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hi attys. i was fired by my company for "willful disobedience" last dec 2023. the reason they terminated was because i filed for a sick leave during which i saw an ortho doctcor about my neck condition that i was having for over 3 weeks at that point. now my company has a sick leave protocol around that time where employees who take more than a day of sick leave must provide a laboratory result apart from the medical certificate. m ortho put "neck pain" on my medical certificate and gave me 5 days of rest but our company instructed me get a follow-up checkup online with our company doctor shortly after my visit to the hospital so they can reevaluate or check the validity of me medical condition. upon talking to the company doctor, he contradicted my ortho's diagnosis of "neck pain" and claimed mine is actually a "muscle spasm" according to him and that instead of 5 days, i should only get 1 day of sick leave. now i got confused with this situation because in my mind, i was thinking i physically went and saw a specialist and i did not fake my visit so i was physically checked but here comes the company physician telling me another thing and another instruction so i was so confused needless to say. so i asked the hr as to which doctor's advise should i follow and the hr manager said i should follow the company physician's advise which i opposed because in my mind, my doctor's visit was indeed valid. because of this, the hr manager gave me NTE and asked me to prvide a written explanation in 24 hours from receipt of it which i was able to provide but since i also had work at that time, i was so sleepless that the next day, the hr manager ordered me to go to the office physically for an admin hearing. eversince i started working in that compny, i only worked from home and it's the first time i went to our office. because i was sleepless for finishing the lng written explanation, i arrived a few minutes late so the hr manager scolded me for that. finally during the 1.5 hour long admin hearing, the company physician told me i front of others that he actually called and talked to the ortho i went to and asked about my medical condition and he said that my doctor agreed that it's indeed "muscle spasm". this part is one of the confusing parts for me because am i not entitled to patient's privacy or data privacy? i just thought that was weird and it was first time for me to experience that, even being served an NTE in my entire career, i even worked abroad before that. and then, they have me chance to explain and i explained my side that i have s history of wrist fracture so i was thinking around that time that my neck condition had something to do with my neck bone perhaps that's why i went to an ortho and i trusted my doctor's advise as i would naturally trust him as a specialist and he was able to examine me by touching my neck and my nape physically as opposed to the online consultation i had with our company physician. so for me, either i believe my ortho and his medical advise or i follow the company physician's advise who was only able to talk to me online. during the hearing, there were 6 people in the room including me and so they heard what was discussed about my medical condition. the hr manager spoke most of the time we were all there and i was only given little time to speak but just the same, i explained my side. they also implied that i might've faked my medical certificate, so i told them there's no way i can do that because it's a general hospital and it's the first time i actually met the ortho i saw. anyway, the hr manager also reprimanded me for not bringing original copies of my medical documents and instead i just brought with me soft photocopies. but i actually asked them in email to clarify that but they didn't reply to me so i just brought the photocopies which i already submitted the scanned copies of electronically to them prior. i even cried because of how stressed and exhausted i was dealing with that situation and the hr manager even joked and asked me if i was married or not, to which i answered i'm not, and everybody laughed. i felt disrespected and offended to say the least. finally the hr manager asked me to submit a second written explanation and this time i was given 5 days to respond unlike the first one where i only had 24hours to do so and i submitted my 2nd written explanation but because of too much stress it gave me, i started getting more sick, coughing, and having a hard time to breathe so i went to another hospital and saw a doctor for that and got another medical certificate and i decided i would just leave the company because it's already unbearable for me to stay since i was thinking, they will question my medical condition and its validity and dismiss it and force me to go to work anyway. i submitted my immediate resignation shortly along with the recent medical certificate and i cited my reason was health reasons particularly mental stress and fatigue. my immediate supervisor and account manager acknowledged my resignation letter on the same day but the hr manager released the decision on my case the next day saying that i would get officially terminated jan 30 of 2024. and then the hr manager issued another NTE this time for abandonment of work saying i did not notify them beforehand and if i won't answer, they will add that to my other case which is willful disobedience. because of too much stress, i did not answer anymore and then the hr manager said they will forfeit whatever payment i'm entitled to and that they will terminate me immediately aside from putting me on their list of blacklisted employees. i experienced depression for the first time in my life in spite of working abroad as a factory worker. i never experienced such kind of treatment especially from this hr manager who looked to me like she was doing power harassment. now came jan 2024, i processed my clearance as SOP but they refused to give me my CEO because they want me to sign the quitclaim and waiver first which i already expressed to them by email that i'm not willing to sign. i am thinking if what they did to me is just and whether there's no malice especially from the part of the hr manager. at one point she even told me she can go to DOLE with me if i want because she learned that i called DOLE hotline a few times to consult and ask questions. thank you and more power to you guys. by the way, until now i still cant get my COE and final pay but i have the email exchanges. thank you again.

