2020 Labor Law

Bar Review
(Part I)

Prof. E. (Leo) D. Battad

U.P. College of Law
 I.
FUNDAMENTAL
PRINCIPLES

31/08/2020
LDBattad,2 2020
 A.
Legal Basis

31/08/2020
LDBattad,3 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution
Article II

— Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic

social order that will ensure the prosperity and
independence of the nation and free the people from
poverty through policies that provide adequate social
services, promote full employment, a rising standard
of living, and an improved quality of life for all.

— Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in

all phases of national development.

31/08/2020
LDBattad,4 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution

Article II

• Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social

economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers
and promote their welfare.

• Section 20. The State recognizes the indispensable

role of the private sector, encourages private
enterprise, and provides incentives to needed
investments.

31/08/2020
LDBattad,5 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution
Article III

• Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the

freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble and
petition the government for redress of grievances.

Article III

• Section 8. The right of the people, including those

employed in the public and private sectors, to form
unions, associations, or societies for purposes not
contrary to law shall not be abridged.
31/08/2020
LDBattad,6 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution
Article III

• Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts

shall be passed.
Note:

• The prohibition to impair the obligation of contracts is not

absolute and unqualified. In spite of the constitutional
prohibition and the fact that both parties are of full age
and competent to contract, it does not necessarily deprive
the State of the power to interfere where the parties do
not stand upon an equality, or where the public health
demands that one party to the contract shall be protected
against himself. [Leyte Land Transportation Co. vs. Leyte Farmers &
Workers Union, G.R. No. L-1377 (1948)]
31/08/2020
LDBattad,7 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution

Article III

• Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a

speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial,
quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.

• Section 18 (2). No involuntary servitude in any form

shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted.

31/08/2020
LDBattad,8 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution

Article XIII

• Section 2. The promotion of social justice shall

include the commitment to create economic
opportunities based on freedom of initiative and
self-reliance.

31/08/2020
LDBattad,9 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution
Article XIII
• Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to
labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized,
and promote full employment and equality of
employment opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-
organization, collective bargaining and negotiations,
and peaceful concerted activities, including the right
to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled
to security of tenure, humane conditions of work, and
a living wage. They shall also participate in policy and
decision-making processes affecting their rights and
benefits as may be provided by law.
31/08/2020 10
LDBattad, 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution
Article XIII
• Section 3. xxx
The State shall promote the principle of shared
responsibility between workers and employers and
the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling
disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce
their mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial
peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between
workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor
to its just share in the fruits of production and the
right of enterprises to reasonable returns to
investments, and to expansion and growth.
31/08/2020 11
LDBattad, 2020
 1. 1987 Constitution

Article XIII

• Section 13. The State shall establish a special agency

for disabled person for their rehabilitation, self-
development, and self-reliance, and their integration
into the mainstream of society.

• Section 14. The State shall protect working women

by providing safe and healthful working conditions,
taking into account their maternal functions, and such
facilities and opportunities that will enhance their
welfare and enable them to realize their full potential
in the service of the nation.
31/08/2020 12
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Civil Code

• Article 1700. The relations between capital and labor

are not merely contractual. They are so impressed
with public interest that labor contracts must yield to
the common good. Therefore, such contracts are
subject to the special laws on labor unions, collective
bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed shop, wages,
working conditions, hours of labor and similar
subjects.

31/08/2020 13
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Civil Code
Note:

• Under the Civil Code, contracts of labor are explicitly

subject to the police power of the state because they
are not ordinary contracts but are impressed with
public interest. [PAL Employees Savings and Loan Assn., Inc. vs.
NLRC, G.R. No. 105963 (1996)]

31/08/2020 14
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Civil Code
Note:

• Indeed, a contract of employment is impressed with

public interest. For this reason, provisions of
applicable statutes are deemed written into the
contract. Hence, the parties are not at liberty to
insulate themselves and their relationships from the
impact of labor laws and regulations by simply
contracting with each other. Moreover, in case of
doubt, the terms of a contract should be construed in
favor of labor. [Innodata Philippines, Inc. vs. Quejada-Lopez, G.R.
No. 162839 (2006)]

31/08/2020 15
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Civil Code
Note:

• A CBA, as a labor contract within the contemplation of

Article 1700 of the Civil Code of the Philippines which
governs the relations between labor and capital, is
not merely contractual in nature but impressed with
public interest, thus, it must yield to the common
good. As such, it must be construed liberally rather
than narrowly and technically, and the courts must
place a practical and realistic construction upon it,
giving due consideration to the context in which it is
negotiated and purpose which it is intended to serve.
[Cirtek Employees Labor Union-FFW v Cirtek Electronics, G.R. No.
190515 (2010)]
31/08/2020 16
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Civil Code

• Article 1702. In case of doubt, all labor legislation and

all labor contracts shall be construed in favor of the
safety and decent living for the laborer.

