Dear Atty. Maan,
Our hospital co-worker was caught with a pouch in her bag during an inspection. The pouch contained various medical supplies, including syringes, Micropore, cotton balls, gloves and more.
She requested to return the pouch to the treatment room, but her request was denied. Instead, she was taken to the In-House Security Department, where she was instructed to write an Incident Report explaining why she had these items.
Eventually, she was terminated by the company for just cause as she had committed theft in violation of the Code of Discipline.
Is her dismissal in this case valid?
Nicole
***
Dear Nicole,
The Supreme Court ruled in various cases the right of an employer to regulate all aspects of employment, aptly called “management prerogative.”
This gives employers the freedom to regulate, according to their discretion and best judgment, all aspects of employment, including work assignment, working methods, processes to be followed, working regulations, transfer of employees, work supervision, lay-off of workers, and the discipline, dismissal and recall of workers.
In this light, courts often decline to interfere in the legitimate business decisions of employers. In fact, labor laws discourage interference in employers’ judgment concerning the conduct of their business.
The facts you presented are similar to the case of St. Luke’s Medical Center vs Sanchez where the Supreme Court ruled to wit: “Among the employers’ management prerogatives is the right to prescribe reasonable rules and regulations necessary or proper for the conduct of its business or concern, to provide certain disciplinary measures to implement said rules and to assure that the same would be complied with.”
At the same time, the employee has the corollary duty to obey all reasonable rules, orders, and instructions of the employer; and willful or intentional disobedience thereto, as a general rule, justifies termination of the contract of service and the dismissal of the employee. Article 296 (formerly Article 282) of the Labor Code provides:
Article 296. Termination by Employer. — An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:
(a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or his representative in connection with his work;
Note that for an employee to be validly dismissed on this ground, the employer’s orders, regulations, or instructions must be: (1) reasonable and lawful, (2) sufficiently known to the employee, and (3) in connection with the duties which the employee has been engaged to discharge.
As it stands, the Court thus holds that the dismissal of Sanchez was for a just cause, supported by substantial evidence, and is therefore in order.
“By declaring otherwise, bereft of any substantial bases, the NLRC issued a patently and grossly erroneous ruling tantamount to grave abuse of discretion, which, in turn, means that the CA erred when it affirmed the same. Inconsequence, the grant of the present petition is warranted.”
Hope this helps.
Atty. Mary Antonnette Baudi