Termination of employment by Zoom

Insensitive.

That best describes the way the chief executive of a US mortgage company, Better.com, terminated last week the services of 900 employees through video conferencing via Zoom.

In that call to the employees, the executive said a reduced and focused workforce was needed to enable the company to meet the challenges of changing home ownership conditions in the United States.

Then, he dropped the bombshell, “If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated. Effective immediately.”

His remarks were described by the employees and in social media as “callous,” “harsh,” and “a horrible move” in light of the coming holiday season.

Stung by the adverse criticisms, he apologized for the manner he handled the dismissal of 15 percent of the company’s workforce and said, “I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better. I realize that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse.”

That apology, however, did not modify the downsizing order. By and large, US laws allow employees to be dismissed on short notice and for causes the employer may consider as sufficient justification for that action.

Because he kept mum after making the apology, there was no way to figure out what was going on in his mind when he used Zoom, rather than a person-to-person meeting, to announce a decision that would adversely affect the lives of the terminated employees and their families.

He probably thought that since bulk of the company’s operations are done online and staff discussions are conducted through Zoom, it was okay to announce the dismissal through that app.

That scheme may work in the United States but not in the Philippines in spite of the widespread use here of Zoom, Google, Skype, Discord and Face Time apps for video conference calls or meetings in the past two years due to the quarantine measures imposed by the government to arrest the spread of COVID-19.

To the credit of local businesses, they made adjustments in their operations vis-à-vis their staff at their initiative that were consistent with the Labor Code.

Although the government relaxed the application of some of the Code’s rules that relate to, among others, unpaid leave, work rotation and working from home, the provisions on termination of employment remained untouched.

Regardless of the basis for an employee’s dismissal, whether for just or authorized causes, the employer is still obliged to serve or send a written notice of termination to the affected employee.

The notice should contain the cause or reason for the dismissal and the date of its effectivity which, as a general rule, shall be at least 30 days before the intended date of dismissal.

But the employer may, for security or other related reasons, prohibit the employee from entering the work premises during the 30-day period.

It is critical though that there is proof of receipt by the employee, or his or her duly authorized representative, of that notice, otherwise the termination may be set aside for violation of the employee’s right to due process.

Going back to the issue of using internet-based facilities to communicate with employees, the question is posed: Is the requirement on notice complied with if it is sent to the employee’s known email address?

In a loose sense, an emailed notice may be considered as “in written form” although digital in nature. But the possible kink in this process is proving it was received by its addressee.

The employee may claim that he or she did not receive it and so the burden of proof is on the employer to show, through the server’s database, that the notice had been received on a particular date and from which time the 30-day period shall be counted.

But why go through this process when the notice can be served on the employee through any of the courier service companies that have mushroomed in recent months?

Better still, as a gesture of courtesy, let a staff member serve the notice personally on the employee. INQ

For comments, please send your email to [email protected].