SC rules illegally dismissed probationary employees entitled to back wages till reinstatement

THE PHILIPPINE Supreme Court (SC) ruled that illegally dismissed probationary employees are entitled to back wages until their reinstatement.

The SC En Banc said these employees are not only entitled to back wages until the end of their probationary period but until their actual reinstatement, if possible.

The decision penned by Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr. held that a “mere lapse of the probationary period without regularization does not by itself sever the employment relationship.”

“Without any valid grounds to dismiss a probationary employee, there is no basis to terminate the employment. Thus, the employee is entitled to work even beyond the probationary period,” it added.

The issue stemmed from a nurse of a private hospital, who was illegally dismissed citing her “negative performance feedback.”

The appellate court ruled in favor of the nurse, saying she had “successfully met” the hospital’s standards and was illegally dismissed.

“The Court found her dismissal baseless since she obtained the passing grades needed to meet the standards for regularization based on the probationary employment contract,” the High Court’s decision read.

It ruled that she is entitled to reinstatement, full back wages, and other benefits. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana