ULP

ART. 259. [248] Unfair Labor Practices of Employers.

It shall be unlawful for an employer to commit any of the following unfair labor practices:

(a) To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization;
(b) To require as a condition of employment that a person or an employee shall not join a labor
organization or shall withdraw from one to which he belongs;
(c) To contract out services or functions being performed by union members when such will interfere with,
restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization;
(d) To initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere with the formation or administration of any labor
organization, including the giving of financial or other support to it or its organizers or supporters;
(e) To discriminate in regard to wages, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment in
order to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization. Nothing in this Code or in any
other law shall stop the parties from requiring membership in a recognized collective bargaining agent as
a
condition for employment, except those employees who are already members of another union at the time
of the signing of the collective bargaining agreement.
Employees of an appropriate bargaining unit who are not members of the recognized collective
bargaining agent may be assessed a reasonable fee equivalent to the dues and other fees paid by
members of the recognized collective bargaining agent, if such non-union members accept the benefits
under the collective
bargaining agreement: Provided, That the individual authorization required under Article 242, paragraph
(o) of this Code shall not apply to the non-members of the recognized collective bargaining agent;
(f) To dismiss, discharge or otherwise prejudice or discriminate against an employee for having given or
being about to give testimony under this Code;
(g) To violate the duty to bargain collectively as prescribed by this Code; or its officers or agents as part of
the settlement of any issue in collective bargaining or any other dispute; or
(h) To pay negotiation or attorney’s fees to the union or its officers or agents as part of the settlement of
any issue in collective bargaining or any other dispute; or
(i) To violate a collective bargaining agreement.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph notwithstanding, only the officers and agents of corporations,
associations or partnerships who have actually participated in, authorized or ratified unfair labor practices
shall be held criminally liable.

ART. 260. [249] Unfair Labor Practices of Labor Organizations.

It shall be unfair labor practice for a labor organization, its officers, agents or representatives:

(a) To restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization. However, a labor
organization shall have the right to prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of
membership;
(b) To cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an employee, including
discrimination against an employee with respect to whom membership in such organization has been
denied or to terminate an employee on any ground other than the usual terms and conditions under which
membership or continuation of membership is made available to other members;
(c) To violate the duty, or refuse to bargain collectively with the employer, provided it is the representative
of the employees;
(d) To cause or attempt to cause an employer to pay or deliver or agree to pay or deliver any money or
other things of value, in the nature of an exaction, for services which are not performed or not to be
performed, including the demand for fee for union negotiations; the settlement of any issue in collective
bargaining or any other dispute; or
(e) To ask for or accept negotiation or attorney’s fees from employers as part of the settlement of any
issue in collective bargaining or any other dispute; or
(f) To violate a collective bargaining agreement.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph notwithstanding, only the officers, members of governing
boards, representatives or agents or members of labor associations or organizations who have actually
participated in, authorized or ratified unfair labor practices shall be held criminally liable.

ART. 305. [290] Offenses. Offenses penalized under this Code and the rules and regulations issued
pursuant thereto shall prescribe in three (3) years.
All unfair labor practice arising from Book V shall be filed with the appropriate agency within one (1) year
from accrual of such unfair labor practice; otherwise, they shall be forever barred.

ART. 303. [288] Penalties.

Except as otherwise provided in this Code, or unless the acts complained of hinge on a question of
interpretation or implementation of ambiguous provisions of an existing collective bargaining agreement,
any violation of the provisions of this Code declared to be unlawful or penal in nature shall be punished
with a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) nor more than Ten Thousand Pesos
(P10,000.00), or imprisonment of not less than three months nor more than three years, or both such fine
and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.
In addition to such penalty, any alien found guilty shall be summarily deported upon completion of service
of sentence.
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any criminal offense punished in this Code shall be
under the concurrent jurisdiction of the Municipal or City Courts and the Courts of First Instance.

ART. 224. [217] Jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiters and the Commission.
(a) Except as otherwise provided under this Code, the Labor Arbiters shall have original and exclusive
jurisdiction to hear and decide, within thirty (30) calendar days after the submission of the case by the
parties for decision without extension, even in the absence of stenographic notes, the following cases
involving all workers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural:
(1) Unfair labor practice cases;
(2) Termination disputes;
(3) If accompanied with a claim for reinstatement, those cases that workers may file involving
wages, rates of pay, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment;
(4) Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages arising from the employer-
employee relations;
(5) Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of this Code, including questions involving the
legality of strikes and lockouts; and
(6) Except claims for Employees Compensation, Social Security, Medicare and maternity
benefits, all other claims arising from employer-employee relations, including those of persons in
domestic or household service, involving an amount exceeding five thousand pesos (P5,000.00)
regardless of whether accompanied with a claim for reinstatement.
(b) The Commission shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by Labor Arbiters.
(c) Cases arising from the interpretation or implementation of collective bargaining agreements and those
arising from the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies shall be disposed of by the
Labor Arbiter by referring the same to the grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration as may be
provided in said agreements.

