What are the different types of dismissal? (Labor Law)

As culled from the Labor Code (LC) and existing jurisprudence, the following are the types of dismissal:

1. Dismissal for a just cause under Art. 288 of the LC with due process;
2. Dismissal for authorized cause under Art. 289 of the LC with due process;
3. Dismissal for health reasons under Art. 290 of the LC with due process;
4. Dismissal without just or authorized cause with due process;
5. Dismissal without just or authorized cause without due process;
6. Dismissal for just or authorized cause without due process; and
7. Dismissal for a false or non-existent cause.

Under numbers (1) to (3), the dismissal is undoubtedly valid and the employer will not suffer any liability (Agabon vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 158693, 17 November 2004).

In numbers (4) and (5) which refer to dismissal without just or authorized cause with or without due process, the dismissals are illegal and Art. 285 of the Labor Code mandates that the employee is entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time the compensation was not paid up to the time of actual reinstatement (Ibid).

In number (6) which is dismissal for just or authorized cause without due process, because of the failure to observe the procedural requirements a sanction may be imposed by the Court on the employer to indemnify the dismissed employee (Ibid).

Lastly, the dismissal for a false or non-existent cause is a form of discharge where the employer does not intend to dismiss the employee but for a specific cause which turns out to be false or non-existent. Since there is no intention on the part of the employer to dismiss the employee concerned, reinstatement is therefore warranted. On the other hand, the employer in a dismissal without cause, has the intention to dismiss the employee without cause whatsoever (Pepito vs. Sec. of Labor, 96 SCRA 454; Magtoto vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 63370, 18 November 1985).

Related articles online:
Termination of Employment in the Philippines | Kittelson and Carpo Consulting
July 2012 Philippine Supreme Court Decisions on Labor Law and Procedure | Lexoterica
Agabon vs. NLRC | UST Law Review