Simple theft

Dear Atty. Angela,

I have been working as a waiter for a restaurant and my co-waiters have observed that we are not receiving our shares in the service charges paid by customers. Upon questioning, our manager told us that it is due to company policy and we are made to sign payroll documents saying that we already received our share. We plan to file a case for qualified theft against our manager, is this correct?

Nina

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Dear Nina,

While there was theft committed by your manager, this is a simple act of theft and not qualified theft.

In the recent case of Delos Santos v. People, G.R. No. 238383 (2 April 2025), the Supreme Court held that, “[u]nder the Revised Penal Code, theft happens when one takes something that belongs to another without permission, intending to benefit from it, without using violence or force. Theft becomes a more serious crime, known as qualified theft, when it involves the abuse of trust or confidence.

In this case, the manager took the service charges meant for the waiters. These amounts were already set aside for the workers, who became entitled to them upon signing the payroll. The manager kept the money without permission and led all of you to believe it was allowed under company policy.

Here, the victims are the employees and not the employer. Since there is no special trust relationship between the manager and workers, there was no abuse of trust or confidence to qualify the theft.

The store manager could be convicted of simple theft, sentenced to six months in prison and be ordered to pay all of you the withheld service charges, plus interest.

Atty. Angela Antonio