Termination by employer. An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes: Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work; Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties; Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative; 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 representatives; and Other causes analogous to the foregoing. Requisites of serious misconduct: 1. There must be misconduct 2. The misconduct must be of such grave and aggravated character 3. It must relate to the performance of the employee’s duties; and 4. There must be showing that the employee becomes unfit to continue working for the employer Requisites for willful disobedience or insubordination: 1. There must be disobedience or insubordination 2. The disobedience or insubordination must be willful or intentional by a wrongful and perverse attitude 3. The order violated must be reasonable, lawful, and made known to the employee 4. The order must pertain to the duties which he has been engaged to discharge Requisites of gross and habitual neglect 1. There must be a neglect of duty 2. The negligence must be both gross and habitual in character Requisites of fraud or willful breach of trust 1. There must be an act, omission, or concealment 2. The act, omission or concealment involves a breach of legal duty, trust, or confidence justly reposed 3. It must be committed against the employer or his/her representative 4. It must be in connection with the employees’ work Requisites of loss of confidence 1. There must be an act, omission or concealment 2. The act, omission or concealment justifies the loss of trust and confidence of the employer to the employee 3. The employee concerned must be holding a position of trust and confidence 4. The loss of trust and confidence should not be simulated 5. It must be genuine and not a mere afterthought to justify an earlier action taken in bad faith. Requisites of commission of a crime or offense 1. There must be an act or omission punishable/prohibited by law; 2. The act or omission was committed by the employee against the person of the employer, any immediate member of his/her family, or his/her duly authorized representative. Requisites of analogous causes 1. There must be act or omission similar to those specified just causes 2. The act or omission must be voluntary and/or willful on the part of the employees Two step process in determining whether a conduct is disgraceful or immoral 1. First, a consideration of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the conduct 2. Second, an assessment of the said circumstances vis-à-vis the prevailing norms of conduct, i.e., what the society generally considers moral and respectable Important requisite if willful disobedience It must be characterized by a wrongful and perverse mental attitude rendering the employee’s act inconsistent with proper subordination. The conduct complained of must also constitute harmful behavior against the business interest or person of his/her employer. Requisites of abandonment 1. Failure to report for work or absence without valid or justifiable reason, 2. A clear intention to sever the employer-employee relationship, with the second element as the more determinative factor being manifested by some overt acts. Fiduciary rank-and-file employees Are those employees, though rank-and-file, are routinely charged with the care and custody of the employer’s money or property, and are thus classified as occupying positions of trust and confidence. To legally dismiss an employee on the ground of loss of trust, the employer must establish that: a. The employee occupied a position of trust and confidence, or has been routinely charged with the cause and custody of the employer’s money or property; b. The employee committed a willful breach of trust based on clearly established facts; c. Such loss of trust relates to the employee’s performance of duties Incompetence or gross inefficiency Means the failure to attain work goals or work quotas, either by failing to complete the same within the allotted reasonable period, or by producing unsatisfactory results. Requisites of inefficiency as a ground for dismissal 1. The employer has set standards of conduct and workmanship against which the employee will be judged; 2. The standards of conduct and workmanship must have been communicated to the employee; and 3. The communication was made at a reasonable time prior to the employee’s performance assessment. Constructive dismissal Occurs when there is cessation of work because continued employment is rendered impossible, unreasonable, or unlikely as when there is a demotion in rank or diminution in pay or when a clear discrimination, insensibility, or disdain by an employer becomes unbearable to the employee leaving the latter with no other option but to quit. Dismissal in disguise Test in determining the existence of constructive dismissal Whether a reasonable person in the employee’s position would have felt compelled to give up his position under the circumstances. Demotion Involves a situation in which an employee is relegated to a subordinate or less important position constituting a reduction to a lower grade or rank, with a corresponding decrease in duties and responsibilities, and usually accompanied by a decrease in salary. Transfer Is a movement from one position to another which is of equivalent rank, level or salary, without break in service. Preventive suspension Is a measure allowed by law and afforded to the employer if an employee’s continued employment poses a serious and imminent threat to the employer’s life or property or of his co-workers. It may be legally imposed against an employee whose alleged violation is the subject of an investigation. Effect of indefinite preventive suspension When preventive suspension exceeds the maximum period of 30 days allowed without reinstating the employee either by actual or payroll reinstatement or when preventive suspension is for an indefinite period, only then will constructive dismissal set in. What are the authorized causes of dismissal a. b. c. d. e. f. Installation of labor-saving device Redundancy Retrenchment to prevent losses/downsizing Closure or cessation of operation Disease as a ground for termination Lack of service assignment for a continuous period of six months for security guards Installation of labor-saving devices Refers to the reduction of the number of workers in any workplace made necessary by the introduction of laborsaving machinery or devices Requisites of installation of labor-saving device a. There must be introduction of machinery, equipment or other devices b. The introduction must be done in good faith c. The purpose of such introduction must be valid such as to save on the cost, enhance efficiency and other justifiable economic reasons d. There is no other option available to the employer than the introduction of machinery, equipment or device and the consequent termination of employment of those affected thereby e. There must be fair and reasonable criteria in selecting employees to be terminated.