Pagkakaiba ng “resignation” na boluntaryo at “resignation” na dulot ng miserableng kondisyon ng trabaho

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | November 13, 2025

Dear Chief Acosta,

Mula noong nagpalit ang management sa kumpanyang aking pinapasukan ay naging mahirap na ang sitwasyon ko sa trabaho dahil sa mga bagong patakaran na ipinatupad. Ngayon ay pinag-iisipan ko na mag-resign na upang magnegosyo na lamang. Naikuwento ko ito sa aking kapatid at nasabi niya na maaaring may constructive dismissal diumano sa sitwasyon ko dahil naging mahirap na ang trabaho ko mula nang ipatupad ng bagong namamahala ang mga bago nilang patakaran. Ano ba ang pagkakaiba ng constructive dismissal at resignation? -- Brezille

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Dear Brezille,

Malayang magbitiw ang isang empleyado sa kanyang trabaho. Kinakailangan lamang na ito ay boluntaryo at naaayon sa Artikulo 300 (a) ng Presidential Decree No. 442 o ang Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended and renumbered:

“An employee may terminate without just cause the employee-employer relationship by serving a written notice on the employer at least one (1) month in advance. The employer upon whom no such notice was served may hold the employee liable for damages” xxx”.

Ang pagbibitiw sa trabaho na hindi boluntaryo at sa kadahilanan na mayroong diskriminasyon laban sa empleyado o may mapang-aping pag-uugali ang employer kung kaya wala nang ibang remedyo ang empleyado kung hindi ang magbitiw sa trabaho ay maaaring maituring na constructive dismissal. 

May pagkakaiba ang constructive dismissal at resignation. Ito ay malinaw na naipaliwanag sa kasong Tacis, et al. vs. Shields Security Services, Inc, et al., G.R. No. 234575, July 7, 2021, kung saan sinabi ng Korte Suprema, sa pamamagitan ni Kagalang-galang na Mahistrado Ramon Paul L. Hernando, na:

Constructive dismissal is an involuntary resignation resorted to when continued employment is rendered impossible, unreasonable or unlikely; or when there is a demotion in rank and/or a diminution in pay. It exists when there is a clear act of discrimination, insensibility or disdain by an employer, which makes it unbearable for the employee to continue his/her employment. In cases of constructive dismissal, the impossibility, unreasonableness, or unlikelihood of continued employment leaves an employee with no other viable recourse but to terminate his or her employment.

The test of constructive dismissal is whether a reasonable person in the employee's position would have felt compelled to give up his position under the circumstances. It is an act amounting to dismissal but made to appear as if it were not. It must be noted, however, that bare allegations of constructive dismissal, when uncorroborated by the evidence on record, cannot be given credence.48

In contrast:

Resignation is the formal pronouncement or relinquishment of a position or office. It is the voluntary act of an employee who is in a situation where he believes that personal reasons cannot be sacrificed in favor of the exigency of the service, and he has then no other choice but to disassociate himself from employment. The intent to relinquish must concur with the overt act of relinquishment; hence, the acts of the employee before and after the alleged resignation must be considered in determining whether he in fact intended to terminate his employment. In illegal dismissal cases, it is a fundamental rule that when an employer interposes the defense of resignation, on him necessarily rests the burden to prove that the employee indeed voluntarily resigned.

Sa iyong sitwasyon, maaari kang magbitiw sa iyong trabaho ng boluntaryo kung ito ay sarili mong desisyon at kagustuhan. Kinakailangan lamang na magsumite ka ng iyong resignation letter isang buwan bago maging epektibo ang nais mong petsa ng pagre-resign. Sa kabilang banda, maituturing na constructive dismissal ang iyong pagbibitiw sa trabaho kung mayroong diskriminasyon, kawalan ng malasakit o pang-unawa, o may paghamak sa iyo ang iyong employer na hindi mo na masikmura o matiis, at ikaw ay wala nang ibang pagpipilian pa kung hindi ang magbitiw sa trabaho. Sa maikling salita, kung ang sanhi ng resignation ay dulot ng mga panlabas na impluwensya na ginawa o nasa kontrol ng employer at hindi boluntaryong pagpapasya ng empleyado, ito ay itinuturing na constructive dismissal.

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay. 

Maraming salamat sa iyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.