Home
Hello Atty.,
I would like to ask for your advice regarding the complaint I filed at NLRC against my recent employer. I am very much overwhelmed right now and I'm mentally and emotionally disturbed.
The company is one of the largest banks in the US and I was hired as a Fraud Analyst on January 16, 2017 on a Probationary Status.
This particular process/Line of Business has just been migrated to Manila, so I'm one of the pioneer team members.
Just to give you a background, I was given a Documented Coaching on April 9, 2017 due to being sleepy while working (we work in the night shift). The progression is as follows:
1st Offense: Documented Coaching
2nd Offense: Informal Warning
3rd Offense: Formal Warning
4th Offense: Final Notice
5th Offense: Termination
I was also given a Corrective Actions for tardiness, the last was served on April 22, 2017, which is Formal Warning 1. The progression is as follows:
1st Offense: Documented Coaching 1
2nd Offense: Documented Coaching 2
3rd Offense: Documented Coaching 3
4th Offense: Informal Warning
5th Offense: Formal Warning 1
6th Offense: Formal Warning 2
7th Offense: Formal Warning 3
8th Offense: Final Notice
9th Offense: Termination
Despite all these Corrective Actions, I've been a consistent performer for AHT (Average Handle Time) and QA (Quality Audits). I was also recognized for having a perfect attendance for the month of May.
In June 2017, an issue was raised by one of the team leaders (assistant of the Supervisor) regarding people who are allegedly toggling their phone status to avoid taking calls. There were 10 people who have been identified (including me).
On June 15, 2017, I was pulled out by my Supervisor for coaching while the team lead is observing. My supervisor asked me series of questions regarding the said behavior, and I explained that it was not being done to avoid calls but to manage a specific KPI. I explained that we were not aware that it was considered call avoidance. I also admitted that I shared it with 4 other people who were also coached. My supervisor wrote the whole conversation and read everything to me. She then asked me to sign every page of the coaching document and she said that it will be forwarded to HR for investigation and that I will be monitored. On that same day, they also cascaded a sign-off document to all teams regarding the things that are prohibited, including the toggling of phone status.
After that coaching, I never had any other instances of toggling the phone status, but I was late for 2 minutes and 11 minutes for 2 different days. I was also called out for being sleepy on June 27, 2017.
We never heard back from HR regarding the toggling of phone status and no NTE (show-cause notice) was served.
On June 29, 2017, I was surprised to receive a Skip Level Meeting invite on my MS Outlook 15 minutes before the schedule, which was sent by my supervisor. I was caught off-guard because my supervisor did not give me prior notice.
I attended the meeting with the 2 Operations Managers, and they asked me if I know why they called for the meeting. I said that it may be because of the toggling of phone status. They said it was because of that issue plus the 2 instances of tardiness and being called out for being sleepy. They did not ask me to explain or give them a commitment. They just asked me if I know what the implications of my actions could be. I told them that I'm aware of the fact that it's possible for me to be terminated. Then they said it would be a bad record for me once I look for a new job. Then one of them asked me how I would like to proceed. At first, I explained that the toggling of phone status was never done again after the feedback has been provided to us and that I can manage the tardiness and being sleepy at work. The manager did not accept my answer and asked me the same question how I would like to proceed. On the 2nd and 3rd time, I just said I dont know. On the 4th time, I realized what they wanted ti happen. So I asked them if resignation is an option. Then they immediately responded with "we are not the ones who asked you to resign, it's your choice." Then I said that I didn't want to resign if possible. But they insisted that it was the best option for me because they don't know when HR's decision would arrive.
So I drafted my resignation letter on the spot. The manager asked me to put personal as the reason. They said that they will approve it and that I will still be eligible for rehire after 6 months. They wanted it to be effective immediately, but I negotiated for the effective date to be on July 5, 2017 to avoid my salary being held (our payday is every 5th and 20th). The managers accepted and advised that they will approve for me to be on a Paid Time Off for that night and the rest of the days will be approved as Leave Without Pay.
