Case Digest (G.R. No. 251816)
Facts:
Myra M. Moral filed a complaint for illegal dismissal on 5 March 2014 after respondent Momentum Properties Management Corporation informed her on 27 December 2013 that she should no longer report for work following a six‑month probationary employment beginning 26 June 2013. The Labor Arbiter declared illegal dismissal and awarded backwages, separation pay, moral and exemplary damages; the NLRC modified by deleting moral and exemplary damages; the Court of Appeals annulled the NLRC decisions for procedural infirmity and awarded nominal damages of P30,000.00; petitioner sought review in the Supreme Court.
Issues:
- Was petitioner illegally dismissed from her probationary employment?
- Did the manner of termination violate procedural due process such that nominal damages are warranted?
Ruling:
The petition was denied and the Decision dated 22 March 2016 and Resolution dated 19 July 2016 of the Court of Appeals were affirmed. The Court held that petitioner failed to qualify for regularization due to substandard test results and performance appraisals, but respondent committed a procedural infirmity in effecting termination, entitling petitioner to nominal damages of P30,000.00.
Ratio:
The Court found the Employment Agreement plainly established probationary employment and reasonably communicated the standards for regularization in compliance with Section 6(d), Rule I, Book VI of the Omnibus Rules; documentary evidence and appraisal scores showed petitioner’s failure to meet those standards. Nonetheless, termination of a probationary employee requires a written notice within a reasonable time as provided in Section 2, Rule I, Book VI and consistent with Article 292(b), and informing petitioner by text messages with a belated NAWOL constituted procedural defect; under Agabon v. National Labor Relations Commission the procedural violation warranted nominal damages, fixed at P30,000.00.
Doctrine:
- Probationary employment authorizes an employer to observe and deny regularization if reasonable standards disclosed at engagement are not met.
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