Abandonment and AWOL are not the Same

In a valid abandonment, there is intent to quit the job, while in an Absence Without Leave (AWOL), there is no such desire. The latter is more of violation of internal procedure of the company on notices required in the event of employee’s absence.

A worker who overextended his vacation leave cannot be said to have abandoned his job due to the failure of the employer to adduce proof of overt acts on the part of employee showing clearly and unequivocably his intention to abandon his work. However, it is one thing to say that private respondent did not abandon his work. It is quite another to say that he is likewise not guilty of AWOL. For going AWOL, the employee may be subjected to disciplinary action.

Most companies require their employees to file their leave form prior to the taking of vacation leaves.

While it is not generally possible for an employee to anticipate when he will be ill or have to attend to some family problem or emergency, and be able to give prior notice to his employer, he should give such notice when he will be absent for some other cause, such as when he will attend to some other business elsewhere, for such engagements can be properly scheduled by him so as not to interfere with his regular working hours and disrupt the operations of the company in his particular area of assignment. Without prior notice of the employee’s absence, the company is not afforded enough time to get a

temporary replacement for him.

In the following instances, the Supreme Court held that there is abandonment:

1. Failure of employee to work after the expiration of his authorized leave;190
2. Failure to comply with reinstatement order;
3. Deliberate absence without permission to look for work elsewhere;

At some point, the Supreme Court held that the dismissal of employees for abandonment is unjustified since their absence was due to their arrest and detention for seven months for the alleged violation of the Revised Penal Code.

However, an absence to evade arrest and to ward off the long arm of the law is not a valid justification. To do so would be to place an imprimatur on the attempt to derail the normal course of the administration of justice.

Sea based workers are governed by the maritime practice with respect to their conduct while engaged to perform a voyage. Thus, desertion is the common charge against a seaman who jumps ship.

Desertion, in maritime law is the act by which a seaman deserts and abandons a ship or vessel, in which he had engaged to perform a voyage, before the expiration of his time, and without leave. By desertion, in maritime law, is meant, not a mere unauthorized absence from the ship, without leave, but an unauthorized absence from the ship with an intention not to return to her service; or as it is often expressed, animo non revertendi, that is, with an intention to desert.

Learn how to Validly Terminate Employee in the Philippines with this Tutorial Video of Atty. Elvin

Read more on procedural due process discussion by Atty. Elvin:

Read more on procedural due process by Atty. Villanueva:

Twin Requirements of Notice and Hearing

Procedural Due Process for Other Types of Employment

Notice to Explain: Contents and Requirements