Substantial due process vs Procedural due process in termination of employees

Dear PAO,

Employee M was terminated but was ordered reinstated by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) because he was able to prove that he did not commit any gross or habitual neglect of duty. Now, employee R was recently terminated by his employer because of habitual neglect of duty. He admits that there was really negligence on his part, but his private company allegedly did not give him the opportunity to explain. He was just notified that he was investigated and was thereafter terminated. Is it possible for R to be reinstated as well due to the lapse of his private employer in giving him an opportunity to explain his side?

Elijah

Dear Elijah,

There are two facets when it comes to the termination of private employees. First is substantial due process, which requires that there be a just or authorized cause for the employee's termination. Second is procedural due process, which requires that the employee be expressly informed of any breach, violation, or infraction allegedly committed and subject of investigation, that the employee be given the opportunity to explain, and that he/she be expressly informed of the results of the investigation and the decision of the employer.

Substantial due process emphasizes the protection of the employee's right to security of tenure, such that if an employee is terminated without just or authorized cause, he/she is entitled to reinstatement, among others. To be specific, the Labor Code provides:

«ART. 294. [279] Security of tenure. — In cases of regular employment, the employer shall not terminate the services of an employee except for a just cause or when authorized by this Title. An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement.

»ART. 296. [281] Probationary employment. — x x x The services of an employee who has been engaged on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a