SALAS V. ABOITIZ ONE (LABOR)

As stated in the decision notice, Salas was terminated for neglect of duty and willful breach of trust. Gross negligence connotes want or absence of or failure to exercise slight care or diligence, or the entire absence of case. IT evinces a thoughtless disregard of consequences without exerting any effort to avoid them. To warrant removal from service, the negligence should not merely be gross, but also habitual.

If there is anything that Salas can be faulted for, it is his failure to promptly inform his immediate supervisor of the non-delivery of the requisitioned items. Nevertheless, such failure did not amount to gross neglect of duty or to willful breach of trust, which would justify his dismissal from service.

The CA also justified Salas' dismissal on ground of willful breach of trust. It lent credence to Aboitiz's posture that Salas was a warehouseman holding a position of trust and confidence. We disagree.

Salas, as material controller was tasked with monitoring and maintaining the availability and supply of Quickbox. There appears nothing to suggest that Salas' position was a highly or even primarily confidential position, so that he can be removed for loss of trust and confidence by the employer.

Indeed, an employer has the right, under the law, to dismiss an employee based on fraud or willful breach of the trust bestowed upon him by his employer or the latter's authorized representative. However, the loss of trust must be based not on ordinary breach but, in the language of Article 282(c) of the Labor Code, on willful breach. a breach is willful if it is done intentionally, knowingly, and purposely, withouth justifiable excuse, as distinguished from an act done carelessly, thoughtlessly, heedlessly, or inadvertently. It must rest on substantial grounds and not on the employer's arbitrariness, whims, caprices, or suspicion; otherwise, the employee would eternally remain at the mercy of the employer. It should be genuine and not simulated; now should it appear as a mere afterthought to justify an earlier action taken in bad faith or a subterfuge for causes which are improper, illegal, or unjustified. It has never been intended to afford an occasion for abuse because of its subjective nature. There must, therefore, be an actual breach of duty committed by the employee which must be established by substantial evidence. In this case, Aboitiz utterly failed to establish the requirements prescribed by law and jurisprudence for a valid dismissal on the ground of breach of trust and confidence.

Undoubtedly, no just cause exists to warrant Salas' dismissal. Consequently, he is entitled to reinstatement to his former position without loss of seniority rights, and to payment of backwages.

However, as Salas was not entirely faultless, and although such negligence would not justify Salas' termination from employment in view of the stringent condition imposed by the Labor Code on termination of employment due to gross and habitual neglect, the same cannot be condoned, much less tolerated.