Where a Quezon City labor case actually goes
Nearly every labor claim begins the same way, with a Request for Assistance under the Single Entry Approach (SEnA) filed at the DOLE field office with jurisdiction over the workplace. For a Quezon City employer that is the DOLE office serving QC under the National Capital Region. SEnA is free, needs no lawyer to start, and triggers a mandatory thirty-day conciliation-mediation.
If SEnA does not settle it, the case is referred onward, and the split matters:
- The DOLE Regional Director handles labor standards claims where the employment relationship still exists, and money claims within the statutory threshold that do not include reinstatement;
- The Labor Arbiter of the NLRC, at the National Capital Region arbitration branch covering Quezon City, handles illegal dismissal, claims with reinstatement, larger money claims, and claims for damages.
Two deadlines that end cases before they start
- Money claims arising from the employment relationship — unpaid wages, overtime, holiday pay, 13th month, final pay — prescribe in THREE (3) YEARS from when each claim accrued;
- Illegal dismissal must be filed within FOUR (4) YEARS.
These run whether or not the employer is stringing you along, and a promise to 'process it next month' does not stop them. This is the single most common reason a meritorious claim is lost.
What you can recover if the dismissal was illegal
An illegally dismissed employee is entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and to full backwages from the time compensation was withheld up to actual reinstatement. Where reinstatement is no longer viable — a genuinely strained relationship, a closed business, or an abolished position — separation pay in lieu of reinstatement is awarded instead. Moral and exemplary damages and attorney's fees may be added where the dismissal was attended by bad faith.
A critical allocation: in an illegal dismissal case the EMPLOYER carries the burden of proving that the dismissal was for a just or authorized cause and that due process was observed. The employee does not have to prove innocence.
Constructive dismissal is still dismissal
You do not have to be handed a termination letter. A demotion in rank, a cut in pay, a punitive transfer, being placed on indefinite floating status beyond six months, or conditions made so unbearable that a reasonable person would feel compelled to resign are treated as CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL. A resignation letter signed under an ultimatum does not defeat the claim — the employer must prove the resignation was voluntary.
Work out what you are owed
Before you file, our final pay calculator, separation pay calculator, and backwages calculator will give you a defensible number to bring to the conference.
Frequently asked
Where do I file a labor complaint against a Quezon City employer?
Start with a Request for Assistance under the Single Entry Approach at the DOLE field office with jurisdiction over the workplace. If it does not settle, the case goes to the DOLE Regional Director or to the Labor Arbiter of the NLRC National Capital Region branch covering Quezon City.
How long do I have to file a labor case?
Money claims prescribe in three years from when they accrued, and illegal dismissal must be filed within four years. These periods run even while the employer is promising to settle.
Do I need a lawyer to start a labor case?
No. SEnA is free and can be initiated with a simple request form naming the employer and describing the claim. Counsel matters more once the case is referred to a Labor Arbiter.
Who has to prove the dismissal was legal?
The employer. In an illegal dismissal case the employer bears the burden of proving that the dismissal was for a just or authorized cause and that due process was observed.
I resigned. Can I still file?
Possibly. If the resignation was forced, or if a demotion, pay cut, or unbearable conditions compelled it, that is constructive dismissal, and the employer must prove the resignation was voluntary.