On June 30, 2017, I sent a message to my supervisor on FaceBook Messenger. I asked if I could still retract my resignation and I said that I'm willing to accept HR's decision if I get terminated or if I don't get regularized on July 16, 2017. She asked me to go to the office in the evening to submit the letter to retract and she advised that it will be subject to the manager's approval and HR's approval. I submitted ths letter to retract my resignation and waited for 5 hours because the manager had to make a conference call to HR to conduct their assessment. They declined my request to retract, saying that I have a pending case in HR and that I already have a replacement. I was not able to rebut or reason out at that time due to being devastated and desperate to keep my job. Later that day, I was able to speak with another employee who has been working for the company for 3 years. He said that the managers are avoiding to terminate employees because it will flunk their performance scorecard and will delay their promotion.
On July 3, 2017, I went to NLRC to file a complaint for illegal dismissal. We had our 1st mediation session on July 19, 2017 and the company sent their Employee Relations Manager to attend. The manager said that the company will not pay for damages and will not reinstate my employment.
The 2nd mediation was on August 17, 2017, and the company was represented by a lawyer and she stated that the company is willing to settle. I could not provide them an amount at that time.
The 3rd mediation happened on August 24, 2017. The lawyer represented the company again and they were offering to settle for 29 thousand pesos. I did not agree because I was sure that the amount they were offering was just my final pay. I insisted to be paid for moral and exemplary damages, so the Labor Arbiter asked for us to file our position paper on September 11, 2017.
I found a lawyer outside of NLRC. He was willing to accept the case on contingency fee arrangement but he said that there's only 50% chance for me to win the case because the company will just use my resignation letter against me. He advised me to have somebody testify in a form of affidavit to prove that I was really forced to resign.
Right now, I really don't know what to do and how to strategically approach this situation. I hope you could provide me a good piece of advise to help me win this case.
I hope to hear from you soon Attorney. Thank you very much!
I would like to ask for your advice regarding the complaint I filed at NLRC against my recent employer. I am very much overwhelmed right now and I'm mentally and emotionally disturbed.
The company is one of the largest banks in the US and I was hired as a Fraud Analyst on January 16, 2017 on a Probationary Status.
This particular process/Line of Business has just been migrated to Manila, so I'm one of the pioneer team members.
Just to give you a background, I was given a Documented Coaching on April 9, 2017 due to being sleepy while working (we work in the night shift). The progression is as follows:
1st Offense: Documented Coaching
2nd Offense: Informal Warning
3rd Offense: Formal Warning
4th Offense: Final Notice
5th Offense: Termination
I was also given a Corrective Actions for tardiness, the last was served on April 22, 2017, which is Formal Warning 1. The progression is as follows:
1st Offense: Documented Coaching 1
2nd Offense: Documented Coaching 2
3rd Offense: Documented Coaching 3
4th Offense: Informal Warning
5th Offense: Formal Warning 1
6th Offense: Formal Warning 2
7th Offense: Formal Warning 3
8th Offense: Final Notice
9th Offense: Termination
Despite all these Corrective Actions, I've been a consistent performer for AHT (Average Handle Time) and QA (Quality Audits). I was also recognized for having a perfect attendance for the month of May.
In June 2017, an issue was raised by one of the team leaders (assistant of the Supervisor) regarding people who are allegedly toggling their phone status to avoid taking calls. There were 10 people who have been identified (including me).
On June 15, 2017, I was pulled out by my Supervisor for coaching while the team lead is observing. My supervisor asked me series of questions regarding the said behavior, and I explained that it was not being done to avoid calls but to manage a specific KPI. I explained that we were not aware that it was considered call avoidance. I also admitted that I shared it with 4 other people who were also coached. My supervisor wrote the whole conversation and read everything to me. She then asked me to sign every page of the coaching document and she said that it will be forwarded to HR for investigation and that I will be monitored. On that same day, they also cascaded a sign-off document to all teams regarding the things that are prohibited, including the toggling of phone status.