Try to reply on the comments so could have more topics to discuss especially on estate tax. Thank you. Example may nabasa akong tanong regarding nag-donate na ang parent before second marriage kung kasali pa daw ba sa sharing ang second spouse. The question was under your video about settling estate tax by OFW

With regards to the new policy released by DOLE about Final Pay. What if the employee did not complete his/her clearance due to AWOL and went back to get his final pay? Should we still release his final pay within 30 days after the effectivity date of his resignation even if he did not complete the 30 days? If the policy says that the final pay should be released 30 days after the date of separation, and the employee did not complete his clearance, isn’t it unfair for the employer if we still release the final pay? How much can we deduct the employee if he did not complete the 30 days rendering? Also, lately we issue final pay through bank deposit and the documents should be signed via Docusign. Questions are: can we have them sign the documents online? Can we give the final pay personally thru cheque and hold the said cheque if the resigned/terminated employee did not claim it personally in the office?

This will be helpful for the HR professionals and leaders on how would they manage employees with pending admin cases who would like to resign while their case is still ongoing. Should the leaders/HR consider/accept the resignation? What if the disciplinary action given is suspension and the suspension will end after the effectivity of the resignation? How would the HR/Leaders handle this?

Hello po. So me and my husband can borrow each other’s phone and we don’t have that issue and was expecting all the mag asawas are like that too then my friend got shocked when she knew about our phone thing with my husband. Turns out, she can’t borrow her husband’s phone, she can’t open his phone too. My take is they basically saw every inch of another so I don’t think there’s anymore to hide from the other (as husband and wife I mean) privacy is one thing, secrecy is another. In the legal side, what is your take on this? Thank you.

To ensure no provision of the Data Privacy Act is violated, please advise the extent of information that a previous employer may disclose about a separated employee during employment verification or background checks? Is a Letter of Authorization from concerned employee a requirement before an employment verification be entertained? Thanks!

Code of Discipline is a set of rules and regulations with corresponding sanctions or penalties when violated. It is the law that protects the welfare of both the employees and the management similar to the law of the Philippines. We had it drafted, especially the terminable offenses, based on the Labor Code of the Philippines and the criminal offenses. Since it is very important on the good foundation of the company and its employees, employers should srupulously establish the sanctions and it should always be reviewed. What are the things that would guide us on establishing a Code of Discipline both for start-ups and for companies with existing one? I believe this would help a lot on most of the companies.

This is useful for HR practitioners as to how to process demotion on employee. Is it legal or how do we impose without going into litigation.

Is it legal for a company to put a clause in the contract which says "an employee which do not finish his/her contract will be sued", like it would be impossible for the employee to resign? For instance, the contract is good for 3 years, then after 1 year, the employee wants to resign, but is intimidated due to the clause.

I just want to clarify things regarding my resignation. My employer ask me to that I should do a reporting tomorrow to the board of directors because my manager can’t report it am I allowed to decline because I am just an associate. Second should I just do my turnover and clearance during this period and not do the business as usual because I already have a replacement. Thank you for answering I rally need some advice

If probationary employee needs more training or evaluation, can management extend the probationary period? What needs to be done to do this?

Hi Attorney. Our company has been giving Mid-Year bonuses, Year-End bonuses, and HMO benefits to all employees since 2012. Last year, after the President declared a state of calamity throughout the country, our company eliminated the above-mentioned benefits and informed us that those benefits were only given by them voluntarily. Was their action legal and in accordance with our labor laws? I am an HR practitioner and this issue has been raised to the management a few times, however, they are reluctant in addressing this issue to us. I hope you can help enlighten us. Thank you in advance, Attorney! God bless!

Hi Atty. Erwin, I'm planning to put up a small construction business and I want to make sure that before I do, I have everything ready - and the only way I can be sure of that is if I hire a lawyer. I'm worried though since I do not know how much money do I need to spend for a lawyer and for there retainer's fee.

i am currently working for my employer for a week now,since we agreed that the 1st month will be a trial period if and will decide if im ok with the company set up then we will proceed to proper employment contract the next month after. there is no proper turnover of the reports and documents so i have to get the details my way.im still learning the processes and reporting.my boss asked me to go to the bank and deposit her personal check.another thing is that she issued me a company memo stating that i failed to follow her instructions.and lastly,my position is finance admin for 3 different companies under 1 employer. my questions are: 1.if an accident happened outside office but during office hours is the company liable for it?like the one i mentioned,i was asked to go to the bank without employment yet. 2.should i accept the memo given to me? 3.how should be my salary and wages for multiple job under 1 employer thank you very much

Will help resigning employees in deciding whether to push thru with leaving because they know what they will be entitled to. Original question was from Ellen R. consolidated questions are below: Atty. Pwede ba ako magdemand ng separation pay. Sa loob ng 6 years of service ko. Thank you Atty. May k ba ako sabihin sa anak ng alaga ko na bigyan nia ako ng separation pay sa loob ng 6 years kong pagtatrabaho as a caregiver sa mother nia? Salamat atty. Pls give me an.advice Atty. I submitted.my resignation letter and signed already this 11 of september. Can i ask also regarding my separation pay ? Atty. The reason why i resigned is that. My pt. Was sick of a covid pneumonia and hospitalized for almost 2 weeks in mkatimed isolation room. I was also there when my pt. Admitted. And we had swab test and is positive. After 4 days i was on duty. The dr said that i need to rest to go to quarantine facility. After 4 days in isolation room. Narescue ako ng taga makati health department for quarantine for 8 days na wala namn akong sintomas kht isang sintomas ng covid.