5/28/2020
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SO ORDERED.[53]
Dissatisfied, Sameer Overseas Placement Agency filed this petition.[54]
We are asked to determine whether the Court of Appeals erred when it affirmed the
ruling of the National Labor Relations Commission finding respondent illegally dismissed
and awarding her three months’ worth of salary, the reimbursement of the cost of her
repatriation, and attorney’s fees despite the alleged existence of just causes of
termination.
Petitioner reiterates that there was just cause for termination because there was a
finding of Wacoal that respondent was inefficient in her work.[55] Therefore, it claims
that respondent’s dismissal was valid.[56]
Petitioner also reiterates that since Wacoal’s accreditation was validly transferred to
Pacific at the time respondent filed her complaint, it should be Pacific that should now
assume responsibility for Wacoal’s contractual obligations to the workers originally
recruited by petitioner.[57]
Sameer Overseas Placement Agency’s petition is without merit. We find for respondent.
I
Sameer Overseas Placement Agency failed to show that there was just cause for
causing Joy’s dismissal. The employer, Wacoal, also failed to accord her due process of
law.
Indeed, employers have the prerogative to impose productivity and quality standards at
work.[58] They may also impose reasonable rules to ensure that the employees comply
with these standards.[59] Failure to comply may be a just cause for their dismissal.[60]
Certainly, employers cannot be compelled to retain the services of an employee who is
guilty of acts that are inimical to the interest of the employer.[61] While the law
acknowledges the plight and vulnerability of workers, it does not “authorize the
oppression or self-destruction of the employer.”[62] Management prerogative is
recognized in law and in our jurisprudence.
This prerogative, however, should not be abused. It is “tempered with the employee’s
right to security of tenure.”[63] Workers are entitled to substantive and procedural due
process before termination. They may not be removed from employment without a
valid or just cause as determined by law and without going through the proper
procedure.
Security of tenure for labor is guaranteed by our Constitution.[64]
Employees are not stripped of their security of tenure when they move to work in a
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