022
1.1 Source, Nature and Implication

Labor Legislation – laws, regulations and jurisprudence governing the relations

between labor and capital, by providing for certain standards of terms and conditions
of employment.

LABOR RELATIONS
LABOR STANDARDS

- sets out the minimum terms,

conditions and benefits of - defines the status, rights,
employment prescribed by and duties that govern the
existing laws, rules and individual and collective
regulations, relating to wages,
hours of work, cost-of-living relations between
allowance, and other monetary employers and employees,
and welfare benefits, including or their representatives.
occupational health and safety
standards.
 Legal Basis of Labor Laws in the Philippines

1987 Constitution – guarantees basic rights of workers

• right to security of tenure
• right to work under humane conditions
• right to receive a living wage
• right to participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their
rights and benefits
• right to organize themselves / unionize
• right to collectively bargain with management
• right to engage in peaceful concerted activities, including to strike in
accordance with law
 Legal Basis of Labor Laws in the Philippines

Labor Code of the Philippines - Pres. Dec. No.

442, as amended

DOLE Department Order No. 147-15 – amending

the Implementing Rules and Regulations
governing the application of the just and
authorized causes of termination of employment
 Legal Basis of Labor Laws in the Philippines

Civil Code of the Philippines

“The relation between capital and labor are not merely contractual. They are
so impressed with public interest that labor contracts must yield to the
common good. Therefore, such contracts are subject to the special laws on
labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed shop, wages,
working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects.” (Art. 1700)

No contract which practically amounts to involuntary servitude, under any

guise, whatsoever, shall be valid.” (Art. 1703)

- An employer cannot forbid an employee from resigning from his job,

subject to the observance of the terms of the employment contract itself and
the procedure on resignation.
 “Art. 4, Labor Code. All doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of this
Code, including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor .”

Q: Why are doubts construed in favor of labor?

A:
1. This is consistent with the State’s policy to give maximum aid and protection to labor, hence,
extending the law’s applicability to a greater number of employees.

2. The law regards workers with tenderness and always with faith and hope in his capacity of
shaping the nation’s future.

3. The law must protect worker to the extent of raising him to equal footing in bargaining
relations with capital and to shield him from abuses brought about by the necessity for
survival.
Q: Do provisions in an employment contract that state that the law of
the country of the foreign employer shall govern the employment
contract stop the application of Philippine labor laws?

A: NO.

The law relating to labor and employment is impressed with

public interest and parties are not at liberty to insulate
themselves and their relationships from the impact of labor
laws and regulations by simply contracting with each other.
[Pakistan International Airlines Corp. vs. Ople, 190 SCRA 90
(1990)]
 Balancing of Rights

Q: Is management then at the mercy of labor ?

A: NO.
While affording protection to labor, the Constitution has not overlooked
the rights of capital.

The Constitution recognizes:

1. The indispensable role of the private sector; and
2. The right of enterprise to reasonable returns on investment
 Balancing of Rights

The Supreme Court has likewise pronounced the following principles:

• “The law, in protecting the rights of the laborer, authorizes neither

the oppression nor self-destruction of the employer.”

• “The balance in favor of the workingman should be tilted without

being blind to the concomitant right of the employer to the
protection of his property.”
 Rights of Employer / Management Prerogatives

1. Right to Conduct Business

right to manage, control and use his property and conduct his business in any manner
satisfactory to himself.

2. Right to Prescribe Rules (Right to Discipline)

right to make reasonable rules and regulations for the government of their employees,
and when employees, with knowledge of an established rule, enter the service, the rule
becomes part of the employment contract.
 Rights of Employer / Management Prerogatives

3. Right to Select Employees

right to select and to decide when to engage employees

exception: closed-shop agreements in CBAs, cannot discriminate as to

sex

4. Right to Transfer or Discharge Employees

right to transfer, reduce or lay off personnel in order to minimize

expenses and even to close the business

right must not be abused but must be done in good faith

2. EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP