G.R. No. 220170 , August 19, 2020
Bayview Management Consultants, Inc., Charlie Lamb, Frank Gordon, Rosemarie Moradilla, Rowena Andrade, Noc Global Marketing, Inc., Phil-Amer Immigration Svcs., Inc., Prodatanet, Inc., Dox International Services, Inc., and I-Jobs International Recruitment Agency, Inc., Petitioners, vs. Pedrita Heloisa B. Pre, Respondent.

FACTS

Respondent Pedrita Heloisa B. Pre was hired as a legal officer in 2006 and later promoted to Corporate Affairs Manager for the CLAMB Group of Companies, heading the human resources and legal departments. In 2011, she was assigned additional duties as a Customer Service Representative (CSR), tasked with answering phone calls and jotting notes, which she perceived as demeaning for her managerial position. When she suggested a different procedure, her immediate supervisor, petitioner Frank Gordon, called her “stupid and incompetent” and told her to accept the project or resign. Petitioner Rosemarie Moradilla, President of some of the companies, repeatedly verbally advised Pre to resign. After Pre sent an email demanding a substantial separation package, Moradilla told her to forget the incident and keep her job. Subsequently, Pre was treated with indifference, received emails implying negligence in her duties, and felt harassed to make her appear incompetent. She filed a complaint for constructive illegal dismissal. The Labor Arbiter and the NLRC dismissed her complaint, finding no constructive dismissal. The Court of Appeals reversed these rulings.

ISSUE

Whether the acts of the petitioners, including demotion through the CSR assignment, verbal abuse, repeated solicitation of resignation, and subsequent hostile and apathetic conduct, constitute constructive illegal dismissal.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals’ finding of constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal exists when an act of clear discrimination, insensibility, or disdain by the employer renders the employee’s continued employment intolerable, forcing resignation. The test is whether a reasonable person in the employee’s position would feel compelled to give up the job. The Court found that assigning Pre, a Corporate Affairs Manager, to perform CSR duties was a demotion in rank. Gordon’s act of calling her “stupid and incompetent” and the repeated solicitations for her resignation constituted insulting and disdainful treatment. The subsequent apathetic conduct and imputation of incompetence through emails created an unbearable hostile work environment aimed at forcing her out. These acts, taken together, amounted to constructive dismissal, a dismissal in disguise. The petitioners were ordered to pay Pre backwages and separation pay (in lieu of reinstatement due to strained relations), moral damages, and exemplary damages, with legal interest. The award of attorney’s fees was denied for failure to specify the amount in the complaint.