Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE)

February 6, 2023 Dear MICHELLE Pardilla, Thank you for your request dated Feb 01, 2023 09:00:51 AM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch. You asked for THE POLICY FOR TERMINATING A REGULAR EMPLOYEE. Termination by Employer According to Article 297 of the Labor Code, an employer can terminate an employee for just causes, which could be any of the following: a) serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work; b) gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties; c) fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representatives; d) 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 e) other similar causes. Employers can also terminate an employee based on authorized causes like business and health reasons. Art. 298 of the Labor Code Closure of Establishment and Reduction of Personnel states that an employee can be terminated due to business reasons such as: a) installation of labor-saving devices; b) redundancy; c) retrenchment (reduction of costs) to prevent losses; or d) the closing or cessation of operation. For termination of employment based on health reasons, employers are allowed to terminate employees found suffering from any disease and whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health as well as to the health of his co-workers (Art. 299 of Labor Code Disease as Ground for Termination). The employer must obtain from a competent public health authority a certification that the employee’s disease is of such a nature and at such a stage that it can no longer be cured within a period of six (6) months even with medical attention. Attached herewith is a copy of the Labor Code as renumbered for your perusal. We hope that we have clarified your concerns. For further queries, you may reach us through the DOLE Hotline: 1349 Help us to continuously improve our FOI Program Implementation by accomplishing the DOLE-FOI Request Feedback Form through this link: bit.ly/DOLE-FOIFeedbackForm Thank you. Respectfully, Mark Valeros FOI Receiving Officer