Manila Electric Company vs Beltran

Facts:

Beltran was employed by MERALCO as Senior Branch Clerk at MERALCO’s Pasig branch. Beltran receipt of Chang’s payment and issued an Auxiliary Receipt and having remitted the amount only on after her immediate supervisor, Garcia, called her attention about the payment and its non-remittance. Beltran denied having personally used the money.The investigator found Beltran guilty of misappropriating and withholding Chang’s payment of P15,164.48 and recommended her dismissal.Beltran filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against MERALCO.

Labor Arbiter--- regarded the penalty of dismissal as not commensurate to the degree of infraction committed as there was no adequate proof of misappropriation on the part of Beltran.

the NLRC--- reversed the Labor Arbiter’s Decision and dismissed Beltran’s complaint against MERALCO. It found that Beltran withheld company funds by failing to remit it for almost four months. In CA the NLRC’s ruling was reversed.

Issue:

w/n there was convincing basis to dismiss Beltran from employment.

Held:

there are no sufficient grounds to warrant Beltran’s dismissal. For loss of trust and confidence to be a valid ground for dismissal, it must be based on a willful breach of trust and founded on clearly established facts. A breach is willful if it is

done intentionally, knowingly and purposely, without justifiable excuse, as distinguished from an act done carelessly, thoughtlessly, heedlessly or inadvertently. In addition, loss of trust and confidence must rest on substantial grounds and not on the employer’s arbitrariness, whims, caprices or suspicion. The burden of proving the legality of an employee’s dismissal lies with the employer. Employee was reinstated w/o backwages.