Constructive dismissal

Dear Atty. Joji,

I worked at a company for several years. The company hired a new manager who, over time, began publicly criticizing me, making sarcastic comments, and treating me like I didn’t belong. I eventually felt I had no choice but to submit my resignation because the environment was unbearable. Do you think this can be considered as constructive dismissal?

Arnold

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Dear Arnold,

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that workplace conduct that renders continued employment unreasonable or intolerable can amount to constructive dismissal. In the case of Gan v. Galderma Philippines Inc. (G.R. No. 177167, 17 January 2013), the Supreme Court explained that constructive dismissal happens when an employee is forced to resign because continued employment has become impossible, unreasonable, or unbearable due to the employer’s actions.

“Constructive dismissal is defined as quitting or cessation of work because continued employment is rendered impossible, unreasonable or unlikely; when there is a demotion in rank or a diminution of pay and other benefits. It exists if an act of clear discrimination, insensibility, or disdain by an employer becomes so unbearable on the part of the employee that it could foreclose any choice by him except to forego his continued employment. There is involuntary resignation due to the harsh, hostile, and unfavorable conditions set by the employer. The test of constructive dismissal is whether a reasonable person in the employee’s position would have felt compelled to give up his employment/position under the circumstances.

On the other hand, “resignation is the voluntary act of an employee who is in a situation where one believes that personal reasons cannot be sacrificed in favor of the exigency of the service, and one has no other choice but to dissociate oneself from employment. It is a formal pronouncement or relinquishment of an office, with the intention of relinquishing the office accompanied by the act of relinquishment. As the intent to relinquish must concur with the overt act of relinquishment, the acts of the employee before and after the alleged resignation must be considered in determining whether he or she, in fact, intended to sever his or her employment.”

Since Gan submitted a resignation letter, it is incumbent upon him to prove with clear, positive, and convincing evidence that his resignation was not voluntary but was actually a case of constructive dismissal; that it is a product of coercion or intimidation. He has to prove his allegations with particularity.

Ultimately, the law looks past the resignation letter and weighs concrete indicators to determine whether leaving was voluntary or forced by intolerable working conditions.

Hope this helps.

Atty. Joji Alonso