**Facts:**
1. **Initial Employment and Incident:**
– On June 13, 2003, Flordeliz M. Abatayo (Velayo) was hired by PJ (CEBU) Lhuillier, Inc. as an Accounting Clerk at their Cagayan de Oro City branch, earning a monthly salary of PHP 9,353.
– On October 29, 2007, an audit revealed a cash overage of PHP 540 in the branch where Velayo was responsible. This amount was neither reported to the supervisor nor recorded in the system by the end of the business day.
2. **Preventive Suspension and Investigation:**
– On February 9, 2008, Velayo received a Show Cause Memo from Mario Ramon Ludeña, the Area Operations Manager, for alleged dishonesty and misappropriation. Velayo was placed under preventive suspension from February 9 to March 8, 2008, during the investigation.
3. **Response and Termination:**
– Velayo replied on February 11, 2008, admitting she didn’t report the overage because her supervisor was on leave and insisted it was an honest mistake with no intent to defraud.
– On March 10, 2008, after the investigation deemed her explanation inadequate, PJ Lhuillier terminated Velayo for serious misconduct and breach of trust.
4. **Labor Complaint:**
– Velayo filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and separation pay on March 14, 2008. The Labor Arbiter (LA), on July 23, 2008, dismissed her complaint, ruling the termination valid.
5. **NLRC Ruling:**
– Velayo appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), which reversed the LA’s decision on March 19, 2009, declaring her dismissal illegal due to lack of sufficient just cause and ordered her reinstatement or payment of separation pay and full back wages.
6. **CA Appeal:**
– PJ Lhuillier and Ludeña filed a certiorari petition with the Court of Appeals (CA), challenging the NLRC’s decision. The CA upheld the NLRC’s ruling on June 30, 2011, affirming Velayo’s illegal dismissal.
**Issues:**
1. Whether Velayo’s actions amounted to serious misconduct justifying her dismissal.
2. Whether the penalty of termination was proportionate to Velayo’s alleged offense.
**Court’s Decision:**
1. **Misconduct Assessment:**
– The Supreme Court determined that Velayo, holding a position of trust as a cashier and vault custodian, had committed a breach of trust and confidence. The Court found that the lower courts (NLRC and CA) erred in treating the incident as a simple mistake, emphasizing the stringently fiduciary nature of Velayo’s role.
2. **Proportionality of Dismissal:**
– It ruled that a cashier tasked with handling company funds could legitimately be dismissed for failing to properly account for money entrusted to her. Velayo’s persistent mishandling of the overage, including her failure to report and subsequent false denials, justified the employer’s loss of confidence and warranted her termination.
**Doctrine:**
– **Trust and Confidence in Employment:** An employee holding a position of trust and confidence can be terminated for loss of confidence due to acts that breach this trust. Substantial evidence of such breach justifies dismissal.
– **Proportionality of Punishment:** The penalty must match the seriousness of the offense, with more severe sanctions for those in positions of trust involving financial responsibilities.
**Class Notes:**
– **Key Elements of Employment Dismissal:**
– Employer’s burden to prove just cause.
– Requirement of serious misconduct or willful breach of trust for just cause dismissal.
– Substantial evidence over reasonable doubt to support employer decisions grounded only on valid bases in policy and fiduciary trust.
– **Statutory Provisions:**
– **Labor Code Article 282:** Identifies serious misconduct and willful breach of trust as just causes for termination.
**Historical Context:**
– This case sits within the broader theme of employment law, particularly the delicate balance between an employer’s right to expect fidelity and an employee’s security of tenure. The decision reinforces the principle that employees in fiduciary roles hold enhanced trust obligations due to their access to and handling of sensitive company assets.
Leave a Reply