u/ExpertFriendly8222

Hi friends. I need some legal advice and ask for help on what to do when reporting to DOLE or NLRC.

My partner is a fitness coach/trainer at a gym, and has worked there for more than a year. A few weeks ago, he was unjustly terminated due to not being able to attend a general staff meeting held on a Sunday.

For context, we were on vacation and he had already filed for leave a week prior to our trip. This staff meeting was announced on a Friday (our first day away), and as it turns out, the HR person apparently was not able to notify management regarding my partner’s leave.

The HR and management’s mistake was dismissed, the company decides to terminate my partner for various other reasons and took no accountability whatsoever for overlooking his filed leave. Mind you, some of the reasons for termination were false.

But that’s not where it ends. There are several reasons why we want to report this to DOLE and NLRC:

1. The current minimum wage in our city is ₱540/day. The coaches in the gym are deliberately paid below minimum (₱501/day) because they already receive incentives from clients they train.
2. My partner and his colleagues were not given any benefits (SSS, PagIbig, PhilHealth), and was not provided a bank account despite this being promised during their onboarding periods.
3. They do not receive any double pay/holiday pay.
4. My partner was denied 13th month pay, and was asked by management to pay almost 8k pesos because of unfinished client sessions.

To elaborate on this, the client pays ₱4500/month for membership and personal training worth 15 sessions. The coach’s incentives are ₱2500 per client. Due to his termination, he was asked to pay almost 8000 pesos because of unfinished client sessions.

How on earth is this fair and just? Afaik, it is illegal for employers to ask money from their employees.

We really need some advice/insights on this, as we are unfamiliar with labor law and do not have enough funds to hire a lawyer. We do not know what steps we have to take or how we should approach DOLE about this.

Would really appreciate anyone’s thoughts about this 🙏

Hi friends. I need some legal advice and ask for help on what to do when reporting to DOLE or NLRC.

My partner is a fitness coach/trainer at a gym, and has worked there for more than a year. A few weeks ago, he was unjustly terminated due to not being able to attend a general staff meeting held on a Sunday.

For context, we were on vacation and he had already filed for leave a week prior to our trip. This staff meeting was announced on a Friday (our first day away), and as it turns out, the HR person apparently was not able to notify management regarding my partner’s leave.

The HR and management’s mistake was dismissed, the company decides to terminate my partner for various other reasons and took no accountability whatsoever for overlooking his filed leave. Mind you, some of the reasons for termination were false.

But that’s not where it ends. There are several reasons why we want to report this to DOLE and NLRC:

1. The current minimum wage in our city is ₱540/day. The coaches in the gym are deliberately paid below minimum (₱501/day) because they already receive incentives from clients they train.

2. My partner and his colleagues were not given any benefits (SSS, PagIbig, PhilHealth), and was not provided a bank account despite this being promised during their onboarding periods.

3. They do not receive any double pay/holiday pay.

4. My partner was denied 13th month pay, and was asked by management to pay almost 8k pesos because of unfinished client sessions.

To elaborate on this, the client pays ₱4500/month for membership and personal training worth 15 sessions. The coach’s incentives are ₱2500 per client. Due to his termination, he was asked to pay almost 8000 pesos because of unfinished client sessions.

How on earth is this fair and just? Afaik, it is illegal for employers to ask money from their employees.

We really need some advice/insights on this, as we are unfamiliar with labor law and do not have enough funds to hire a lawyer. We do not know what steps we have to take or how we should approach DOLE about this.

Would really appreciate anyone’s thoughts about this 🙏