Legal case against an employee
By Mae
@junmae (1586)
Philippines
December 3, 2011 9:22am CST
I had a friend who was also my co-worker before and I heard that she will be sued by our company. She neglected her duty and it causes a lot of damage to the company. She was under investigation that time by our HR when she didn't report to the office anymore. They tried to contact her but her phone was off and she is not replying with their emails. They had given her grace period to report and explain her side and also for proper turn over of her duties. The company can no longer reach her that's why they made necessary actions towards her. They filed a case and she will be called in the court for trial. Until now, they still cannot contact her. I am worried for my friend but she made this trouble. I am just wondering if the company can really file a legal case against an employee if she didn't properly turn over her duties? Can anyone know about this case?
1 person likes this
8 responses
@yahnee (1243)
• Philippines
3 Dec 11
Since we do no actually have the facts regarding your friend's case,it would be very difficult to make some advices. Since she has abandoned her job which is tantamount to AWOL the company has the right to terminate your friend.The company has the legal right to dismiss her even if the case was still hanging due to her non appearance and whatever benefits and salaries that she is entitled too will be forfeited. The most that the company can do is to file a case with DOLE for the failure to turnover her duties and to give notice that she is no longer connected with the company. This requires the proper documentation that legal process was implemented in the investigation of the case. The company can only file in court if the violation was a criminal case not for dereliction of duties because this falls under DOLE. The disadvantage on the part of your friend is the black record on her employment which might eventually affect any future job applications.
@junmae (1586)
• Philippines
17 Dec 11
Thanks for your opinion, that was very informative. I am not familiar with legal cases against an employee and I guess based on what you've said, she really can be sued by the company because of her negligence but there are also issues that came out eventually about what her did to the company. As of now, our company pursue the case against her.
@yahnee (1243)
• Philippines
18 Dec 11
If your friends case is concerning financial matters then she is in for a lot of problems. A long time ago we filed a case against a manager who ran away with millions that almost caused us to close down and he was imprisoned for that. We just need to be careful while on the job because sometimes what we think as a slight error might just cause us the job. That's just too unfortunate.
@mr_pearl (5018)
• India
4 Dec 11
Hello there.. The company, if has faced any damages in material form, can & will file a case... But I don't they should file a case just because she's not showing up at office. In such cases companies term the employee as 'absconding' and it ends there...
So, has the company faced any damage coz of your friend???
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
4 Dec 11
As several other people have said, it depends upon the laws of your country. If she caused the company a lot of damage, though, I believe that they are fully within their rights to try to get back the damages, which usually means that they would have to sue her or bring up criminal charges and ask for restitution. In most cases here, though, I suspect they would just fire the person and give him or her a bad reference if their were not significant losses due to the neglecting of the duties.
@jaderamirez (1029)
• Philippines
4 Dec 11
Hello Junmae, I think your company has the right to sue your officemate if what she violates is under the employees' manual or contract.
@jjzone44 (917)
• United States
3 Dec 11
I am not certain how the law is in your country, but here in the US, any party can bring a civl action against another party. If an employee's actions caused damage to a company, then they could try to recover those damages. It is not as common as an employee suing a company, but it can be done.
What is more common is for an employee to be ordered to pay restitution after a criminal case. If an employee takes money or ideas from a company (intellectual property), it is often a criminal matter. Criminal cases are investigated by police, and if warranted the person(s) involved can be arrested and tried in court. If convicted part of the sentence can be an order of restitution, that is they have to pay the company for the value of the item or information that they stole.
In both cases a judge of course has the final word.
@beamer88 (4259)
• Philippines
3 Dec 11
Yes, And I think in your friend's case, it was filed with NLRC, where labor disputes are settled. When we are hired, we always sign a contract, and it are stipulations on basically what or what not to do. Any breach and the company has the discretion to file a case, assuming that the proper procedures were also done by the company. I mean, they had notified the employee, they gave that employee significant time to state her side and those types of things.
