Auto Bus Transport vs Bautista

G.R. No. 156367. May 16, 2005

Facts:
Bautista, a driver-conductor of the Autobus transport, was dismissed after his failure
to pay an amount demanded by the company for the repair of the bus damaged in an
accident caused by him.
He receives compensation by way of commission per travel.
Bautista complained for illegal dismissal with money claims for nonpayment of
13th month pay and service incentive leave pay against Autobus.
Auto Bus’ Defenses:
1. Bautista’s employment was replete with offenses involving reckless imprudence,
gross negligence, and dishonesty supported with copies of letters, memos,
irregularity reports, warrants of arrest;
2. In the exercise of management prerogative, Bautista was terminated only after
providing for an opportunity to explain:
Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint however awarded Bautista his 13thmonth pay
and service incentive leave pay.
Auto Bus appealed. NLRC deleted the 13th month pay award. In the CA, NLRC’s
decision was affirmed.
Issue: Whether or not respondent is entitled to service incentive leave pay.
Held: Yes.
Under Article 95 of the Labor Code, every employee who has rendered at least one
year or service shall be entitled to a yearly service incentive leave of five days with
pay. In Section 1, Rule V, Book III of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the
Labor Code, the rule shall apply to all, except… (d) Field personnel and other
employees whose performance is unsupervised by the employer including those who
are engaged on task or contract basis, purely commission basis, or those who are paid
in a fixed amount for performing work irrespective of the time consumed in the
performance thereof.
Petitioner’s contention that Bautista is not entitled to service incentive leave because
he is paid on a purely commission basis must fail. The phrase following “Field
personnel” should not be construed as a separate classification of employees but is
merely an amplification of the definition of field personnel defined under the Labor
Code.
Bautista neither falls under the category field personnel. As defined, field personnel
are those whose performance of service is unsupervised by the employer, the
workplace being away from the principal place of business and whose hours and days
of work cannot be determined with reasonable certainty. Bus companies have ways of
determining the hours worked by their drivers and conductors with reasonable
certainty. The courts have taken judicial notice of the following:
1. Along the routes traveled, there are inspectors assigned at strategic places who
board the bus to inspect the passengers, the punched tickets, and the conductor’s
reports;
2. There is a mandatory once-a week car barn or shop day, where the bus is regularly
checked;
3. The drivers and conductors must be at specified place and time, as they observe
prompt departure and arrival;
4. At every depot, there is always a dispatcher whose function is to see to it that the
bus and crew leaves and arrives at the estimated proper time.
By these reasons, drivers and conductors are therefore under constant supervision
while in the performance of their work.