How we can help
Philippine labor law provides strong protections for workers while imposing significant compliance obligations on employers. Whether you are an employee who has been wrongfully dismissed or an employer facing a labor complaint, the outcome of these proceedings can be life-changing.
Vivas & Nobles represents both sides of the employment relationship — with practical, results-focused counsel at every stage from the DOLE through the NLRC and the courts.
Illegal Dismissal Claims
Representation before the NLRC for employees unjustly terminated, seeking reinstatement, backwages, and damages.
Labor Standards Compliance
Advising companies on compliance with wage mandates, holiday pay, 13th-month pay, and occupational safety standards to prevent liabilities.
Drafting of Employment Contracts
Creating clear, legally sound employment agreements, non-compete clauses, and company manuals tailored to your business needs.
Workplace Dispute Mediation
Facilitating negotiations and settlements between management and labor to resolve grievances efficiently and amicably.
Most cases turn on the dismissal and the money
Labor disputes usually reduce to two questions: was the dismissal lawful, and what is owed. A valid dismissal needs both a just or authorized cause and due process, which for just causes means the two-notice rule and a chance to be heard. A dismissal that fails either is illegal and exposes the employer to reinstatement and full backwages. Constructive dismissal — making conditions so unbearable that the employee is forced to resign — counts as dismissal too.
Where you file, and the deadlines that end claims
Most disputes pass first through the DOLE Single Entry Approach (SEnA), a mandatory thirty-day conciliation, before a formal case is docketed with the NLRC or a Labor Arbiter. Deadlines are strict and unforgiving: an illegal dismissal action prescribes in four years, money claims arising from employment in three years, and unfair labor practice in one year. Waiting is the most common way a valid claim is lost.
Estimate what you are owed
Use our separation pay calculator, backwages calculator, and final pay calculator to see the figures before you file.
Frequently asked questions
Was my dismissal legal?
A lawful dismissal requires both a valid cause and due process. Just causes relate to the employee's conduct, such as serious misconduct, and require two written notices and a hearing. Authorized causes are business reasons such as redundancy or retrenchment and require notice to the employee and to DOLE plus separation pay. Missing either the cause or the process makes the dismissal illegal.
How much separation pay am I entitled to?
It depends on the ground. For authorized causes, separation pay is one month or one-half month pay per year of service depending on the cause. If you were illegally dismissed, you are entitled to reinstatement with full backwages, or, where reinstatement is no longer viable, separation pay in lieu of reinstatement plus backwages.
How long do I have to file a labor case?
Illegal dismissal prescribes in four years from the dismissal, money claims arising from the employment relationship in three years from when each accrued, and unfair labor practice in one year. Do not wait, because the clock does not stop while you negotiate.
Do I have to go through DOLE before the NLRC?
In most cases yes. The Single Entry Approach requires a thirty-day conciliation-mediation before a request for assistance can proceed to a formal complaint. Many disputes are resolved there without litigation, and it is a prerequisite the arbiter will check.
What is constructive dismissal?
It is a dismissal in disguise. When an employer makes continued employment impossible or so unreasonable that a reasonable person would feel compelled to resign, through demotion, a significant pay cut, or harassment, the law treats the resignation as an illegal dismissal by the employer.