Note:
• Article 4, Labor Code. Construction in favor of labor.
All doubts in the implementation and interpretation
of the provisions of this Code, including its
implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved
in favor of labor.

31/08/2020 17
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Civil Code
Note:

• When there is doubt between the evidence submitted

by the employer and that submitted by the employee,
the scales of justice must be tilted in favor of the
employee. This is consistent with the rule that an
employer’s cause could only succeed on the strength
of its own evidence and not on the weakness of the
employee’s evidence. [Misamis Oriental II Electric Service
Cooperative vs. Virgilio Cagalawan, G.R. No. 175170 (2012)]

31/08/2020 18
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Civil Code
• Article 1703. No contract which practically amounts
to involuntary servitude, under any guise whatsoever,
shall be valid.

Note:

• A contract is the law between the parties, and courts

have no choice but to enforce such contract so long as
it is not contrary to law, morals, good customs or
public policy. Otherwise, courts would be interfering
with the freedom of contract of the parties. [Maynilad
Water Supervisors Association vs. Maynilad Water Services, Inc., G.R.
No. 198935 (2013)]
31/08/2020 19
LDBattad, 2020
 3. Labor Code

Preliminary Title
Book One: Pre-Employment
Book Two: Human Resources Development Program
Book Three: Conditions of Employment
Book Four: Health, Safety, and Social Welfare Benefits
Book Five: Labor Relations
Book Six: Post-Employment
Book Seven: Transitory and Final Provisions

31/08/2020 20
LDBattad, 2020
 B.
State Policy Towards Labor

31/08/2020 21
LDBattad, 2020
 1. Security of tenure

1987 Constitution

• They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane

conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also
participate in policy and decision-making processes
affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided
by law. [A XIII, S 3]

Labor Code

• The State shall assure the rights of workers to self-

organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure,
and just and humane conditions of work. [A 4]
31/08/2020 22
LDBattad, 2020
 1. Security of tenure
Labor Code
• In case of regular employment, the employer shall not
terminate the services of an employee except for a
just cause or when authorized by this Tile.

• An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work

shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of
seniority rights and other privileges and to his/her full
backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his/her
other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed
from the time his/her compensation was withheld
from him/her up to the time of his/her actual
reinstatement. [A 294]
31/08/2020 23
LDBattad, 2020
 1. Security of tenure

Note:

• Non-regular employees also enjoy security of tenure

although holding a subordinate position vis-à-vis
regular employees; they remain secure in their
employment during the period of their contract of
employment. [Labajo and San Andres High School of Maramag,
Inc. v. Alejandro, et al., G.R. No. 80383 (1988); A.M. Oreta & Co., v.
NLRC, G. R. No. 74004 (1989)]

31/08/2020 24
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Social justice
1987 Constitution

• The Congress shall give highest priority to the

enactment of measures that protect and enhance the
right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social,
economic, and political inequalities, and remove
cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and
political power for the common good.

To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition,

ownership, use, and disposition of property and its
increments. [A III, S 1]
31/08/2020 25
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Social justice
1987 Constitution
• The promotion of social justice shall include the
commitment to create economic opportunities based on
freedom of initiative and self-reliance. [AXIII, S 2]

31/08/2020 26
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Social justice
Note:
• The policy of social justice is not intended to countenance
wrongdoing simply because it is committed by the
underprivileged. At best it may mitigate the penalty but it
certainly will not condone the offense. Compassion for the
poor is an imperative of every humane society but only
when the recipient is not a rascal claiming an undeserved
privilege. Social justice cannot be permitted to be a refuge
of scoundrels any more than can equity be an impediment
to the punishment of the guilty. Those who invoke social
justice may do so only if their hands are clean and their
motives blameless and not simply because they happen to
be poor. [Tirazona vs. Philippine EDS Techno-Service Inc., G.R. No. 169712
(2009)]
31/08/2020 27
LDBattad, 2020
 2. Social justice
Note:
• Social justice should be used only to correct an
injustice. It must be founded on the recognition of
the necessity of interdependence among diverse units
of a society, and of the protection that should be
equally and evenly extended to all groups as a
combined force in our social and economic life. As
partners in nation-building, labor and management
need each other to foster productivity and economic
growth; hence, the need to weigh and balance the
rights and welfare of both the employee and
employer. [Agabon vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 158693 (2004)]
31/08/2020 28
LDBattad, 2020
 3. Equal work opportunities

