Termination Issues

Hello, just want to have an advice regarding my case. I'm a call center agent and here's what happened. I was terminated because of being rude and unprofessional daw because of receiving an angry caller and saying bad words towards me, i did not deny the fact that i lost my temper that time. And they suspended first and scheduled me for a admin hearing to explain my side. I explained my side and I was told that they will be having a decision a week after that...so that night nag text ako sa supervisor ko to ask kung merong update and she told that our operation manager wants me to be terminated and my supervisor suggested to just transfer me into other account ayaw rin ng HR kasi daw baka tularan ng ibang agent at sabihin na ok lng maging rude kasi malilipat ka lang ng account, so she told na mahihirapan na akong makabalik sa work. So I decided to file for a resignation. I submitted my resignation a week after the admin hearing and I was told by my supervisor that it was signed already by the Operations Manager and she already forwarded it to HR and she's waiting to have any updates. And I found out today because I texted my supervisor regarding the status of my resignation that binawi daw ng Operations manager at HR yung resignation ko dahil discretion daw nila na di tanggapin yung resignation ko kasi may pending case daw ako....sabi ng supervisor ko sje texted me last week to say this pero wla ako nareceive. I asked her kelan pa lumabas yung decision na terminated ako,,,sagot niya 2 weeks ago daw pero yung email ng operations manager regarding sa case nareceive daw niya last week so nung nag pasa ako ng resignation wla pang case. Marami kasi nagsasabi na di daw dapat ako na term for just once instance lng so tanong ko lng kung meron bang dapat ipaglaban pagdating sa right ko as an employee under the law based sa issue ko.....thanks

rhitz2006 wrote:Hello, just want to have an advice regarding my case. I'm a call center agent and here's what happened. I was terminated because of being rude and unprofessional daw because of receiving an angry caller and saying bad words towards me, i did not deny the fact that i lost my temper that time. And they suspended first and scheduled me for a admin hearing to explain my side. I explained my side and I was told that they will be having a decision a week after that...so that night nag text ako sa supervisor ko to ask kung merong update and she told that our operation manager wants me to be terminated and my supervisor suggested to just transfer me into other account ayaw rin ng HR kasi daw baka tularan ng ibang agent at sabihin na ok lng maging rude kasi malilipat ka lang ng account, so she told na mahihirapan na akong makabalik sa work. So I decided to file for a resignation. I submitted my resignation a week after the admin hearing and I was told by my supervisor that it was signed already by the Operations Manager and she already forwarded it to HR and she's waiting to have any updates. And I found out today because I texted my supervisor regarding the status of my resignation that binawi daw ng Operations manager at HR yung resignation ko dahil discretion daw nila na di tanggapin yung resignation ko kasi may pending case daw ako....sabi ng supervisor ko sje texted me last week to say this pero wla ako nareceive. I asked her kelan pa lumabas yung decision na terminated ako,,,sagot niya 2 weeks ago daw pero yung email ng operations manager regarding sa case nareceive daw niya last week so nung nag pasa ako ng resignation wla pang case. Marami kasi nagsasabi na di daw dapat ako na term for just once instance lng so tanong ko lng kung meron bang dapat ipaglaban pagdating sa right ko as an employee under the law based sa issue ko.....thanks

You are entitled to file a complaint at DOLE/NLRC for illegal dismissal.

But based on what I've read here, you may be hard-pressed to win this one.

what did you say to the customer? did they play the recording?

actually on set of the call the caller is already angry about her coverage not being active....then she said to me that I dont have any right to speak their language (ENGLISH), coz she knows that I'm a Filipino that's why I got irritated and told her that "ARE YYOU A RACIST AND I SAID THAT SHE DONT HAVE A JOB" i said that she dont have a job because are callers are mostly unemployed.

rhitz2006 wrote:actually on set of the call the caller is already angry about her coverage not being active....then she said to me that I dont have any right to speak their language (ENGLISH), coz she knows that I'm a Filipino that's why I got irritated and told her that "ARE YYOU A RACIST AND I SAID THAT SHE DONT HAVE A JOB" i said that she dont have a job because are callers are mostly unemployed.

too bad.

if you were to file an appeal to reverse or change management's decision, what would you say?

in most cases, you'd have to be more patient with customers since they're the reason why you have your job.

but the question here is....its not about the call...the question is do they have the right by law (PHILIPPINE LABOR CODE) to terminate me for such ground, cause I read on the provision code, its says that
"There only 4 possible just cause for termination of employment under Philippinies Labor Code, and they are;
a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work;
(b) Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representatives; and
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing."


So, they will use "SERIOUS MISCONDUCT" for my termination of employment. Below is the definition of the cause by Supreme Court taken from context on one of its decisions on an NLRC case.

The Supreme Court in a litany of decisions on serious misconduct warranting dismissal of an employee, has ruled that the misconduct to be serious must be of such grave and aggravated character. Such misconduct, however serious, must nevertheless be in connection with the employee's work to constitute just cause for his separation. Thus, for misconduct or improper behavior to be a just cause for dismissal, it envisages the concurrence of at least three requisites: (1) it must be serious; (2) must relate to the performance of the employee's duties; and (3) must show that the employee has become unfit to continue working for the employer

The 3 conditions has to be met for the company can use "SERIOUS MISCONDUCT" as a cause of termination. One instance of violation is not enough to merit the harsh penalty of termination of employment. Also, the court will take into consideration your overall work performance and not just the one isolated evidence.

I researched this....

if we talk about rights, then they'd ask... did you have the right to tell the customer what you said?

Word of mouth spreads fast - and by the time you file your complaint for illegal dismissal with NLRC, the customer would have escalated the complaint further to the point that the account may be pulled out altogether.

The Supreme Court in a litany of decisions on serious misconduct warranting dismissal of an employee, has ruled that the misconduct to be serious must be of such grave and aggravated character. Such misconduct, however serious, must nevertheless be in connection with the employee's work to constitute just cause for his separation. Thus, for misconduct or improper behavior to be a just cause for dismissal, it envisages the concurrence of at least three requisites: (1) it must be serious; (2) must relate to the performance of the employee's duties; and (3) must show that the employee has become unfit to continue working for the employer

1. "Serious" is far-reaching. Was it not serious that you aggravated a customer further by asking if she is a racist, and mentioning that she does not have a job? you assumed too much by saying that callers are mostly unemployed. True or not, it's not the proper thing to say. Rudeness to customers is a very serious offense.

2. "Relate to performance" is exactly what happened. You were doing your task, which was to provide resolution to the customer's complaints but you went head-on with her anger, which in effect did not help you do your job at all.

3. Unfit - Your employer thinks that because you had been rude to a customer, you could do it again. That renders you unfit. They can't afford to lose the business because of one person who puts them in a bad light.

from a management perspective, i don't think it was very smart of management to fire you after you already tendered your resignation.

nevertheless, you have the right to question your termination at nlrc, but based on your statement, implying that a caller was a racist and deriding her for being unemployed, that would make your chances for success very iffy.

i do know of one case where the employee was fired, filed a case, then negotiated a graceful exit by being allowed to resign and got her last pay and docs in exchange for dropping the case. I, as the opposing lawyer, was very happy to give it to her.

my only concern sir is why they did not accept my resignation? is it allowed? i filed my resignation letter at the time that they dont have yet the final decision on my case. And I was told that I cannot get any backpay because I'm terminated. I know that I'm entitled to get my backpay eventhough that I'm terminated right?

management still has the prerogative to terminate you. you should still be entitled to payment of days actually worked, unless they have a valid reason to withhold the payment.