• First, there must be a particular act conducted by an employee that will serve as basis or ground for the imposition of disciplinary sanction against him/her.

e.g. incompetence, successive absences without permission or leave, falsifying documents, stealing properties of the company, sexual harassment of a fellow employee etc. etc,

• Second, the company must be informed of this act. How will the company be informed of this act? It may either be through the initiative of a fellow employee who will report the same to the company or it may be discovered through inspections and reports. This is being documented by means of an incident report prepared by the employee who witnessed the act/incident or by the HR.

• Third, the commission of this act must be supported by proof indicating that these acts were indeed committed.

e.g. testimonies of witnesses (such as the employees or clients who personally witnessed the taking of property or the sexual harassment) or documentary evidence (such as the document containing a falsified entry, the logbook or record book which will show that an employee was absent during a certain day).

• Fourth, a written notice must then be furnished upon the erring employee that will schedule the hearing or conference regarding the said offense. This notice must be served upon the employee within a reasonable period of time wherein he/she can respond to all the charges against him/her, gather evidence and confront the witnesses. It should include the opportunity to secure the assistance of a representative who could be a union officer or a lawyer. The following form is suggested:

To: Employee X

Re: Notice of Hearing for Violation of Established Company Rules and Regulations.

May we inform you that you are presently under investigation for the commission of an offense, which constitutes a violation of the established company rules and regulations.

(here state the particular acts or omissions) e.g. As shown by the daily time records, you have been absent for 20 consecutive days without the permission of the company. You have been required to come to work however you willfully disobeyed said orders, as a result thereof the company suffered substantial financial loss due to your habitual and gross neglect of duties. In addition, it was discovered after several inspections conducted by the supervisors that several company properties under your custody and control are missing.

Consequently, the following charges are imputed to you:

• Serious misconduct;
• Willful disobedience of the lawful orders of your employer;
• Gross and habitual neglect of duties;
• (state other applicable grounds)

In connection with this, you are hereby summoned to attend the conference on ____ at ___ o’ clock at __________, presided by the following: (a) HR Head/Manager; (b) the head of the department to which the employee is stationed; and (c) corporate counsel. You are likewise required to explain in writing why you should not be held liable for administrative sanctions within six (6) days from receipt of this notice

Your failure to attend the said conference and submit a written explanation will constitute as a waiver of your right to present evidence, judgment will then be rendered by the company on the basis of the available evidence. If so desired, you may appear with the assistance of a counsel.

Thank you very much.

* If the continued presence of the employee poses a serious threat to the person and/or property of the employer, the employee may be placed under preventive suspension pending investigation of the incident for a maximum period of thirty (30) days effective upon receipt of the notice. Such suspension, if applicable, must be included in the notice.

* NOTE: Only the following are the just causes for termination of employment. The grounds for termination must be specifically stated in the notice.

Under Art 282 of the Labor Code an employer may terminate an employment for any of the following just causes:

• • Serious misconduct or willful disobedience of the employee;
  • Gross and habitual neglect of duties;
  • Fraud or willful breach of trust;
  • Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representative; and
  • Other causes analogous to the foregoing.

• Fifth, in the absence of company rules that will prescribe the composition of a panel which will preside during the hearing, a committee may be created which may be composed of the following: (a) HR Head/Manager; (b) the head of the department to which the employee is stationed; and (c) corporate counsel.

• Sixth, during the hearing or conference, the employee must be given the opportunity to explain his side and present his evidence to support his statements.

• Seventh, after the hearing, the panel must now consider the evidence presented. If the erring employee has been found guilty of the offense charged which will warrant his termination, judgment must be rendered dismissing or terminating the erring employee from his employment, otherwise, the employee must be exonerated from the charges.

* If the evidence presented during the hearing would reveal that the offense committed was not of serious nature, a lesser sanction of suspension may be imposed against the employee.

• Eighth, If the panel already arrived at a decision, the employee must be informed of the judgment through the service of final written notice which may be in the following form:

To: Employee X

Re: Notice of Decision for Violation of Established Company Rules and Regulations.

May we inform you that after due consideration of all the circumstances and the evidence presented during the conference wherein it was established that you have been absent for 20 consecutive days without the permission of the company, and that you have been required to come to work but you willfully disobeyed said orders, that, as a result thereof the company suffered substantial financial loss due to your habitual and gross neglect of duties. In addition, you have not satisfactorily explained the reasons why several company properties under your custody and control are missing.

Therefore, it is clear that there are proper grounds which would warrant the termination of your employment.

Consequently, effective ______, you are hereby dismissed and terminated from employment.

(In any event, it is still advisable to engage a lawyer and/or an experienced HR practitioner most specially on complex cases involving erring employees.)