G.R. No. L-2779; October 18, 1950
DANIEL SANCHEZ, ET AL., plaintiffs-appellees, vs. HARRY LYONS CONSTRUCTION, INC., ET AL., defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Plaintiffs, employees of defendant corporations, were dismissed on December 31, 1947, without one month’s prior notice. Their employment contracts contained a clause where they waived the benefit of article 302 of the Code of Commerce and any law requiring notice or pay after termination. The employees sued to recover one month’s salary in lieu of notice. The Municipal Court and the Court of First Instance ruled in favor of the employees. Defendants appealed, arguing the employees were not entitled to the benefit under Article 302 and that their waiver was valid.

ISSUE

1. Whether the plaintiffs, including those paid on a daily basis, are entitled to the one-month notice or indemnity under Article 302 of the Code of Commerce.
2. Whether the waiver of such benefit in the employment contracts is valid.

RULING

1. Yes. Article 302 applies to commercial employees where no special time is fixed in the contract. Plaintiffs, as warehousemen, carpenter-foreman, and guards, are commercial employees. The absence of a fixed term and the manner of payment (monthly or daily) do not constitute a “special time” fixing the employment period. The word “temporary” in some contracts refers to the nature of employment, not a definite period.
2. No. A waiver in advance of the benefit under Article 302 is void as contrary to public policy. The constitutional mandate to promote social justice and protect labor aims to balance the inequality in bargaining power between employer and employee. Such a waiver is presumed not to be free and voluntary due to economic necessity and the employer’s superior footing.
The decision of the lower court is affirmed.

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