“THOSE that have less in life should have more in law to give them a better chance at competing with those that have more in life.”
Unemployment is one of the problems faced by many, especially during the pandemic. Of course, this is not new to us. But it was a great setback for some who have been working hard and were laid-off in the middle of the pandemic. Do they have a choice?
Some just left their work peacefully and looked for another job. There’s no more time to fuss about it because they need food on the table.
The problem with our current labor system is that some employers tend to circumvent the law. They reason that they don’t have an employer-employee relationship. They may execute a contract but indicate that their employees are independent contractors.
An independent contractor is an individual who offers his or her talent or expertise in the form of services for and in consideration of a professional fee, without entering into an employment contract with the one hiring, who is not an employer.
While employers are obligated to comply with Philippine labor laws regarding their employees, the same obligation does not apply to any independent contractors they hire.
How do we know if there is an employer-employee relationship?
A recent Supreme Court decision (Ditiangkin, et. al. vs. Lazada E-Services Philippines, Inc., et. al.) applied a two-tiered test to determine an employer-employee relationship: the four-fold test and the economic-dependence test.
Under the four-fold test, four factors must be proven: (a) the employer’s selection and engagement of the employee; (b) the payment of wages; (c) the power to dismiss; and (d) the power to control the employee’s conduct, the most important factor.
When the control test is insufficient, the economic realities of the employees are considered to get a comprehensive assessment of the classification of the worker and determine if the employee is dependent on the employer for his or her continued employment in that line of business.
The control test is the most important index of the existence of the employer-employee relationship. It is when the employer controls or has reserved the right to control the employee not only as to the result of the work to be done but also as to the means and methods by which the same is to be accomplished.
Stated otherwise, as held in the case of Pacific Consultants International Asia, Inc. v. Klaus K. Schonfeld (516 SCRA 209), an employer-employee relationship exists where the person for whom the services are performed reserves the right to control not only the end to be achieved but also the means to be used in reaching such end.
The Supreme Court held in the Lazada case that when the status of the employment is in dispute, the employer bears the burden to prove that the person whose service it pays for is an independent contractor rather than a regular employee with or without fixed term.
We are still battling the pandemic and employers should abide by the minimum labor standard law by providing the minimum wage, service incentive leave, right to collective bargaining, and regularization.
Laws should be interpreted to favor the working class, whether they are working in the government or in the private sector. This will give them flesh and vigor to the pro-poor and pro-labor provisions of our Constitution./PN
