Title
Supreme Court
Globe Telecom, Inc. vs. Ebitner
Case
G.R. No. 242286
Decision Date
Jan 16, 2023
Employee dismissed for alleged fraud after credit adjustment; Supreme Court ruled illegal dismissal, awarded backwages and separation pay, citing lack of wrongful intent.

Case Digest (G.R. No. 138123)
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model

Facts:

  • Parties and Employment Background
    • Petitioner Globe Telecom, Inc. is engaged in telecommunication services.
    • Respondent Kay Abastillas Ebitner was employed by Globe Telecom since June 2005 and was promoted to Retail Shop Specialist.
  • Incident Leading to Dismissal
    • On March 16, 2015, petitioner served respondent a Notice to Explain regarding a credit adjustment of Php998.99 on her father's account without proper notation or justification.
    • Respondent admitted facilitating the credit adjustment on October 24, 2014, using her user ID but could not recall the circumstances or reasons for the adjustment. She requested to check transaction records and expressed willingness to reimburse the amount if invalid.
    • During the administrative hearing on March 30, 2015, respondent explained the adjustment was made as a goodwill gesture for her mother (the end-user) due to dropped calls, and that proper notation was made, although no such notation was retrieved by petitioner.
    • On April 30, 2015, petitioner dismissed respondent for fraud and serious misconduct citing failure to follow standard operating procedures and absence of notation justifying the credit adjustment.
  • Labor Proceedings
    • Respondent filed a complaint for illegal dismissal, illegal suspension, and damages.
    • The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of respondent, finding dismissal harsh and ordering reinstatement but did not declare dismissal illegal.
    • Both parties appealed to the NLRC. The NLRC initially declared dismissal illegal, awarded full backwages, but denied separation pay and attorney’s fees.
    • The NLRC subsequently reversed itself in the Motion for Reconsideration, declaring respondent not illegally dismissed and deleting monetary awards.
    • Respondent filed a Petition for Certiorari before the Court of Appeals (CA).
  • Court of Appeals Ruling
    • The CA reinstated monetary awards and found just cause for dismissal but considered the penalty of dismissal too harsh given respondent’s 10-year unblemished record.
    • CA awarded separation pay in lieu of reinstatement and required respondent to reimburse petitioner Php998.99 plus interest.
    • Petitioner’s Motion for Partial Reconsideration was denied.
  • Supreme Court Petition
    • Petitioner questioned the award of separation pay, arguing it should only be granted where dismissal is valid and not for serious misconduct reflecting on moral character.
    • Respondent maintained she was illegally dismissed and separation pay was proper.

Issues:

  • Is petitioner guilty of illegal dismissal of respondent?
  • Is respondent entitled to separation pay?

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Doctrine:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

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