Worker-employer relationship begins when job provide is signed

Supreme Court docket. File photograph.

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court docket (SC) has dominated that employer-employee relationships are shaped the second a job provide is signed.

Primarily based on a 16-page determination promulgated on April 2, 2025 however made public Friday, the SC’s third division discovered a biotechnology firm, Alltech, responsible of illegally dismissing a sure Paolo Landayan Aragones for failing to show there was redundancy within the firm.

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The case stemmed from when Alltech provided Aragones the place of Swine Technical Supervisor – Pacific with a month-to-month wage of P140,000 in 2016.

As soon as Aragones accepted the provide and give up his former job, Alltech all of the sudden knowledgeable him that the place for him was abolished as a result of a worldwide restructuring and provided him P140,000 as a goodwill fee.

Aragones then filed a grievance for unlawful dismissal, which the Labor Arbiter initially dominated in his favor.

Nevertheless, the Nationwide Labor Relations Fee (NLRC) reversed the ruling as there was no employer-employee relationship but as a result of Aragones had not but began working for Alltech.

The NLRC determination was additionally upheld by the Court docket of Appeals.

Nevertheless, the SC, for its half, dominated that the employment contract was perfected as quickly as Aragones signed the job provide, sustaining that even when his begin date was nonetheless three months away, it didn’t imply there was no employer-employee relationship.

Thus, when Alltech withdrew the provide earlier than his begin date, the employer-employee relationship had already been established.

“It’s not sufficient for a corporation to merely declare redundancy; it should produce enough proof of such redundancy to justify the dismissal of the affected staff, equivalent to however not restricted to the brand new staffing sample, feasibility research/proposal, on the viability of the newly created positions, job description, and the approval by the administration of the restructuring,” the order learn.

The SC additionally discovered that the corporate didn’t clarify how or why sure positions, like Aragones’, have been all of the sudden eliminated in its affidavit.

With this, the SC discovered Alltech chargeable for the unlawful dismissal Argones and is ordered to pay him:

• backwages computed from July 1, 2016 till finality of the Choice;
• separation pay equal to at least one month wage, for yearly of service, ranging from July 1, 2016 till the finality of this Choice; and
• lawyer’s charges equal to 10 % of the overall financial award.

“The full judgment award shall additionally earn authorized curiosity of 6 % every year, computed from the finality of the Choice till full fee,” the SC ordered.

“The Labor Arbiter is directed to compute the financial awards in accordance with this Choice,” the choice additional learn.