NETLINK COMPUTER INC. vs. DELMO - Atmos

6. NETLINK COMPUTER INC. vs.
DELMO
G.R. No. 160827, June 18, 2014
Atmos
₱161,000.0 - Backwages, basic pay and allowances from Nov.
Topic: Principle of Non-Diminution of Benefits 0 1996 to Sept. 1998
Petitioners: NETLINK COMPUTER INCORPORATED
Respondents: ERIC DELMO 15,000.00
Ponente:BERSAMIN, J
- 13th month pay for 1996 to 1998
993,558.89 - unpaid commissions

Facts:
₱1,169,558 - Total
Netlink hired Delmo as account manager tasked to canvass and source clients and convince
.89
them to purchase the products and services of Netlink. Delmo worked in the field most of the
time. He and his fellow account managers were not required to accomplish time cards to
plus - unpaid commissions
record their personal presence in the office of Netlink. He was able to generate sales
US$7,588.3
worth P35,000,000.00, more or less, from which he earned commissions amounting
0
to P993,558.89 and US$7,588.30. He then requested payment of his commissions, but
Netlink refused and only gave him partial cash advances chargeable to his commissions. Later
plus 10% attorney’s fees
on, Netlink began to nitpick and fault find, like stressing his supposed absences and tardiness.
In order to force him to resign, Netlink issued several memoranda detailing his supposed
infractions of the company’s attendance policy. Despite the memoranda, Delmo continued to
generate huge sales for Netlink.
Ruling of the NLRC: Modified the decision of the LA by setting aside the backwages and rein-
On November 28, 1996, Delmo was shocked when he was refused entry into the company statement decreed by the Labor Arbiter due to the existence of valid and just causes for the
premises by the security guard pursuant to a memorandum to that effect. His personal termination of Delmo’s employment.
belongings were still inside the company premises and he sought their return to him. This
incident prompted Delmo to file a complaint for illegal dismissal. CA: Upholds NLRC’s ruling with modifications with the awarding of commission and 13th
month pay to the respondent. Whole commission was not awarded since commission is
In its answer to Delmo’s complaint, Netlink countered that there were guidelines regarding
company working time and its utilization and how the employees’ time would be recorded. made to depend on the future and uncertain event. As regard to 13th month pay, petitioner
Allegedly, all personnel were required to use the bundy clock to punch in and out in the was not made to pay because employment was terminated based on valid and just cause alt-
morning, and in and out in the afternoon. Excepted from the rules were the company hough he was not given due process.
officers, and the authorized personnel in the field project assignments. Netlink claimed that it
would be losing on the business transactions closed by Delmo due to the high costs of Issue:
equipment, and in fact his biggest client had not yet paid. Netlink pointed out that Delmo
had become very lax in his obligations, with the other account managers eventually having (1) Does the petitioner violated the principle of non-diminution of benefits and the pay-
outperformed him. Netlink asserted that warning, reprimand, and suspension memoranda ment of the commissions should be in US dollars (main issue)
were given to employees who violated company rules and regulations, but such actions were
considered as a necessary management tool to instill discipline (2) Does the award of attorney’s fees was warranted. (not impt! Baka ask lang)
Ruling of the LA:
Delmo was illegally and unjustly dismissed. Respondents were ordered to reinstate com- Held: YES.
plainant to his former position without loss of seniority rights with full backwages and other
benefits. The reinstatement aspect is immediately executory even pending appeal. In case As a general rule, all obligations shall be paid in Philippine currency. However, the contract-
reinstatement is no longer feasible, complainant shall be paid separation pay of one-month ing parties may stipulate that foreign currencies may be used for settling obligations. This is
pay for every year of service. pursuant to Republic Act No. 8183 which provides as follows:
“Section 1. All monetary obligations shall be
settled in the Philippine currency which is
legal tender in the Philippines. However,
the parties may agree that the obligation
ortransaction shall be settled in any other
currency at the time of payment.”
There was no written contract between Netlink and Delmo stipulating that the lat-
ter’s commissions would be paid in US dollars. The absence of the contractual stipulation
notwithstanding, Netlink was still liable to pay Delmo in US dollars because the practice of
paying its sales agents in US dollars for their US dollar-denominated sales had become a com-
pany policy. This was impliedly admitted by Netlink when it did not refute the allegation that
the commissions earned by Delmo and its other sales agents had been paid in US dollars. In-
stead of denying the allegation, Netlink only sought a declaration that the US dollar commis-
sions be paid using the exchange rate at the time of sale.
The principle of non-diminution of benefits, which has been incorporated in Arti-

cle 100 of the Labor Code, forbade Netlink from unilaterally reducing, diminishing, discon-
tinuing or eliminating the practice. Verily, the phrase "supplements, or other employee
benefits" in Article 100 is construed to mean the compensation and privileges received by
an employee aside from regular salaries or wages. With the payment of US dollar commis-
sions having ripened into a company practice, there is no way that the commissions due to
Delmo were to be paid in US dollars or their equivalent in Philippine currency determined at
the time of the sales. To rule otherwise would be to cause an unjust diminution of the com-
missions due and owing to Delmo.
2. YES. The award of attorney's fees must, likewise, be upheld in line of the decision of the
Supreme Court in the case of Consolidated Rural Bank (Cagayan Valley), Inc. vs. National Labor
Relations Commission, 301 SCRA 223, 235, where it was held that "in actions for recovery of
wages or where an employee was forced to litigate and thus incur expenses to protect her
rights and interests, even if not so claimed, an award of attorney's fees equivalent to ten per-
cent (10%) of the total award is legally and morally justifiable. There is no doubt that in the
present case, the private respondent has incurred expenses for the protection and enforce-
ment of his right to his commissions.

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6. NETLINK COMPUTER INC. vs.

993,558.89 - unpaid commissions

Ruling of the LA:

The principle of non-diminution of benefits, which has been incorporated in Arti-

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