Employee fails to report pregnancy to company, skips work for 16 days after delivery

Misconduct is a transgression of some established and definite rule of action, a forbidden act, a dereliction of duty, willful in character, and implies wrongful intent and not mere error in judgment. The misconduct to be serious must be of such grave and aggravated character and not merely trivial and unimportant. Such misconduct, however serious, must, nevertheless, be in connection with the employee's work to constitute just cause for his separation.
A female employees’ absence for 16 days, considering that she had just delivered a child, can hardly be considered a forbidden act, a dereliction of duty; much less does it imply wrongful intent on the part of the employee. Her failure to formally inform the company of her pregnancy cannot also be considered as grave misconduct directly connected to her work as to constitute just cause for her separation. (G.R. No. 166379, October 20, 2005)