Dear Atty. Angela,
I worked for a company for five years until I decided to resign. They deducted monthly SSS mandatory contributions from my salary as shown by the breakdown and deductions in my payslips. When I went to SSS to loan, I discovered that the company did not remit my SSS contributions for more than a year and this got me so shocked because I will now have to pay for the gap to update my account. What case can I file against my previous employer?
Cynthia
Dear Cynthia,
Under the Social Security Act of 2018 (RA 11199), employers are legally mandated to pay their share, deduct employee contributions, and remit these to the SSS monthly. Non-compliance will entail penalties including 3 percent monthly interest, fines (P5,000–P20,000), imprisonment, and potential criminal liability for estafa.
As mentioned, aside from incurring civil liability, erring employers could also be subjected to criminal prosecution. In Navarra v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 224943 (2017), the Supreme Court ruled that:
“Verily, prompt remittance of SSS contributions under the aforesaid provision is mandatory. Any divergence from this rule subjects the employer not only to monetary sanctions, i.e., the payment of penalty of three percent per month, but also to criminal prosecution if the employer fails to: (a) register its employees with the SSS; (b) deduct monthly contributions from the salaries/wages of its employees; or (c) remit to the SSS its employees’ SSS contributions and/or loan payments after deducting the same from their respective salaries/wages.”
In this regard, Section 28 (f) of RA 8282 explicitly provides that “[i]f the act or omission penalized by this Act be committed by an association, partnership, corporation or any other institution, its managing head, directors or partners shall be liable to the penalties provided in this Act for the offense.’ Notably, the aforesaid punishable acts are considered mala prohibita and, thus, the defenses of good faith and lack of criminal intent are rendered immaterial.”
In addition, Section 28(e) and (f) of RA 11199 likewise penalizes the erring employer with punishment of fine of P5,000 to P20,000 or imprisonment of not less than six years and one day to 12 years, or both imprisonment and fine, and imposes such penalty to the officers, partners, or director of the company who failed to remit the mandatory SSS contributions of their employees.
Atty. Angela Antonio