Verbal Dismissal and its Probative Weight in Labor Cases
An employer may be sued before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) for illegal dismissal involving claims of verbal dismissal. How will the labor court appreciate the allegation of verbal dismissal?
In the case of Nuda vs. LGTM Corporation, Inc. (G.R. No. 245835, March 22, 2023), the Supreme Court held that before there can be a finding of illegal dismissal, the fact of dismissal must first be proved by the employee.
Indeed, in illegal dismissal cases, the burden of proof is on the employer in proving that the employee was validly dismissed from employment. However, the employee must first establish by substantial evidence the fact of his or her dismissal from service.
If there is no dismissal, then there can be no question as to the legality or illegality thereof. Applying the foregoing principles, the complainant must first prove that he was actually dismissed by the employer before the legality of his dismissal can be raised as an issue.
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Where it turns out that the employee’s bare allegation is insufficient to establish such fact of dismissal then it is not proper to even discuss the legality or illegality thereof.
Bare and unsubstantiated allegations do not constitute substantial evidence and have no probative value. If aside from the allegation that the employee was verbally dismissed from his work, he failed to present any impartial and independent evidence showing that the employer effectively terminated his employment then the uncorroborated and self-serving allegations fall short of the evidence required under the law to discharge his burden to prove that he was dismissed from service.
Even if the employee who thereafter failed to report for work on the notion that he was dismissed from service may not prove the fact of dismissal. Accordingly, absent any showing of an overt or positive act of the employer proving that it terminated his employment, the latter’s claim of illegal dismissal cannot be sustained as the same would be self-serving, conjectural, and of no probative value.
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