Legal requirements in terminating employees

Legal requirements in terminating employees "I started working as a machine operator for X Company in March 2014. I was assigned to operate two machines and was tasked to keep safe the money collected from our customers from 2016 to 2017. On March 19, 2018, I filed a formal letter to the Regional Director of the Department of Labor and Employment complaining about the labor standards violations of my employer such as late payment of wages and non-payment of overtime pay and holiday pay. Subsequently, the manager of our company conducted an audit check and inspection of the bottle feeder attached to our machines. Such bottle feeders indicate the number of bottles being cleaned at the rate of P10 per bottle. After the audit, my manager told me that there were discrepancies in the reports I submitted and the numbers reflected in my machines. Consequently, I was issued a termination letter stating that my actions constitute a crime, fraud and willful breach of the trust reposed in me by the company which were allegedly just causes for termination of employment. The same letter likewise informed me that a complaint for qualified theft has already been filed against me before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Pasay City. Is my dismissal from service valid? Thanks in advance.Mayrelle Dear Mayrelle,The law that addresses your situation is Article 282 of the Labor Code of the Philippines: “Article 282. Termination by employer. An employer may terminate an employee for any of the following causes:xxx xxx xxx Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representativeCommission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representatives xxx xxx xxx” (Emphasis supplied)Section 2, Rule XXIII, Book V of the Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code provides for the requirement of notice in all cases of termination of employment, to wit:“I. For termination of employment based on just causes as defined in Article 282 of the Labor Code: (a) A written notice served on the employee specifying the ground or grounds for termination, and giving to said employee reasonable opportunity within which to explain his side(b) A hearing or conference during which the employee concerned, with the assistance of counsel if the employee so desires, is given opportunity to respond to the charge, present his evidence, or rebut the evidence presented against him and(c) A written notice [of] termination served on the employee indicating that upon due consideration of all the circumstances, grounds have been established to justify his termination. xxx”Based on your narration of facts, your company failed to afford you procedural due process since the notice apprising you of the complaint against you was the same notice informing you of your termination of services. You were not given an opportunity to explain your side and to respond to the charge against you. Moreover, the allegation of theft filed against you was not yet substantiated when the company terminated you. Hence, your dismissal from your company was illegal.This opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Thus, the opinion may vary when the facts are changed or further elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to " - https://www.affordablecebu.com/