Dear Atty. Kathy,

My employment with Company X was terminated. When Company X issued to me the notice to explain, they only gave me 24 hours to submit my written explanation. I was late in submitting my written explanation because I needed more time to prepare it. Then, I attended two administrative hearings, and was made to wait for more than two months after the hearings before receiving my dismissal notice. A former co-worker who was also dismissed by Company X told me that I should have been given at least five days to respond to the notice to explain. Do I have grounds to complain to the NLRC for lack of due process because I was only given 24 hours to submit my written explanation?

Kian

Dear Kian,

The purpose of the notice to explain is to allow you to submit your evidence and defenses in the administrative investigation of the charges against you, in order to determine the appropriate penalty to be imposed on you, if any. The notice to explain should contain the specific causes or grounds for termination against you, a detailed narration of the facts and circumstances as basis for the said causes or grounds, and the specific company rules alleged to have been violated.

Based on your narration, while you may have been given only 24 hours to respond to the notice to explain, it appears that your written explanation was accepted even if it was submitted late; you were able to participate in not only one, but two administrative hearings; and you were notified of the decision terminating your employment two months after the administrative hearings.

In view of the foregoing, and as long as the notice to explain contains the facts and circumstances that served as the basis for the charges against you, it appears that the notice to explain is substantially compliant with the requirements of procedural due process, thus, you may not have sufficient grounds to complain based solely on the incident that you were given only 24 hours to respond to the notice to explain.

(Citibank Savings Inc., et al. vs. Brenda L. Rogan, G.R.  220903, 29 March 2023)

Atty. Kathy Larios