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| Tribunal officer says to always ask if you're being fired |
A Filipina domestic helper who quit her employment at midnight
of Jun 25 because her “madam” told her to “go downstairs” must have to prove
she was terminated by the employer before she can claim wages in lieu of
notice.
Thus ruled a Labour Tribunal presiding officer on Sept 5 as
he dismissed Mylen Correa’s $4,520 claim for wages in lieu out of a set of items totaling
more than $16,000 that she was claiming against her employer Cheng Wai-yee.
Presiding Officer David Chum also rejected Correa’s $4,600
claim for boarding house rents and $450 for visa extension costs, saying the
maid incurred those costs because she did not leave Hong Kong and decided to
pursue her case against Cheng.
In the end, Correa and Cheng mutually agreed to a $5,551.99
settlement to avoid a trial. Chum warned the Filipina she would lose and end up
paying costs.
Correa sought compensation because Cheng allegedly
terminated her on the night of Jun 25. The employer insisted she did not fire
the maid said she would demand a month’s wage in lieu of notice in a
counterclaim.
Chum asked the helper what the employer told her when she
was dismissing her.
“You go down. I will not give you anything you want,” Correa
quoted Cheng as saying. She added that as a result, she called the police.
Chum asked her in disbelief, “How can you say she dismissed
you? She told you to go down with the police. You can return after that. You
misunderstood her, you were getting too aggressive.”
The officer said the maid should have asked the employer
pointblank, “Are you firing me now?” and if the latter answered “Yes,” then she
was terminating her.
Chum calculated the helper’s claims for arrears in wages of
$3,756.66, air ticket price of $1,095.33 travel/food allowance of $100 and $600
in transport and document processing costs and reached a sum of $5,551.99.
Then he proposed that amount as a settlement, telling the
maid that if she insisted on a trial she would lose. As for the employer, Chum
said if she drops her counterclaim and pays Correa the amount, the case would
be resolved that day.
After a brief meeting, both parties agreed to settle but the
employer asked to pay the amount to the court on Sept 11.
Correa said she needed to fly home soon because her mother
was dying, so she just assigned the collection to a friend. – Vir B. Lumicao
