Retracted job offer

Dear Atty. Joji,

I received a formal job offer from a private company for a regular position. After reviewing the offer, I signed the document and emailed it back to the company’s HR department on the same day. The offer indicated that my start date would be a few days later. Believing that I was already employed, I turned down several other job offers I had received around the same time. However, before my scheduled start date, the company suddenly withdrew the offer. At that point, was there already an employer-employee relationship between us? Can I take action against the company for this?

Alfred

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Dear Alfred,

An employment contract, like any other contract, is perfected at the moment the parties come to agree upon its terms and conditions, and thereafter, concur in the essential elements thereof. A contract is perfected upon the concurrence of the following requisites: (1) the consent of the contracting parties; (2) an object certain, which is the subject matter of the contract; and (3) the cause of the obligation. “Consent” is manifested by the meeting of the offer and the acceptance upon the thing and the cause which are to constitute the contract. For consent to be valid, the “offer” must be certain, and the “acceptance” must be absolute. A contract is deemed perfected from the time the acceptance is made known to the offeror. Without the offeror’s knowledge of the acceptance, there is no meeting of the minds of the parties, and thus, no real concurrence of offer and acceptance.

In a recent case, the Supreme Court reiterated that once a job offer is accepted, an employer-employee relationship is already formed. The case of Paolo Landayan Aragones v. Alltech Biotechnology Corporation, G.R. No. 251736, 2 April 2025, involved a situation where, before the employee’s start date, Alltech informed him that the position had been abolished due to global restructuring. Complainant Aragones asserted that his acceptance of the Offer Letter on 18 April 2016, established an employment relationship between him and Alltech. He contended that the 1 July 2016 commencement date was not a condition but merely a term that did not suspend the existence of the employer-employee relationship; rather, it only held in abeyance the parties’ right to demand the performance of their respective obligations.

Additionally, he argues that the requirement to sign an employment contract on his first day was a mere formality which does not negate the fact that an employment contract was perfected earlier. Aragones also maintains that the requirements under the four-fold test in determining the existence of an employer relationship were present in this case. He argues therefore that an employer-employee relationship existed as of 18 April 2016, and he could not be dismissed on the ground of redundancy without observing both substantive and procedural due process. The high court ruled:

“An employment contract, like any other contract, is perfected at the moment the parties come to agree upon its terms and conditions, and thereafter, concur in the essential elements thereof. Based on these requirements, the Court finds that an employment contract between Aragones and All tech was perfected on 18 April 2016. This conclusion is supported by the following undisputed facts: (a) Alltech made an offer that is certain through the Job Offer; (b) Aragones unequivocally accepted this offer by affixing his signature thereon on 18 April 2016; and (c) he informed Alltech of his acceptance by sending a copy of the signed Job Offer to respondent Octavio Eckhardt (Eckhardt) via e-mail on the same day. Thus, all tech cannot claim that it validly withdrew its job offer in view of the general rule that an offer, once accepted, cannot be withdrawn.”

“The four-fold test could also not be used as Alltech does not deny that it offered an employment contract to Aragones, which Aragones accepted. The issue is whether Alltech can unilaterally cancel an employment contract on the basis of redundancy, when the contract is subject to a suspensive period. Thus, it was established that an employer-employee relationship existed between Alltech and Aragones.”

In light of the foregoing, it is clear that an employment contract was perfected the moment the offer was accepted and communicated to the employer. As such, the laws governing employer-employee relationships, including those on security of tenure, illegal dismissal, etc. already apply from then on. Applying the Supreme Court’s ruling in Aragones v. Alltech Biotechnology Corporation, the employer cannot unilaterally withdraw the job offer after it has been accepted, as this constitutes a breach of a perfected contract. Accordingly, where the essential elements of a valid contract are present — including a clear offer, absolute acceptance, and timely communication of such acceptance — an employee may validly assert their rights under the employment contract and hold the employer liable for any unjust revocation thereof.

Hope this helps.

Atty. Joji Alonso