Published — December 26, 2020
The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of your own lawyer to address your legal concerns, if any.
Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
Read also: Preventive Suspension as a Recourse of an Employer
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Employers in the private sector, in the exercise of management prerogative, may suspend work during natural or man-made calamity.
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Employee’s wage during suspension of work by reason of calamity will depend on whether he/ she worked on the said day, or whether or not the employee is uniformly paid by the month.
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Employees who fail or refuse to work by reason of imminent danger resulting from natural or man-made calamity shall not subject to any administrative sanction.
May the employer suspend work by reason of natural or man-made calamity?
Yes.
Labor advisory No. 01 Series of 2020 provides:
Except as provided for by law or appropriate proclamation, employers in the private sector shall, in the exercise of management prerogative and in coordination with the safety and health committee, or safety officer, or any other responsible company officer, suspend work to ensure the safety and health of their employees during natural or man-made calamity.
As to the payment of wages, the following shall apply:
(a) lf unworked- No pay, unless there is a favorable company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment of wages on said day. When the employee has accrued leave credits, he/she may be allowed to utilize such leave so that he/she will have compensation on said days.
(b) lf worked- No additional pay shall be given to the employees but only their salary on said day. To alleviate the plight of employees in times of natural or man-made calamity, the employers may provide such extra incentives or benefits to employees who reported to work on the said days.
However, please note that in the case of Wellington Investment and Manufacturing Corporation vs. Cresenciano B. Trajano (G.R. No. 114698 July 3, 1995), the Court explained that as regards employees “who are uniformly paid by the month,” in the event of the declaration of any special holiday, or any fortuitous cause precluding work on any particular day or days (such as transportation strikes, riots, or typhoons or other natural calamities), the employee is entitled to the salary for the entire month and the employer has no right to deduct the proportionate amount corresponding to the days when no work was done. The monthly compensation is evidently intended precisely to avoid computations and adjustments resulting from the contingencies just mentioned which are routinely made in the case of workers paid on daily basis.
Nonetheless, employees who fail or refuse to work by reason of imminent danger resulting from natural or man-made calamity shall not be exposed to or subject to any administrative sanction.
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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