Dear PAO,
I hope you can help clarify this matter. I have been with the company for four months since November 2025. However, without any reason, they decided that I will not be considered a regular employee because I allegedly failed to meet the company’s standards. Are they correct? Can my employment simply be terminated in an instant?
Thank you and more power to your column.
-Sherwin
Dear Sherwin,
Under Article 295 (formerly Article 280) of the Labor Code, as amended, the following instances are taken into account when an employee is considered as a regular employee, viz.:
“a. When an employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer; or
“b. When an employee has rendered at least one (1) year of service, whether such service is continuous or broken, with respect to the activity in which he is employed.” (Emphasis supplied)
For example, if you are working as an accountant in an accounting firm, or as a support personnel who has rendered at least one (1) year of service, then for all intents and purposes, you are considered as a regular employee of said accounting firm since you met one of the requirements set in Article 295 of the Labor Code.
However in your case, you have been with the company for only four (4) months and it is not clear whether you were engaged as a probationary employee. For your reference, we herein reproduce Article 296 of the same Code, which states:
“ART. 296. [281] Probationary Employment. — Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period. The services of an employee who has been engaged on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made known by the employer to the employee at the time of his engagement. An employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered a regular employee.” (Underscoring supplied)
Thus, the law allows employers to engage the services of a person on a temporary basis, subject to certain requirements; including limitation on term or period and setting of reasonable standards. That said, even if you were engaged as a probationary employee, it is possible that your employment may have been considered as a regular employment if no reasonable standards that needs to be met where discussed with you at the time of your engagement.
As discussed by the Honorable Supreme Court in Aliling vs. Feliciano, et al., G.R. No. 185829, 25 April 2012, penned by Honorable Associate Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr., an employee albeit hired as a probationary employee, should be considered as a regular employee when no reasonable standards were presented to him at the time of his engagement, viz.:
“To note, the June 2, 2004 letter-offer itself states that the regularization standards or the performance norms to be used are still to be agreed upon by Aliling and his supervisor. WWWEC has failed to prove that an agreement as regards thereto has been reached. Clearly then, there were actually no performance standards to speak of.
“Based on the facts established in this case in light of extant jurisprudence, the CA’s holding as to the kind of employment petitioner enjoyed is correct. So was the NLRC ruling, affirmatory of that of the labor arbiter. In the final analysis, one common thread runs through the holding of the labor arbiter, the NLRC and the CA, i.e., petitioner Aliling, albeit hired from management’s standpoint as a probationary employee, was deemed a regular employee. Xxx” (Underscoring supplied)
We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.
Thank you for your continued trust and support.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net.
