8/12/2019 Condo Suite Club Travel

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Condo Suite Club Travel, Inc. vs. NLRC

Facts: Petitioner Florencio Lalo was employed as a housekeeper at the Sunette Realty Development

Corporation with a monthly salary of P8,000.00. After his employment with SRD, he signed a new

employment contract with Condo Suite Club under the same terms of employment. Both companies are

owned by the Arcon Group of Companies. Subsequently, petitioners salary was reduced to P6,000.00because of financial distress and to placate him, it was increased to P6,500.00. He was receiving this

amount until the termination of his services. Beside this day job, petitioner owned a rent-a-car service

with Landrigan as his driver. One incident cost his employment, when Landrigan went to the hotel

petitioner was working at and demanded payment of car rental services to one of its guests. The front

desk clerk charged the said expense to the account of the guest with his permission. The guest found

out the discrepancy and reported the overbilling. Petitioner was then terminated by the hotel and

forced him to file a complaint for illegal dismissal. The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint for lack of

merit. The NLRC however, found out that there was illegal dismissal because it was never proved by

substantial evidence that petitioner was guilty of loss of trust and confidence due to the said incident.

The hotel failed to establish that petitioner was part of the overbilling incident and was only made aparty because he owned the rental car services.

Issue: WON petitioner was guilty of loss of trust and confidence.

Ruling: No. Termination of an employment on this ground does not require proof beyond reasonable

doubt of the employees misconduct. It is sufficient that there is some basis for the loss of trust or that

the employer has reasonable ground to believe that the employee is responsible for the misconduct

which renders him unworthy of the trust and confidence demanded by his position. The Court, however,

has repeatedly stressed that the right of an employer to dismiss employees on account of loss of trust

and confidence must not be exercised arbitrarily. Just cause must be shown, so as not to render the

employees constitutional right to security of tenure nugatory. Besides, for loss of confidence to be a

valid ground for dismissal, the basis thereof must arise from particular proven facts. In other words, this

ground must be founded on facts established by the employer who must clearly and convincingly prove

by substantial evidence the facts and incidents upon which loss of confidence in the employee may be

fairly made to rest; otherwise the dismissal will be rendered illegal. In the instant case, the hotel failed

to prove by ample evidence that Florencio Lalo intended to defraud Mr. Hu (the guest), as herein

explained. Hence, there is no basis for petitioner to claim it lost the trust and confidence it had reposed

upon private respondent. In sum, there is no valid and just cause in terminating the employment of

Florencio Lalo. With the finding that Florencio Lalo was illegally dismissed, he is entitled to

reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages inclusive of

allowances, and to other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his

compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement.