ME 212 Human Resource Development & Management Pangasinan State Unviversity Urdaneta City

1. PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate School
Urdaneta City
Module 15
Employer-Employee Relations
ME 212
Human Resource Development
and Management
Summer 2012
JOHN A. LIWANAG, C.E.
Master in Management Engineering

2. Employer/employee relations
Employer/employee relations refer to the communication that takes
place between representatives of employees and employers. Much of the
employee relations involve employees and employers working together and
part of the aim of established union’s social policy today is to create a
system of shared responsibility of employers and employees for working
practices, conditions and other areas of working life. This policy of shared
responsibility is called co-determination.
Discussions between employers and employees typically cover the
following areas:
◦ pay
◦ bonuses
◦ the work environment
◦ disputes
◦ work schedules
◦ grievances
◦ health and safety
◦ hours of work
◦ production targets.

3. Three tests to determine employer-employee
relationship
1. Four-fold test elements
The usual test used to determine the existence of employer-
employer relationship is the so-called four-fold test. In applying this
test, the following elements are generally considered:
◦ Right to hire or to the selection and engagement of the
employee.
◦ Payment of wages and salaries for services.
◦ Power of dismissal or the power to impose disciplinary actions.
◦ Power to control the employee with respect to the means and
methods by which the work is to be accomplished. This is known
as the right-of-control test.
Source: empxtrack.com

4. Three tests to determine employer-employee
relationship
2. Economic Reality Test
 Under economic reality test, the benchmark in analyzing
whether employment relation exists between the parties is
the economic dependence of the worker on his employer.
That is, whether the worker is dependent on the alleged
employer for his continued employment in the latter’s line of
business.
 Applying this test, if the putative employee is economically
dependent on putative employer for his continued
employment in the latter’s line of business, there is employer-
employee relationship between them. Otherwise, there is
none.
Source: http://caps.fool.com

5. Three tests to determine employer-employee
relationship
3. Two-tiered test (or Multi-factor test)
 The economic reality test is not meant to replace the
right of control test. Rather, these two tests are often
used in conjunction with each other to determine the
existence of employment relation between the parties.
This is known as the two-tiered test, or multi-factor test.
This two-tiered test involves the following tests:
◦ The putative employer’s power to control the
employee with respect to the means and methods by
which the work is to be accomplished;
◦ and The underlying economic realities of the activity
Source: careerealism.com
or relationship.

6. When is an employer-employee relationship deemed
to exist? the issue of employer-employee relationship the Supreme Court
In resolving
made use of the four-fold test:
“Jurisprudence is abound [sic] with cases that recite the factors to be considered in
determining the existence of employer-employee relationship, namely: (a) the selection
and engagement of the employee; (b) the payment of wages; (c) the power of
dismissal; and (d) the employer’s power to control the employee with respect to the
means and method by which the work is to be accomplished. The most important
factor involves the control test. Under the control test, there is an employer-employee
relationship when the person for whom the services are performed reserves the right
to control not only the end achieved but also the manner and means used to achieve
that end.”
(This article was published in the Sept. 3, 2008 edition of the Negros Times)
Source: peopleinsight.co.uk

8. Public Sector Unionism
Unions are established where an employer-employee
relationship exists. The basic concerns of unions are
the protection of the rights of employees, the
advancement of their economic welfare and
improvements in their terms and conditions of work.
Public sector unionism in the Philippines is a relatively recent
reclaimed right by government personnel in the country. The
reclaiming of such a right cannot be divorced from the gains
won by the Filipino people in ending the 20-year martial rule
when through presidential edict the right of public sector
employees to form unions was removed.
Prior to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, unionism in the
public sector except in government-owned and controlled-
corporations was prohibited by Presidential Decree No. 442
or “The Labor Code of the Philippines.”

9. Public Sector Unionism
The rights of Filipino government employees to form unions
were recognized only after the overthrow of the Marcos
dictatorship. These rights are enshrined in the 1987
Philippine Constitution:
Article III, Sec. 8. The right of the people, including those
employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions,
associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law
shall not be abridged;
Article IX-B, Sec. 2 (5). The right to self organization
shall not be denied to government employees; and
Article XIII, Sec. 3. The State shall afford full protection
to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized,
and promote full employment and equality of
Source:ehow.comemployment opportunities for all.

10. Public Sector Unionism
The State shall guarantee the rights of all
workers to self-organization, collective
bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful
concerted activities, including the right to
strike in accordance with law. They shall be
entitled to security of tenure, humane
conditions of work, and a living wage. They Source: getfreelegalforms.com
shall also participate in policy and decision-
making processes affecting their rights and
benefits as may be provided by law.
Executive Order No. 180, issued on June 1,
1987 by then President Corazon Aquino
spelled out the scope and limits of public
sector unionism.

11. DENR Employees Union
- Kalipunan ng mga Kawani sa Kagawaran ng Kalikasan (K-4)
DENREU - is the association of all union chapters of the
department’s employees, numbering around 18,525 nationwide.
- The DENR recognizes the K4 as the representative of all rank-and-
file employees within the Collective Negotiation Unit based on the
Joint Resolution dated Oct. 5, 2010, supplemented by the
memorandum of Agreement signed between the Kalipunan ng mga
Kawani para sa Sambayanan at Nasyunalismo (KALIKASAN) and
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Employees
Union (DENREU) dated 22 Nov. 2010.
- SAMAHAN NG MGA MANGGAGAWA PARA SA KALIKASAN
(SAMAKA) DENR Region 1 Employees Union

12. References:
 Francisco vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 170087 August 31, 2006
 Religious of the Virgin Mary vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 103606, October 13, 1999
 Viaña vs. Al-Lagadan and Piga, 99 Phil. 408 (1956).
 Sevilla v. Court of Appeals, G.R. Nos. L-41182-3, April 15, 1988.
 The Forum - January-February 2012 - (Vol 13 Issue 1)
Unionism in the University of the Philippines: A post-Marcos dictatorship gain
Judy M. Taguiwalo, Ph.D.
 K4-DENREU
 SAMAKA, DENR Region 1

13. Source: ahows.info