Answer
Under Article 294 of the Labor Code (formerly Article 279), a regular employee enjoys security of tenure and may be dismissed only for a just cause or an authorized cause, and only with due process. Just causes (Article 297) arise from the employee's own fault — serious misconduct, wilful disobedience, gross and habitual neglect, fraud or breach of trust, or analogous causes.
Authorized causes (Articles 298 and 299) are business or health grounds and carry separation pay. A dismissal that lacks a valid cause or fails the two-notice due-process requirement is illegal, and an illegally dismissed employee is entitled to reinstatement and full backwages.
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