ART. 258. [247] Concept of Unfair Labor Practice and Procedure for Prosecution Thereof.
Unfair labor practices violate the constitutional right of workers and employees to self-organization, are
inimical to the legitimate interests of both labor and management, including their right to bargain
collectively and otherwise deal with each other in an atmosphere of freedom and mutual respect, disrupt
industrial peace and hinder the promotion of healthy and stable labor management relations.
Consequently, unfair labor practices are not only violations of the civil rights of both labor and
management but are also criminal offenses against the State which shall be subject to prosecution and
punishment as herein provided.
Subject to the exercise by the President or by the Secretary of Labor and Employment of the powers
vested in them by Articles 263 and 264 of this Code, the civil aspects of all cases involving unfair labor
practices, which may include claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages, attorney’s
fees and other affirmative relief, shall be under the jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiters. The Labor Arbiters
shall give utmost priority to the hearing and resolution of all cases involving unfair labor practices. They
shall resolve such cases within thirty (30) calendar days from the time they are submitted for decision.
Recovery of civil liability in the administrative proceedings shall bar recovery under the Civil Code.
No criminal prosecution under this Title may be instituted without a final judgment finding that an unfair
labor practice was committed, having been first obtained in the preceding paragraph. During the
pendency of such administrative proceeding, the running of the period of prescription of the criminal
offense herein penalized shall be considered interrupted: Provided, however, That the final judgment in
the administrative proceedings shall not be binding in the criminal case nor be considered as evidence of
guilt but merely as proof of compliance of the requirements therein set forth.

Right to Security of Tenure

ART. 295. [280] Regular and Casual Employment. The provisions of written agreement to the contrary
notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment shall be deemed to
be regular where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or
desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has been fixed for
a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time
of the engagement of the employee or where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature
and the employment is for the duration of the season.
An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding paragraph: Provided,
that any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is continuous or
broken, shall be considered a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and
his
employment shall continue while such activity exists.

ART. 296. [281] Probationary Employment. Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months
from the date the employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement
stipulating a longer period. The services of an employee who has been engaged on a probationary basis
may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with
reasonable standards made known by the employer to the employee at the time of his engagement. An
employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered a regular employee.

Termination of Employment
ART. 297. [282] Termination by Employer. An employer may terminate an employment for any of the
following causes:
(a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or
representative in connection with his work;
(b) Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized
representative;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any
immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representatives; and
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.

ART. 298. [283] Closure of Establishment and Reduction of Personnel. The employer may also
terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy,
retrenchment to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or
undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Title, by serving a
written notice on the workers and the Ministry of Labor and Employment at least one (1) month before the
intended date thereof. In case of termination due to the installation of labor-saving devices or redundancy,
the worker affected thereby shall be entitled to a separation pay equivalent to at least his one (1) month
pay or to at least one (1) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. In case of
retrenchment to prevent losses and in cases of closures or cessation of operations of establishment or
undertaking not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, the separation pay shall be
equivalent to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month pay for every year of service, whichever
is higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months shall be considered one (1) whole year.

ART. 292. [277] Miscellaneous Provisions.

(b) Subject to the constitutional right of workers to security of tenure and their right to be protected against
dismissal except for a just and authorized cause and without prejudice to the requirement of notice under
Article 283 of this Code, the employer shall furnish the worker whose employment is sought to be
terminated a written notice containing a statement of the causes for termination and shall afford the latter
ample opportunity to be heard and to defend himself with the assistance of his representative if he so
desires in accordance with company rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to guidelines set by the
Department of Labor and Employment. Any decision taken by the employer shall be without prejudice to
the right of the worker to contest the validity or legality of his dismissal by filing a complaint with the
regional branch of the National Labor Relations Commission. The burden of proving that the termination
was for a valid or authorized cause shall rest on the employer. The Secretary of the Department of Labor
and Employment may suspend the effects of the termination pending resolution of the dispute in the event
of a prima facie finding by the appropriate official of the Department of Labor and Employment before
whom such dispute is pending that the termination may cause a serious labor dispute or is in
implementation of a mass lay-off.

ART. 294. [279] Security of Tenure.

In cases of regular employment, the employer shall not terminate the services of an employee except for
a just cause or when authorized by this Title. An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be
entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and to his full back wages,
inclusive of allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his
compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement.