Friday, June 5, 2015

When the dismissal is for just cause, the lack of due process does not render the dismissal ineffectual but merely gives rise to the payment of P30,000 in nominal damages.

See - The User…
THE LAWYER'S POST



“x  x x.

Jose, Jr. claims that he was not afforded due process. The Court agrees. There are two requisites for a valid dismissal: (1) there
must be just cause, and (2) the employee must be afforded due process.31 To meet the requirements of due process, the employer must furnish the employee with two written notices — a notice apprising the employee of the particular act or omission for which the dismissal is sought and another notice informing the employee of the employer’s decision to dismiss. In Talidano v. Falcon Maritime & Allied Services, Inc.,32 the Court held that:

[R]espondent failed to comply with the procedural due process required for terminating the employment of the employee. Such requirement is not a mere formality that may be dispensed with at will. Its disregard is a matter of serious concern since it constitutes a safeguard of the highest order in response to man’s innate sense of justice. The Labor Code does not, of course, require a formal or trial type proceeding before an erring employee may be dismissed. This is especially true in the case
of a vessel on the ocean or in a foreign port. The minimum requirement of due process termination proceedings, which must be complied with even with respect to seamen on board a vessel, consists of notice to the employees intended to be dismissed and the grant to them of an opportunity to present their own side of the alleged offense or misconduct, which led to the management’s decision to terminate. To meet the requirements of due process, the employer must furnish the worker sought to be dismissed with two written notices before termination of employment can be legally effected, i.e., (1) a notice which apprises the employee of the particular acts or omissions for which his dismissal is sought; and (2) the subsequent notice after due hearing which informs the employee of the employer’s decision to dismiss him. (Emphasis supplied).

In the present case, Jose, Jr. was not given any written notice about his dismissal. However, the propriety of Jose, Jr.’s dismissal is not affected by the lack of written notices. When the dismissal is for just cause, the lack of due process does not render the dismissal
ineffectual but merely gives rise to the payment of P30,000 in nominal damages
.

X x x.”