Receivable benefits after resignation

Receivable benefits after resignation " My husband resigned from his company as a computer teacher where he worked for five years as a regular employee. Are there other benefits that my husband is entitled to receive? Do I need to execute a quitclaim if he did not receive his last pay? Mrs. MNDear Mrs. MN, Resignation is a mode of severing the employer-employee relationship through the voluntary act of the employee. Thus, being the voluntary act of the employee, the employer is generally not obligated to give any financial consideration to the employee due to said severance from his/her employment. Thus, as a general rule, the employer cannot be made to pay separation pay to the employee who resigned.Entitlement to separation pay or termination pay requires the termination or separation of the employee from his/her employment by the employer due to an authorized cause. Thus, to be entitled to such, the employee must have been separated or terminated from employment for a cause other that his own act or will and for specific causes as provided by the law. However, if the employer, under contract or through established business practice, grants separation pay to employees who resign, your husband may then claim for separation benefits from his employer. Thus, the Supreme Court held in the case of Alfaro vs. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 140812, August 28, 2001) that “(g)enerally, separation pay need not be paid to an employee who voluntarily resigns. However, an employer who agrees to expend such benefit as an incident of the resignation should not be allowed to renege in the performance of such commitment.”Therefore, your husband is only entitled to a separation pay if it is so stipulated in his contract or if such is the practice of the employer. Also, if your husband has not yet received his 13th month pay for the year, he may demand for the payment of the same in accordance with the rules laid down under the Revised Guidelines on the Implementation of the 13th Month Pay Law, to wit:“6. 13th Month Pay of Resigned or Separated Employee.An employee who has resigned or whose services were terminated at any time before the time for payment of the 13th month pay is entitled to this monetary benefit in proportion to the length of time he worked during the year, reckoned from the time he started working during the calendar year up to the time of his resignation or termination from the service. Thus, if he worked only from January up to September his proportionate 13th month pay should be equivalent to 1/12 of his total basic salary he earned during that period.The payment of the 13th month pay may be demanded by the employee upon the cessation of employer-employee relationship. This is consistent with the principle of equity that as the employer can require the employee to clear himself of all liabilities and property accountability, so can the employee demand the payment of all benefits due him upon the termination of the relationship.” Certainly, your husband is entitled to get his last salary covering the unpaid period he has worked until the effectivity of his resignation. Thus, your husband is not obliged to first sign any quitclaim before his last salary is released by the employer. However, should your husband’s former employer require the signing of a quitclaim, then said document must only be signed if it is fully understood and if your husband fully agrees with everything that is stated therein. This is because a quitclaim serves to release the employer from liability to the employee as the employee acknowledges therein that he/she has no other claims against the employer.Although the courts look at quitclaims with disfavor, “(n)ot all waivers and quitclaims are invalid as against public policy. If the agreement was voluntarily entered into and represents a reasonable settlement, it is binding on the parties and may not later be disowned simply because of a change of mind. It is only where there is clear proof that the waiver was wangled from an unsuspecting or gullible person, or the terms of settlement are unconscionable on its face, that the law will step in to annul the questionable transaction. But where it is shown that the person making the waiver did so voluntarily, with full understanding of what he was doing, and the consideration for the quitclaim is credible and reasonable, the transaction must be recognized as a valid and binding undertaking” (Goodrich Manufacturing Corp. and Mr. Goy vs. Ativo, et al., G.R. No. 188002, February 1, 2010).Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or 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 dearpao@manilatimes.net." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/