After that coaching, I never had any other instances of toggling the phone status, but I was late for 2 minutes and 11 minutes for 2 different days. I was also called out for being sleepy on June 27, 2017.
We never heard back from HR regarding the toggling of phone status and no NTE (show-cause notice) was served.
On June 29, 2017, I was surprised to receive a Skip Level Meeting invite on my MS Outlook 15 minutes before the schedule, which was sent by my supervisor. I was caught off-guard because my supervisor did not give me prior notice.
I attended the meeting with the 2 Operations Managers, and they asked me if I know why they called for the meeting. I said that it may be because of the toggling of phone status. They said it was because of that issue plus the 2 instances of tardiness and being called out for being sleepy. They did not ask me to explain or give them a commitment. They just asked me if I know what the implications of my actions could be. I told them that I'm aware of the fact that it's possible for me to be terminated. Then they said it would be a bad record for me once I look for a new job. Then one of them asked me how I would like to proceed. At first, I explained that the toggling of phone status was never done again after the feedback has been provided to us and that I can manage the tardiness and being sleepy at work. The manager did not accept my answer and asked me the same question how I would like to proceed. On the 2nd and 3rd time, I just said I dont know. On the 4th time, I realized what they wanted ti happen. So I asked them if resignation is an option. Then they immediately responded with "we are not the ones who asked you to resign, it's your choice." Then I said that I didn't want to resign if possible. But they insisted that it was the best option for me because they don't know when HR's decision would arrive.
So I drafted my resignation letter on the spot. The manager asked me to put personal as the reason. They said that they will approve it and that I will still be eligible for rehire after 6 months. They wanted it to be effective immediately, but I negotiated for the effective date to be on July 5, 2017 to avoid my salary being held (our payday is every 5th and 20th). The managers accepted and advised that they will approve for me to be on a Paid Time Off for that night and the rest of the days will be approved as Leave Without Pay.
On June 30, 2017, I sent a message to my supervisor on FaceBook Messenger. I asked if I could still retract my resignation and I said that I'm willing to accept HR's decision if I get terminated or if I don't get regularized on July 16, 2017. She asked me to go to the office in the evening to submit the letter to retract and she advised that it will be subject to the manager's approval and HR's approval. I submitted ths letter to retract my resignation and waited for 5 hours because the manager had to make a conference call to HR to conduct their assessment. They declined my request to retract, saying that I have a pending case in HR and that I already have a replacement. I was not able to rebut or reason out at that time due to being devastated and desperate to keep my job. Later that day, I was able to speak with another employee who has been working for the company for 3 years. He said that the managers are avoiding to terminate employees because it will flunk their performance scorecard and will delay their promotion.
On July 3, 2017, I went to NLRC to file a complaint for illegal dismissal. We had our 1st mediation session on July 19, 2017 and the company sent their Employee Relations Manager to attend. The manager said that the company will not pay for damages and will not reinstate my employment.
The 2nd mediation was on August 17, 2017, and the company was represented by a lawyer and she stated that the company is willing to settle. I could not provide them an amount at that time.
The 3rd mediation happened on August 24, 2017. The lawyer represented the company again and they were offering to settle for 29 thousand pesos. I did not agree because I was sure that the amount they were offering was just my final pay. I insisted to be paid for moral and exemplary damages, so the Labor Arbiter asked for us to file our position paper on September 11, 2017.
I found a lawyer outside of NLRC. He was willing to accept the case on contingency fee arrangement but he said that there's only 50% chance for me to win the case because the company will just use my resignation letter against me. He advised me to have somebody testify in a form of affidavit to prove that I was really forced to resign.
Right now, I really don't know what to do and how to strategically approach this situation. I hope you could provide me a good piece of advise to help me win this case.
I hope to hear from you soon Attorney. Thank you very much!
