566 Phil. 564
TINGA, J,:
WHEREFORE, complainant’s position is hereby declared redundant. Accordingly, respondents are hereby ordered to pay complainant his separation pay computed at the rate of one (1) month pay for every year of service or in the total amount of P78,000.00.[7]On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in a Decision[8] dated 22 April 2002 reversed the Labor Arbiter and considered respondent a mere program employee, thus:
We have scoured the records of this case and we find nothing to support the Labor Arbiter’s conclusion that complainant was a regular employee.Respondent filed a motion for reconsideration but it was denied in a Resolution[10] dated 28 June 2002.
x x x x
The primary standard to determine regularity of employment is the reasonable connection between the particular activity performed by the employee in relation to the usual business or trade of the employer. This connection can be determined by considering the nature and work performed and its relation to the scheme of the particular business or trade in its entirety. x x x Respondent company is engaged in the business of production of television shows. The records of this case also show that complainant was employed by respondent company beginning 1995 after respondent company transferred from RPN-9 to GMA-7, a fact which complainant does not dispute. His last salary was P5,444.44 per month. In such industry, security services may not be deemed necessary and desirable in the usual business of the employer. Even without the performance of such services on a regular basis, respondent’s company’s business will not grind to a halt.
x x x x
Complainant was indubitably a program employee of respondent company. Unlike [a] regular employee, he did not observe working hours x x x. He worked for other companies, such as M-Zet TV Production, Inc. at the same time that he was working for respondent company. The foregoing indubitably shows that complainant-appellee was a program employee. Otherwise, he would have two (2) employers at the same time.[9]
IN LIGHT OF THE FOREGOING, the petition is hereby GRANTED. The Decision dated 22 April 2002 of the public respondent NLRC reversing the Decision of the Labor Arbiter and its Resolution dated 28 June 2002 denying petitioner’s motion for reconsideration are REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The Decision dated 29 June 2001 of the Labor Arbiter is REINSTATED with MODIFICATION in that private respondents are ordered to pay jointly and severally petitioner the amount of P10,000.00 as nominal damages for non-compliance with the statutory due process.Finding TAPE’s motion for reconsideration without merit, the Court of Appeals issued a Resolution[13] dated 8 April 2005 denying said motion.
SO ORDERED.[12]
First. The selection and hiring of petitioner was done by private respondents. In fact, private respondents themselves admitted having engaged the services of petitioner only in 1995 after TAPE severed its relations with RPN Channel 9.TAPE asseverates that the Court of Appeals erred in applying the “four-fold test” in determining the existence of employer-employee relationship between it and respondent. With respect to the elements of selection, wages and dismissal, TAPE proffers the following arguments: that it never hired respondent, instead it was the latter who offered his services as a talent to TAPE; that the Memorandum dated 2 March 2000 served on respondent was for the discontinuance of the contract for security services and not a termination letter; and that the talent fees given to respondent were the pre-agreed consideration for the services rendered and should not be construed as wages. Anent the element of control, TAPE insists that it had no control over respondent in that he was free to employ means and methods by which he is to control and manage the live audiences, as well as the safety of TAPE’s stars and guests.[19]
By informing petitioner through the Memorandum dated 2 March 2000, that his services will be terminated as soon as the services of the newly hired security agency begins, private respondents in effect acknowledged petitioner to be their employee. For the right to hire and fire is another important element of the employer-employee relationship.
Second. Payment of wages is one of the four factors to be considered in determining the existence of employer-employee relation. . . Payment as admitted by private respondents was given by them on a monthly basis at a rate of P5,444.44.
Third. Of the four elements of the employer-employee relationship, the “control test” is the most important. x x x
The bundy cards representing the time petitioner had reported for work are evident proofs of private respondents’ control over petitioner more particularly with the time he is required to report for work during the noontime program of “Eat Bulaga!” If it were not so, petitioner would be free to report for work anytime even not during the noontime program of “Eat Bulaga!” from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and still gets his compensation for being a “talent.” Precisely, he is being paid for being the security of “Eat Bulaga!” during the above-mentioned period. The daily time cards of petitioner are not just for mere record purposes as claimed by private respondents. It is a form of control by the management of private respondent TAPE.[18]
We find the annexes submitted by the private respondents insufficient to prove that herein petitioner is indeed an independent contractor. None of the above conditions exist in the case at bar. Private respondents failed to show that petitioner has substantial capital or investment to be qualified as an independent contractor. They likewise failed to present a written contract which specifies the performance of a specified piece of work, the nature and extent of the work and the term and duration of the relationship between herein petitioner and private respondent TAPE.[26]TAPE relies on Policy Instruction No. 40, issued by the Department of Labor, in classifying respondent as a program employee and equating him to be an independent contractor.
