Mercidar Fishing Corporation v.

NLRC
October 8, 1998
Mendoza, J.

Facts:
-Private respondent Agao was employed as a bodegero or ship’s quartermaster
- He had been sick and was allowed to go on leave without pay but was refused to be admitted back to
work.
- Agao filed an action against Mercidar for illegal dismissal, violation of PD No. 851, and non-payment
of five days service incentive leave.
- Labor Arbiter ordered reinstatement with backwages and payment of 13th month pay and incentive
leave pay for 1990.
- The NLRC dismissed Mercidar Fishing Corporation’s appeal, and denied the MR
- Mercidar argues that since the work of Agao is performed away from its principal place of business, it
has no way of verifying his actual hours of work on the vessel. It contends that Agao and other
fishermen in its employ should be classified as field personnel who have no statutory right to
service incentive leave pay.

Issue/Held:
Whether or not Agao is field personnel and therefore not entitled to service incentive leave pay. NO.

Reasoning:
Art. 82 of the Labor Code excludes field personnel from application of the Labor Standards. It defines
“field personnel” as non-agricultural employees who regularly perform their duties away from the
principal place of business or branch office of the employer and whose actual hours of work in the field
cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.

The requirement that “actual hours of work in the field cannot be determined with reasonable certainty”
must be read in conjunction with Rule IV, Book III of the Implementing Rules which provides:
Section 1. This rule shall apply to all employees except:
xxx (e)Field personnel and other employees whose time and performance is unsupervised
by the employer xxx.

The clause “whose time and performance is unsupervised by the employer” did not amplify but merely
interpreted and expounded the clause “whose actual hour of work in the field cannot be determined
with reasonable certainty”. The former clause is still within the scope and purview of Art. 82 which
defines field personnel.

In the case at bar, during the entire course of their fishing voyage, fishermen employed by Mercidar
have no choice but to remain on board its vessel. Although they perform non-agricultural work away
from petitioner’s business offices, the fact remains that throughout the duration of their work they are under
the effective control and supervision of Mercidar through thevessel’s patron or master

PETITION DISMISSED