Article XIII, 1987 Constitution

• Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to

labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized,
and promote full employment and equality of
employment opportunities for all.

xxx

31/08/2020 29
LDBattad, 2020
 3. Equal work opportunities
Labor Code
• Basic Policy – The State shall afford protection to
labor, promote full employment, ensure equal work
opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed and
regulate the relations between workers and
employers. The State shall assure the rights of
workers to self-organization, collective bargaining,
security of tenure, and just and humane conditions
of work. [A 4]
Note:
• The basic policy in Article 4 should be read in
relation to Article XIII, Section 3 of the 1987
Constitution.
31/08/2020 30
LDBattad, 2020
 4. Right of self-organization and
collective bargaining
1987 Constitution
• Section 3. xxx

It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-

organization, collective bargaining and negotiations,
and peaceful concerted activities, including the right
to strike in accordance with law.

31/08/2020 31
LDBattad, 2020
 4. Right of self-organization and
collective bargaining
Labor Code
• Employees
• All persons employed in commercial, industrial and
agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable,
medical or educational institutions, whether operating
for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization
and to form, join or assist labor organizations of their
own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. [A
253]

• Any employee, employed for a definite period or not,

is, beginning on his/her first day of service, considered
an employee for purposes of membership in any labor
union. [Art. 292(c)]
31/08/2020 32
LDBattad, 2020
 4. Right of self-organization and
collective bargaining
Labor Code

• Without definite employers

• Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, self-

employed people, rural workers and those without
any definite employers may form labor
organizations for their mutual aid and protection.
[Art. 253]

31/08/2020 33
LDBattad, 2020
 5. Construction in favor of labor

Civil Code

• In case of doubt, all labor legislation and all labor

contracts shall be construed in favor of the safety and
decent living for the laborer. [A 1702]

Labor Code

• Construction in favor of labor. All doubts in the

implementation and interpretation of the provisions
of this Code, including its implementing rules and
regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor. [A 4]
31/08/2020 34
LDBattad, 2020
 6. Burden of proof and
quantum of evidence
Labor Code
• The burden of proving the termination was for a
valid or authorized cause shall rest on the employer.
[A292 (b), 3rd sentence]

31/08/2020 35
LDBattad, 2020
 6. Burden of proof and
quantum of evidence
Note:
• Burden of Proof in dismissal
• Before the employer must bear the burden of
proving that the dismissal was legal, the employee
must first establish by substantial evidence the fact
of his dismissal from service. If there is no dismissal,
then there can be no question as to the legality or
illegality thereof. [Remoticado v. Typical Construction Trading
Corp., G.R. No. 206529 (2018); MZR Industries v. Colambot (2013)];

31/08/2020 36
LDBattad, 2020
 6. Burden of proof and
quantum of evidence
Note:
• Summary:
• Employee – must first prove the existence of
employer-employee relationship & fact of dismissal
• Employer – prove the legality of the dismissal,
whether for just or authorized cause.

31/08/2020 37
LDBattad, 2020
 6. Burden of proof and
quantum of evidence
Note:
• Employee – has the burden to prove payment in salary
differential, SIL, holiday pay and 13th month pay,
following the basic rule basic rule that in all illegal
dismissal cases the burden rests on the defendant to
prove payment. [Minsola v. New City Builders, Inc. (2018)]

• Employee has the burden to prove that he/she

rendered overtime, and that he/she worked on
holidays and rest days. [Minsola v. New City Builders, Inc. (2018)]

31/08/2020 38
LDBattad, 2020
 6. Burden of proof and
quantum of evidence
Note:
• Quantum of evidence

• In labor cases, substantial evidence is required and

it is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind
might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.
[Digital Telecommunications Phil., Inc. v. Ayaypana, G.R. No.
195614 (2018); Andrada v. Agemar Manning Agency, Inc., G.R.
No. 194758 (2012)]

31/08/2020 39
LDBattad, 2020