ChanRobles Virtual law Library
THE
LABOR CODE
OF THE
PHILIPPINES
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 442,
AS AMENDED
A DECREE INSTITUTING A LABOR CODE THEREBY REVISING AND CONSOLIDATING LABOR AND SOCIAL LAWS TO AFFORD PROTECTION TO LABOR, PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND INSURE INDUSTRIAL PEACE BASED ON SOCIAL JUSTICE
BOOK SIX
POST EMPLOYMENT
Title I
TERMINATION OF
EMPLOYMENT
ART. 278. Coverage. - The
provisions of this Title shall apply to all establishments or undertakings,
whether for profit or not.
ART.
279. Security of tenure. - In cases of regular employment, the employer
shall not terminate the services of an employee except for a just cause or when
authorized by this Title. An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall
be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other
privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of
allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed
from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his
actual reinstatement. (As amended by
Section 34, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART.
280. 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.
ART. 281. Probationary employment.
- Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the date the
employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement
stipulating a longer period. The services of an employee who has been engaged
on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to
qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made
known by the employer to the employee at the time of his engagement. An
employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered
a regular employee.
ART.
282. Termination by employer. - An employer may terminate an employment
for any of the following causes:
(a)
Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the
employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection
with his work;
(b)
Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
(c)
Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust
reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative;
(d)
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
(e)
Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
ART.
283. Closure of establishment and reduction of personnel. - The employer
may also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to prevent
losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or
undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the
provisions of this Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the
Ministry of Labor and Employment at least one (1)
month before the intended date thereof. In case of termination due to the
installation of labor-saving devices or redundancy,
the worker affected thereby shall be entitled to a separation pay equivalent to
at least his one (1) month pay or to at least one (1) month pay for every year
of service, whichever is higher. In case of retrenchment to prevent losses and
in cases of closures or cessation of operations of establishment or undertaking
not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, the separation pay
shall be equivalent to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month pay
for every year of service, whichever is higher. A fraction of at least six (6)
months shall be considered one (1) whole year.
ART.
284. Disease as ground for termination. - An employer may terminate the
services of an employee who has been found to be suffering from any disease and
whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health
as well as to the health of his co-employees: Provided, That he is paid
separation pay equivalent to at least one (1) month salary or to one-half (1/2)
month salary for every year of service, whichever is greater, a fraction of at
least six (6) months being considered as one (1) whole year.
ART.
285. Termination by employee. - (a) An employee may terminate without
just cause the employee-employer relationship by serving a written notice on
the employer at least one (1) month in advance. The employer upon whom no such
notice was served may hold the employee liable for damages.
(b)
An employee may put an end to the relationship without serving any notice on
the employer for any of the following just causes:
1. Serious insult by the employer or
his representative on the honor and person of the
employee;
2.
Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his
representative;
3.
Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against
the person of the employee or any of the immediate members of his family; and
4.
Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.
ART.
286. When employment not deemed terminated. - The bona-fide
suspension of the operation of a business or undertaking for a period not exceeding
six (6) months, or the fulfillment by the employee of
a military or civic duty shall not terminate employment. In all such cases, the
employer shall reinstate the employee to his former position without loss of
seniority rights if he indicates his desire to resume his work not later than
one (1) month from the resumption of operations of his employer or from his
relief from the military or civic duty.
Title II
RETIREMENT FROM THE
SERVICE
ART. 287. Retirement. - Any
employee may be retired upon reaching the retirement age established in the
collective bargaining agreement or other applicable employment contract.
In
case of retirement, the employee shall be entitled to receive such retirement
benefits as he may have earned under existing laws and any collective
bargaining agreement and other agreements: Provided, however, That an employee’s retirement benefits under any collective
bargaining and other agreements shall not be less than those provided therein. chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
In
the absence of a retirement plan or agreement providing for retirement benefits
of employees in the establishment, an employee upon reaching the age of sixty
(60) years or more, but not beyond sixty-five (65) years which is hereby
declared the compulsory retirement age, who has served at least five (5) years
in the said establishment, may retire and shall be entitled to retirement pay
equivalent to at least one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of service, a
fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one whole year. chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
Unless
the parties provide for broader inclusions, the term ‘one-half (1/2) month
salary’ shall mean fifteen (15) days plus one-twelfth (1/12) of the 13th month
pay and the cash equivalent of not more than five (5) days of service incentive
leaves.
Retail,
service and agricultural establishments or operations employing not more than
ten (10) employees or workers are exempted from the coverage of this provision.
Violation of this provision is hereby
declared unlawful and subject to the penal provisions under Article 288 of this
Code.
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