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AT A GLANCE:
An employer may terminate an employment for gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties. (Article 297, Labor Code)
Gross neglect is defined as the absence of that diligence that an ordinary prudent man would use in his/her own affairs. (Section 4, par. j, Rule I-A, DOLE D.O. No. 147-15)
Habitual neglect refers to the repeated failure to perform one’s duties over a period of time, depending upon the circumstances. (Section 4, par. k, Rule I-A, DOLE D.O. No. 147-15)
Article 297 of the Labor Code gives an employer the right to terminate an employee for gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties.
The law says:
“An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:
- Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work;
- Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
- Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative;
- Commission 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; and
- Other causes analogous to the foregoing.”
DOLE Department Order No. 147-15 (DO 147-15) amended the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Book VI of the Labor Code, or the rules governing the application of just and authorized causes of termination of employment under Articles 297 to 299 of the Labor Code. DO 147-15 set out the standards on just causes of termination.
As provided for under DO 147-15, to be a valid ground for termination due to gross and habitual neglect of duties, the following must be present:
- There must be neglect of duty; and
- The negligence must be both gross and habitual in character. (Section 5.2 par. c, Rule 1-A)
An isolated incident of negligence would not suffice to justify termination of an employee. The penalty of dismissal would be too harsh for a single act of negligence.
In the case of International School of Manila v. Santos (G.R. No. 167286, February 5, 2014), the Supreme Court ruled that, as mandated by the Labor Code, “in dismissing an employee for gross and habitual neglect of duties, the negligence should not be merely gross, it should also be habitual.
There is gross negligence when there is a want or absence of or failure to exercise slight care or diligence, or the entire absence of case. it evinces a thoughtless disregard of consequences without exerting any effort to avoid them.
In any case, an employer has free reign over every aspect of its business including the dismissal of his employees as long as the exercise of its management prerogative is done reasonably, in good faith, and in a manner not otherwise intended to defeat or circumvent the rights of workers. (Nilo Lafuente and Billy Panaguiton v. Davao Central Warehouse Club, Inc., G.R. No. 247410, March 17, 2021)
Related Article/s:
What are the procedural requirements in dismissing an employee based on just causes?
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