BOOK SIX
Post Employment
TITLE I
Termination
of Employment
ARTICLE 278.
Coverage. — The provisions of this Title shall apply to all
establishments
or undertakings, whether for profit or not.cralaw:red
ARTIXLE 279.
Security of tenure. — In case 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
to his backwages computed from the time his compensation was withheld
from
him up to the time of his reinstatement.cralaw:red
ARTICLE 280.
Regular and casual employment. — The provisions of written agreement to
the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreements 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.cralaw:red
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,
where the position no longer exists at the time of reinstatement for
reasons
not attributable to the fault of the employer, the employee shall be
entitled
to separation pay equivalent to at least one-month salary or to
one-month
salary for every year of service, whichever is higher, a fraction of at
least six months being considered as one whole year. (Articles 278
to
280 and then Section 5, these are what appeared in the official version)
SECTION 5. Regular
and casual employment. — (a) The provisions of written agreements to
the
contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreements of the
parties,
an employment shall be considered to be regular employment for purposes
of Book VI of the Labor Code 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.cralaw:red
(b) Employment
shall be deemed as casual in nature 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 not, 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.cralaw:red
(c) An employee
who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered
a regular employee.cralaw:red
SECTION 6. Probationary
employment. — (a) Where the work for which an employee has been engaged
is learnable or apprenticeable in accordance with the standards
prescribed
by the Department of Labor, the probationary employment period of the
employee
shall be limited to the authorized learnership or apprenticeship
period,
whichever is applicable.cralaw:red
(b) Where the
work is neither learnable nor apprenticeable, the probationary
employment
period shall not exceed six (6) months reckoned from the date the
employee
actually started working.cralaw:red
(c) The services
of an employee who has been engaged on probationary basis may be
terminated
only for a just cause or when authorized by existing laws, or when he
fails
to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable
standards
prescribed by the employer.cralaw:red
(d) In all cases
involving employees engaged on probationary basis, the employer shall
make
known to the employee the standards under which he will qualify as a
regular
employee at the time of his engagement.cralaw:red
SECTION 7. Termination
of employment by employer. — The just causes for terminating the
services
of an employee shall be those provided in Article 283 of the Code. The
separation from work of an employee for a just cause does not entitle
him
to the termination pay provided in the Code, without prejudice,
however,
to whatever rights, benefits, and privileges he may have under the
applicable
individual or collective agreement with the employer or voluntary
employer
policy or practice.cralaw:red
SECTION 8. Disease
as a ground for dismissal. — Where the employee suffers from a disease
and his continued employment is prohibited by law or prejudicial to his
health or to the health of his co-employees, the employer shall not
terminate
his employment unless there is a certification by competent public
health
authority that the disease is of such nature of at such a stage that it
cannot be cured within a period of six (6) months even with proper
medical
treatment. If the disease or ailment can be cured within the period,
the
employee shall not terminate the employee but shall ask the employee to
take a leave of absence. The employer shall reinstate such employee to
his former position immediately upon the restoration of his normal
health.cralaw:red
SECTION 9. Termination
pay. — (a) An employee shall be entitled to termination pay equivalent
to at least one month's salary for every year of service a fraction of
at least six (6) months being considered as one whole year, in case of
termination of his employment due to the installation of labor-saving
devices
or redundancy.cralaw:red
(b) Where the
termination of employment is due to retrenchment to prevent losses and
in case of closure or cessation of operations of establishment or
undertaking
not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, or where the
employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health or to
the
health of his co-employees, the employee shall be entitled to
termination
pay equivalent to at least one-half month's pay for every year of
service,
a fraction of at least six months being considered as one whole year.cralaw:red
(c) The termination
pay provided in the Section shall in no case be less than the
employee's
one month pay.cralaw:red
SECTION 10.
Basis of termination pay. — The computation of the termination pay of
an
employee as provided herein shall be based on his latest salary rate,
unless
the same was reduced by the employer to defeat the intention of the
Code,
in which case the basis of computation shall be the rate before its
deduction.cralaw:red
SECTION 11.
Termination of employment by employee. — The just causes for putting an
end to the employer-employee relationship by the employee shall be
those
provided in Article 286 of the Labor Code.cralaw:red
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.cralaw:red
SECTION 13.
Retirement. — In the absence of any collective bargaining agreement or
other applicable agreement concerning terms and conditions of
employment
which provides for retirement at an older age, an employee may be
retired
upon reaching the age of sixty (60) years.cralaw:red
SECTION 14.
Retirement benefits. — (a) An employee who is retired pursuant to a
bona-fide
retirement plan or in accordance with the applicable individual or
collective
agreement or established employer policy shall be entitled to all the
retirement
benefits provided therein or to termination pay equivalent to at least
one-half month salary for every year of service, whichever is higher, a
fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one whole year.cralaw:red
(b) Where both
the employer and the employee contribute to the retirement plan,
agreement
or policy, the employer's total contribution thereto shall not be less
than the total termination pay to which the employee would have been
entitled
had there been no such retirement fund. In case the employer's
contribution
is less than the termination pay the employee is entitled to receive,
the
employer shall pay the deficiency upon the retirement of the employee.cralaw:red
(c) This Section
shall apply where the employee retires at the age of sixty (60) years
or
older.
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