Nature of disobedience that would warrant dismissal of an employee

Dear PAO,

The past couple of months have been hard on my sister as two of her officemates have been picking on her which really affected her work performance. A few weeks ago, they had a very heated argument. The management investigated the incident, and just this week, my sister received a notice of transfer to another department which is to take effect in a week. There was no explanation given to her. Though her salary and benefits are not affected, she feels that the transfer is unnecessary. Anyway, she was asked to sign a copy of the notice of transfer, which she refused to do until the management or her supervisor gave her an explanation. She even wrote a letter to the management, asking for the specific reason/s for her transfer. Apparently, until now, she has not received a reply. A staff from their HR department came to her again, asking her to sign the notice of transfer and informing her that she could be dismissed for disobedience if she kept refusing to sign. Is that correct? My sister does not intend to deliberately disobey; she just wants honesty and transparency.

Sophia

Dear Sophia,

Willful disobedience by an employee to legitimate orders of the employer, which is related to the employee's work, is a just cause to dismiss an employee. This is provided under Article 297 (formerly Article 282) of our Labor Code:

«ART. 297 [282]. TERMINATION BY EMPLOYER. – An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:

»(a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work; x x x" (Emphasis supplied)

However, it bears stressing that the nature of the disobedience should not only be intentional but must also be shown to be wrongful and perverse in order to be considered a valid basis for dismissing an employee. If the disobedience is on account of a legitimate concern raised by the employee that appears to fall on deaf ears, so to speak, then it may not fall within the ambit of Article 297 (a) of the Labor Code. As in the case of Neren Villanueva vs. Ganco Resort and Recreation, Inc. (GR 227175, Jan. 8, 2020) where the Supreme Court, through Associate