u/tumesup

ILLEGAL DISMISSAL?

Background: I was employed as a probationary employee at a media agency in the Philippines starting December 3, 2025. My regularization date was June 3, 2026. I was terminated effective May 22, 2026 — giving me only 27 days notice before my regularization date, when the law requires 30. I WAS NOT GIVEN A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. NO DUE PROCESS FOLLOWED. HR DIRECTOR LAUGHING AND WAS JOKING AROUND WHILE I'M CRYING AND SHAKING DURING THE MAY 7 MEETING.

What they cited as grounds:

1. Four performance incidents (errors and execution mistakes) over 5 months
2. An integrity violation — claiming I lied about my attendance on March 31 (Holy Tuesday)

What they did NOT do:

• Never issued a single Notice to Explain (NTE) for any incident
• Never filed any Incident Report (IR) at the time any incident occurred
• Never gave me 5 days to respond in writing to any charge
• Never issued a written warning
• Never placed me on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
• Never conducted a formal hearing
• Only gave me 27 days notice before regularization date — not 30

What makes this worse:

On April 22, 2026 — my 3rd month evaluation — my director told me I would be given a chance to improve. The integrity issue (March 31 attendance) was also raised informally during this same meeting. I explained myself — I told my supervisor I went to the building but decided not to enter, and that when I said "pumasok" to a colleague I meant I went there, not that I clocked in. My supervisor heard this and moved on. He then told me I had a chance.

15 days later on May 7, I was handed a termination letter citing the same four performance incidents and the same integrity issue — without any new incident in between, without any PIP, without any formal process. During the May 7 meeting, the people delivering the news were laughing and smirking. HR's own email later acknowledged I was "not in the proper state of mind" to sign. I had not slept in over 24 hours.

After the meeting, I was told in writing by their LEAD that my sick leaves and terminal leaves "can only be approved/processed once you sign the letter." My earned leave was conditioned on signing the termination document — this is in writing.

Their defense:

• They say emails and Teams meetings constitute due process
• They say no IRs are needed because of "repeated mistakes"
• They say I was "given a chance to explain" via Teams or email
• ALL ARE JUST CAUSE

My position:

• Emails and Teams meetings do not substitute for a formal written NTE with 5 days to respond
• "Repeated mistakes" does not exempt employers from due process — there is no such exception in the Labor Code
• The integrity charge was heard informally on April 22, I gave my defense, supervisor moved on and promised improvement — they cannot revive it 15 days later as a termination ground
• On the integrity charge specifically: biometrics show no entry — which is consistent with my account that I went to the building but did not enter. I said I 'pumasok' — which in Filipino means going toward work, being at the building, showing up. It does not necessarily mean clocking in or entering the premises. I did not falsify any attendance record. I did not submit any fraudulent document. I used a colloquial expression in a casual conversation with a colleague — and that expression was misunderstood, never clarified with me, and elevated into a formal finding of dishonesty in my termination letter.
• They are arguing that all reasons they mentioned on the Termination Contract were just cause. On my defense, how can you prove those are VALID when you didn't even reached out to me so I could explain my side?

My questions:

1. Is my framing of this as illegal dismissal (both cause AND procedure invalid) legally sound — or is this more likely a valid dismissal with procedural defect only (Agabon — nominal damages only)?
2. On the integrity charge specifically — does the fact that I gave my verbal defense on April 22 and was told I had a chance help establish that the charge was effectively settled at that point? Or is the informal nature of that conversation a weakness?
3. Can "repeated mistakes" legally justify skipping IRs and NTE entirely? Is there any jurisprudence supporting that position?
4. Any advice on what to watch out for during the SENA teleconference?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

ILLEGAL DISMISSAL?

Background: I was employed as a probationary employee at a media agency in the Philippines starting December 3, 2025. My regularization date was June 3, 2026. I was terminated effective May 22, 2026 — giving me only 27 days notice before my regularization date, when the law requires 30. I WAS NOT GIVEN A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. NO DUE PROCESS FOLLOWED. HR DIRECTOR LAUGHING AND WAS JOKING AROUND WHILE I'M CRYING AND SHAKING DURING THE MAY 7 MEETING.

What they cited as grounds:

1. Four performance incidents (errors and execution mistakes) over 5 months
2. An integrity violation — claiming I lied about my attendance on March 31 (Holy Tuesday)

What they did NOT do:

• Never issued a single Notice to Explain (NTE) for any incident
• Never filed any Incident Report (IR) at the time any incident occurred
• Never gave me 5 days to respond in writing to any charge
• Never issued a written warning
• Never placed me on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
• Never conducted a formal hearing
• Only gave me 27 days notice before regularization date — not 30

What makes this worse:

On April 22, 2026 — my 3rd month evaluation — my director told me I would be given a chance to improve. The integrity issue (March 31 attendance) was also raised informally during this same meeting. I explained myself — I told my supervisor I went to the building but decided not to enter, and that when I said "pumasok" to a colleague I meant I went there, not that I clocked in. My supervisor heard this and moved on. He then told me I had a chance.

15 days later on May 7, I was handed a termination letter citing the same four performance incidents and the same integrity issue — without any new incident in between, without any PIP, without any formal process. During the May 7 meeting, the people delivering the news were laughing and smirking. HR's own email later acknowledged I was "not in the proper state of mind" to sign. I had not slept in over 24 hours.

After the meeting, I was told in writing by their LEAD that my sick leaves and terminal leaves "can only be approved/processed once you sign the letter." My earned leave was conditioned on signing the termination document — this is in writing.

Their defense:

• They say emails and Teams meetings constitute due process
• They say no IRs are needed because of "repeated mistakes"
• They say I was "given a chance to explain" via Teams or email
• ALL ARE JUST CAUSE

My position:

• Emails and Teams meetings do not substitute for a formal written NTE with 5 days to respond
• "Repeated mistakes" does not exempt employers from due process — there is no such exception in the Labor Code
• The integrity charge was heard informally on April 22, I gave my defense, supervisor moved on and promised improvement — they cannot revive it 15 days later as a termination ground
• On the integrity charge specifically: biometrics show no entry — which is consistent with my account that I went to the building but did not enter. I said I 'pumasok' — which in Filipino means going toward work, being at the building, showing up. It does not necessarily mean clocking in or entering the premises. I did not falsify any attendance record. I did not submit any fraudulent document. I used a colloquial expression in a casual conversation with a colleague — and that expression was misunderstood, never clarified with me, and elevated into a formal finding of dishonesty in my termination letter.
• They are arguing that all reasons they mentioned on the Termination Contract were just cause. On my defense, how can you prove those are VALID when you didn't even reached out to me so I could explain my side?

My questions:

1. Is my framing of this as illegal dismissal (both cause AND procedure invalid) legally sound — or is this more likely a valid dismissal with procedural defect only (Agabon — nominal damages only)?
2. On the integrity charge specifically — does the fact that I gave my verbal defense on April 22 and was told I had a chance help establish that the charge was effectively settled at that point? Or is the informal nature of that conversation a weakness?
3. Can "repeated mistakes" legally justify skipping IRs and NTE entirely? Is there any jurisprudence supporting that position?
4. Any advice on what to watch out for during the SENA teleconference?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!