In the Philippine labor landscape, the security of tenure is a constitutionally protected right. When an employer terminates an employee without just or authorized cause, or when an officer oversteps their legal bounds to make a worker’s life miserable, the law provides specific avenues for redress through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).

1. Understanding Illegal Dismissal

Under the Labor Code, a dismissal is considered illegal if it lacks two essential components: Substantive Due Process and Procedural Due Process.

Substantive Due Process: The employer must have a valid reason for termination. These are categorized into:
Just Causes (Art. 297): Serious misconduct, willful disobedience, gross and habitual neglect of duties, fraud, or commission of a crime against the employer.
Authorized Causes (Art. 298-299): Retrenchment to prevent losses, redundancy, installation of labor-saving devices, or disease.
Procedural Due Process: This is the "Twin-Notice Rule."

First Notice: A written notice specifying the grounds for termination and giving the employee an opportunity to explain (usually within 5 days).
Hearing/Conference: An opportunity for the employee to present evidence.
Second Notice: A written notice of the final decision.

2. Abuse of Authority and Constructive Dismissal

Abuse of Authority often manifests as Constructive Dismissal. This occurs when an employer creates a hostile work environment, or performs acts of clear discrimination, insensibility, or disdain that render continued employment impossible or unbearable.

Examples include:

Demotion in rank or a significant diminution in pay.
Transfer to a remote location without valid business justification, intended to force a resignation.
Harassment or "singling out" an employee.

In these cases, even if the employee "quits," the law treats it as an illegal dismissal because the resignation was involuntary.

3. The Filing Process: SEnA

The first step in any labor dispute is the Single Entry Approach (SEnA). You do not go straight to a judge.

Request for Assistance (RFA): The employee files an RFA at the nearest DOLE Regional Office or the NLRC.
Mediation-Conciliation: A Single Entry Assistance Officer (SEAO) facilitates a meeting between the employer and employee. The goal is a "compromise agreement" or settlement.
30-Day Window: The SEnA process is mandated to be fast, usually concluding within 30 calendar days.

4. Moving to the Labor Arbiter (NLRC)

If mediation fails, the SEAO issues a Referral for Compulsory Arbitration. The case is then formally filed with the NLRC.

Position Papers: Both parties submit written "Position Papers" detailing their arguments and attaching evidence (affidavits, payslips, termination letters).
Decision: The Labor Arbiter (LA) will issue a decision based on these papers. Unlike a criminal court, a trial-type hearing is not always required.

5. Remedies and Reliefs

If the Labor Arbiter finds that you were illegally dismissed, you are generally entitled to:

Reinstatement: Returning to your former position without loss of seniority rights.
Full Backwages: Payment of wages, allowances, and benefits from the time of illegal dismissal up to actual reinstatement.
Separation Pay: If "strained relations" make reinstatement impossible, the employer may be ordered to pay one month's salary for every year of service.
Moral and Exemplary Damages: Awarded if the dismissal was attended by bad faith, fraud, or constituted an act oppressive to labor (Abuse of Authority).
Attorney’s Fees: Usually 10% of the total monetary award.

6. Burden of Proof

In Philippine labor law, the burden of proof rests on the employer. It is not the employee's job to prove the dismissal was illegal; it is the employer's job to prove, with "substantial evidence," that the dismissal was valid and followed due process. Failure to do so automatically tilts the scales in favor of the worker.