Doctrine of Perpetual Employment
After having established that the termination of petitioner Ruben Serrano was for an authorized cause, we now address the issue of whether proper procedures were observed in his dismissal.
Since the State affords protection to labor under the Constitution, workers enjoy security of tenure and may only be removed or terminated upon valid reason and through strict observance of proper procedure. Article 279 of the Labor Code specifically provides —
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.
Security of tenure however does not guarantee perpetual employment. If there exists a just or an authorized cause, the employer may terminate the services of an employee but subject always to procedural requirements. The employer cannot be legally compelled to have in its employ a person whose continued employment is patently inimical to its interest. The law, while affording protection to the employee, does not authorize the oppression or destruction of his employer.
Subject then to the constitutional right of workers to security of tenure and to be protected against dismissal except for a just or authorized cause, and without prejudice to the requirement of notice under Art. 283 of the Labor Code, the employer shall furnish the worker whose employment is sought to be terminated a written notice containing a statement of the cause of termination and shall afford the latter ample opportunity to be heard and to defend himself with the assistance of his representative, if he so desires, in accordance with company rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to guidelines set by the DOLE. (J. Mendoza; G.R. No. 117040; January 27, 2000)
Since the State affords protection to labor under the Constitution, workers enjoy security of tenure and may only be removed or terminated upon valid reason and through strict observance of proper procedure. Article 279 of the Labor Code specifically provides —
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.
Security of tenure however does not guarantee perpetual employment. If there exists a just or an authorized cause, the employer may terminate the services of an employee but subject always to procedural requirements. The employer cannot be legally compelled to have in its employ a person whose continued employment is patently inimical to its interest. The law, while affording protection to the employee, does not authorize the oppression or destruction of his employer.
Subject then to the constitutional right of workers to security of tenure and to be protected against dismissal except for a just or authorized cause, and without prejudice to the requirement of notice under Art. 283 of the Labor Code, the employer shall furnish the worker whose employment is sought to be terminated a written notice containing a statement of the cause of termination and shall afford the latter ample opportunity to be heard and to defend himself with the assistance of his representative, if he so desires, in accordance with company rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to guidelines set by the DOLE. (J. Mendoza; G.R. No. 117040; January 27, 2000)