Employees can’t be forced to retire before 65, says SC ruling

MANILA, Philippines — Employees cannot be forced to retire before the compulsory retirement age of 65 without giving clear and voluntary consent to their employers, according to the Supreme Court.

In a decision promulgated June 29 and released on Tuesday, the SC’s 1st Division partly granted the petition of Rodolfo Ondevilla, 67, against Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) in Laguna, which had considered his appointment as school comptroller expired after he turned 60 on Aug. 29, 2019.

Ondevilla filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against CSJL before the Labor Arbiter and the National Labor Relations Commission, both of which ruled in his favor.

The school raised the matter to the Court of Appeals (CA), which ruled that Ondevilla was illegally dismissed, but still noted a letter he sent to CSJL showing he had agreed to retire effective July 31, 2020.

READ: SC: Worker’s prolonged absence can’t be sole basis for dismissal

‘School’s demand’

The employee then challenged the CA’s decision before the high court, arguing he never intended to retire before turning 65.

The Supreme Court ruled in his favor and found CSJL guilty of illegal dismissal since “his retirement was involuntary.”

According to the high court, Ondevilla’s letter “was not a clear notice that he was choosing early retirement [but] a response to the school’s demand that he repay the cash advance he had received from CSJL.”

Citing the Labor Code, the court noted that “the retirement age is set by an existing agreement or employment contract.”

“If neither exists, the law sets the compulsory retirement age at 65 and the minimum age for optional retirement at 60,” the Supreme Court said, adding that Ondevilla was entitled to full back wages and separation pay.

The ruling also granted him retirement benefits covering his employment from 2004 to 2024. /cb