WHEN EMPLOYMENT STARTS: Upon acceptance of job offer or satisfactory compliance with requirements/conditions?

Juan dela Cruz was employed by Banko de Plata and found himself in search for greener pastures. He searched online and applied for a position at the Bank of the Metropolitan Islands. He passed the exams as well as the interview and was offered the position of Customer Service Officer-Payments and Cash Resolution. Just like any job offer, the document contained the terms and conditions for his employment, which he accepted on 8 June 2011.

A letter confirming the offer stated certain terms and conditions, such that the "initial and on-going employment of the candidate is conditional on  Bank of the Metropolitan Islands being satisfied with background checks and reference verification. If unsatisfied, Bank of the Metropolitan Islands may choose not to commence employment already started and end employment immediately, with no liability to pay compensation." Juan dela Cruz, wishing to have a better job offer and salary, took certain liberties with the information he provided Bank of the Metropolitan Islands such as the level of current position as well as duties and that he was never charged for any violation of the company code of conduct. 

Juan dela Cruz's appointment would take effect from the date which he was to report for work at the Bank of the Metropolitan Islands which would be on 11 July 2011. He resigned from Banko de Plata. On 11 July 2011, he was instructed to report to Bank of the Metropolitan Islands and was handed a JOB OFFER RETRACTION informing him of the withdrawal of the hob offer since the company found material inconsistencies in his declared information after the Human Resources Manager conducted background checks with his previous employer, Landmens (not Banko de Plata) -his employer prior to Banko de Plata.

The question now is, whether or not employer-employee exists upon the acceptance of the Job Offer which contained conditions, and the second question is whether or not compliance with employment conditions is the reckoning point of the employer-employee relationship.

These were the very same questions answered by the Supreme Court in Sagun v. ANZ Global Services & Operations (Manila), Inc., et al., (GR No. 220399, August 22, 2016).

Let's go back to the job offer, please bear in mind that the job offer bore certain conditions,, and these conditions partakes of the nature of a suspensive condition, and hence, renders the would be employer, conditional. To simplify, in a contract with a suspensive condition, if the condition does not happen, the obligation does not come into effect. Thus, until and unless Juan dela Cruz complied with the satisfactory background check, there exists no obligation on the part of Bank of the Metropolitan Islands to recognize and fully accord him the rights under the job offer/employment contract. Hence, no employee-employer relationship arose.