Dear Atty. Kathy,

We have an employee in the company who just filed his resignation letter. In the resignation letter, he wrote that he is grateful for his one year in the company; that he will dutifully comply with the turnover and clearance requirements; and that he wishes the company more power. The employee also mentioned that because of the difference in management styles with co-managers, he decided to resign to keep the peace. I was therefore surprised that during the exit interview, the employee said that the real reason he resigned is due to the bullying by other, more senior managers, which is the reason he will be filing a constructive dismissal case. Is there ground for a constructive dismissal case when the employee’s resignation letter shows he voluntarily resigned?

Onyx

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Dear Onyx,

There is constructive dismissal “when continued employment is rendered impossible, unreasonable or unlikely; when there is a demotion in rank and/or a diminution in pay; or when a clear discrimination, insensibility or disdain by an employer becomes unbearable to the employee.”

The test to determine if there is constructive dismissal is “whether a reasonable person in the employee’s position would have felt compelled to give up his position under the circumstances.”

However, constructive dismissal cannot be presumed from bare allegations. If a claim for constructive dismissal is unsupported by evidence on record, such claim cannot be sustained.

On the other hand, resignation is understood to be an employee’s voluntary decision to end employment, by making a formal pronouncement or relinquishment of a position or office. As ruled by the Supreme Court, in illegal dismissal cases, it is a fundamental rule that when an employer interposes the defense of resignation, on them necessarily rests the burden to prove that the employee indeed voluntarily resigned.

Based solely on your narration, the employee’s resignation letter contained words of gratitude, well wishes, and a commitment to comply with clearance requirements, as well as, a desire to keep the peace with his co-managers; but that, during the exit interview, the employee suddenly alleged bullying and constructive dismissal.

There may be grounds for constructive dismissal if the employee can present substantial evidence that there was a clear discrimination, insensibility or disdain by your company which became unbearable to the employee; and by showing that your company was informed of the alleged bullying and that it did not take reasonable action to deal with the issue.

However, if the only clear evidence is the resignation letter where the employee expressed gratitude, this would negate claims of adverse or intolerable working conditions. An employee’s acknowledgment of appreciation and gratitude in a resignation letter is inconsistent with any claim that the resignation was the result of force or coercion. In such circumstances, a claim for constructive dismissal cannot be sustained.

(Herlyn Sabay Ferrer versus Genpact LLC, et al., G.R. No. 272830, 24 February 2026)

Atty. Kathy Larios