What happens in cases before Labor Arbiters?

Running a business is not easy. Aside from the trouble of making sales and finding clients/customers, you also have to deal with your employees. Some employees are great. Others, well, are not so great.

So you started auditing your business. You discovered a discrepancy between your books of account and the actual cash on hand. You then called your bookkeeper or the person in charge of the cash for a meeting.

At the meeting, you confronted your employee with the discrepancy and asked where the rest of the money is. Your employee swears that all cash were properly turned-over. You do not believe him. Exasperated, you told him “You’re fired! Please leave the company immediately.”

A few weeks after, you suddenly receive a Subpoena from the National Labor Relations Commission informing you that your former employee filed a case against you for illegal dismissal. The notice states that you are to appear before a Labor Arbiter at a particular date and time.

Welcome to the world of labor disputes. Your former employee has filed a case against you. If you do not do anything, you may be commanded by the government to reinstate your former employee with full backwages.

Whether you are an employer or an employee, you may end up being involved in a labor dispute before a Labor Arbiter. What happens in this case? Below is a simple summary.

1. As in our hypothetical situation, the employer will receive a Subpoena requiring him/her to attend a Mandatory Conciliation and Mediation Conference. Both the employer and employee are required to attend this conference. The primary purpose of this conference is to find a way to amicably settle the case. This is not the time to air grievances before the Labor Arbiter – there is another time for that.

2. During the conference, the parties should exert every effort to arrive at a compromise. These Mandatory Conciliation and Mediation Conference/s may happen only once, twice, thrice, depending on the willingness of the parties to settle the case.

3. If during any of the conferences the case is settled, then that’s it. The parties will execute a compromise agreement and the case will be terminated.

4. If the case is not settled, the Labor Arbiter will order the parties to simultaneously submit their respective position papers. In the position papers, both the employer and the employee will relate the facts surrounding the dispute, present their evidence and their arguments on why they should win the case. The Labor Arbiters usually set a hearing for the purpose of simultaneously submitting and receiving copies of the parties’ respective position papers. During that hearing, the Labor Arbiter will set another hearing for the submission of the Reply.

4. A Reply is the answer to the position paper. This is where the party will contest and refute the narration made in the opposing parties’ position paper. At the hearing previously set by the Labor Arbiter, the parties will simultaneously submit and receive each other’s Reply. Sometimes, a party will request for a hearing to submit a Rejoinder. A Rejoinder is simply the answer to the Reply.

5. After the submission of the Rejoinder or Reply, as the case may be, the parties may submit the case for decision. Under the Rules, the Labor Arbiter should decide the case within thirty (30) days after the submission of the case by the parties for decision.

6. At any time before the Labor Arbiter renders a decision, the parties can amicably settle the case. If they want to do so, they must inform the Labor Arbiter immediately of their decision to end the dispute.

7. The Labor Arbiter’s decision will be mailed to both the employer and employee, or through their respective lawyers, if any. The decision may then be appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission within ten (10) days from receipt of the decision.