x x x those whose skills, talents or services are engaged by the station for a particular or specific program or undertaking and who are not required to observe normal working hours such that on some days they work for less than eight (8) hours and on other days beyond the normal work hours observed by station employees and are allowed to enter into employment contracts with other persons, stations, advertising agencies or sponsoring companies. The engagement of program employees, including those hired by advertising or sponsoring companies, shall be under a written contract specifying, among other things, the nature of the work to be performed, rates of pay and the programs in which they will work. The contract shall be duly registered by the station with the Broadcast Media Council within three (3) days from its consummation.[27]TAPE failed to adduce any evidence to prove that it complied with the requirements laid down in the policy instruction. It did not even present its contract with respondent. Neither did it comply with the contract-registration requirement.
We cannot subscribe to private respondents’ conflicting theories. The theory of private respondents that petitioner is an independent contractor runs counter to their very own allegation that petitioner is a talent or a program employee. An independent contractor is not an employee of the employer, while a talent or program employee is an employee. The only difference between a talent or program employee and a regular employee is the fact that a regular employee is entitled to all the benefits that are being prayed for. This is the reason why private respondents try to seek refuge under the concept of an independent contractor theory. For if petitioner were indeed an independent contractor, private respondents will not be liable to pay the benefits prayed for in petitioner’s complaint.[28]More importantly, respondent had been continuously under the employ of TAPE from 1995 until his termination in March 2000, or for a span of 5 years. Regardless of whether or not respondent had been performing work that is necessary or desirable to the usual business of TAPE, respondent is still considered a regular employee under Article 280 of the Labor Code which provides:
Art. 280. Regular and Casual Employment.—The provisions of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time of engagement of the employee or where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and employment is for the duration of the season.As a regular employee, respondent cannot be terminated except for just cause or when authorized by law.[29] It is clear from the tenor of the 2 March 2000 Memorandum that respondent’s termination was due to redundancy. Thus, the Court of Appeals correctly disposed of this issue, viz:
An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding paragraph. Provided, that, any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and his employment shall continue while such activity exists.
Article 283 of the Labor Code provides that the employer may also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the Ministry of Labor and Employment at least one (1) month before the intended date thereof. In case of termination due to the installation of labor saving devices or redundancy, the worker affected thereby shall be entitled to a separation pay equivalent to at least his one (1) month pay or to at least one (1) month pay for every year or service, whichever is higher.
x x x x
In sum, we find no reversible error committed by the Court of Appeals in its assailed decision.
We uphold the finding of the Labor Arbiter that “complainant [herein petitioner] was terminated upon [the] management’s option to professionalize the security services in its operations. x x x” However, [we] find that although petitioner’s services [sic] was for an authorized cause, i.e., redundancy, private respondents failed to prove that it complied with service of written notice to the Department of Labor and Employment at least one month prior to the intended date of retrenchment. It bears stressing that although notice was served upon petitioner through a Memorandum dated 2 March 2000, the effectivity of his dismissal is fifteen days from the start of the agency’s take over which was on 3 March 2000. Petitioner’s services with private respondents were severed less than the month requirement by the law.
Under prevailing jurisprudence the termination for an authorized cause requires payment of separation pay. Procedurally, if the dismissal is based on authorized causes under Articles 283 and 284, the employer must give the employee and the Deparment of Labor and Employment written notice 30 days prior to the effectivity of his separation. Where the dismissal is for an authorized cause but due process was not observed, the dismissal should be upheld. While the procedural infirmity cannot be cured, it should not invalidate the dismissal. However, the employer should be liable for non-compliance with procedural requirements of due process.
x x x x
Under recent jurisprudence, the Supreme Court fixed the amount of P30,000.00 as nominal damages. The basis of the violation of petitioners’ right to statutory due process by the private respondents warrants the payment of indemnity in the form of nominal damages. The amount of such damages is addressed to the sound discretion of the court, taking into account the relevant circumstances. We believe this form of damages would serve to deter employer from future violations of the statutory due process rights of the employees. At the very least, it provides a vindication or recognition of this fundamental right granted to the latter under the Labor Code and its Implementing Rules. Considering the circumstances in the case at bench, we deem it proper to fix it at P10,000.00.[30]