Manila, June 26 -- The Supreme Court (SC) has reinstated an employee who was terminated for "unauthorized absences", saying a worker's absence from work, by itself, is not enough to prove abandonment or justify dismissal.

In a decision written by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh and released Friday, the high tribunal's Third Division found Green Era Biotech Corp. and Great Value Management and Services Corporation (Great Value) guilty of illegally dismissing production utility worker Alvin G. Carpio.

The SC reversed the Court of Appeals and ordered the employer to reinstate Carpio to his former position without loss of privileges and seniority, but without any right to back wages.

Should reinstatement no longer be possible, t...