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Q1. On Friday, about seven days ago, I gave a legal notice to my employer prior to quitting the job. However, the final pay check was not received by me, the same day, and then I decided to call my employer, in fact my ex-employer, to inquire about how soon I will be paid off. On inquiring about the said check, he said that it was ready and that I could come to him and pick it up anytime and I also agreed to do so. But I deliberately didn’t bother to pick the check up from him until 13 days had gone till I had quit, which were 10 days late, since I inquired him about the paycheck. So, am I entitled to waiting time penalty in this case or not?
Yes, in this case, the waiting time penalty surely does apply. According to employment attorney, the fact that you gave the stipulated time period of 72 hours to your employer prior to leaving the job you were doing, it makes it obligatory for the employer to pay you all the unpaid wages of yours as per the contract between you and him/her (Labor Code Section 202). As the final wage tender, if paid, stops the said penalty from being inflicted, you legally have the right of having wage worth of three days. This is justified in the light if the fact that you employer was informing you that your paycheck was ready to be picked up by you on Monday, the day after you quit the job. Since you deliberately did not pick the paycheck up from your employer, you do not have the legal right to demand the wage worth of 13 working days. Under the Section 203 of the Labor Code if an employee deliberately avoids being paid-off , even after the employer has announced the paycheck, then the employee will not be entitled to receive any amount for the waiting days, under this penalty.
Q2. It was last week’s Monday and I had already informed my employer in written form that I will be quitting the job on the coming Friday. Hence, on the last working day of mine i.e. Friday, I inquired about my final paycheck from my employer. In response I was informed that my paycheck was not ready and that I had to further wait for the pay roll to end, since the checks will be prepared by the pay roll service at the end of the period, all semimonthly. I further inquired that whether I’d be informed about it via a phone call, but I was told that he would simply mail me when it’s ready. The check was received by me, finally, after fifteen days since I quit my job. The postmark on that envelop was of three days before that date. So, in my case does the waiting time penalty applies, if yes, then for how much worth of time, hence making how much amount in total?
In your case, yes, the waiting time penalty of worth 15 days does apply. Section 202 of the Labor Code states that if an employee quits his/her job without having any sort of written contact, and also giving the quitting notice to the employer 72 hours prior to leaving the said job, and then eventually quits the job on the day mentioned on the notice, then the employer should must pay the wages at the quitting time. Now, according to your explanation, you gave the required 72 hours prior notice and also quit on the designated day, but still didn’t receive any amount of the wages till 15 days, you will receive the waiting time penalty worth of 15 days, which are the number of days right from the date you were meant to be paid off, to the date you were actually paid off, which means the date you received the pay, not that date you were mailed the paycheck or whatever, after that day, the penalty ceases.
Q3. Do you check just the days I may have worked during the period for which the punishment gathers when figuring the punishment sum, or do you incorporate all non-workdays too?
It incorporates all non-workdays. When you figure the punishment, you check all the schedule days for which the punishment is forced, including ends of the week, non-workdays (for example off days) and occasions.
