The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that premarital sexual relations leading to pregnancy cannot be considered immoral or disgraceful, emphasizing that such conduct does not justify suspending an employee.
In an 18-page decision, the SC First Division declared the 2016 suspension of a grade school teacher in Bohol by a Christian school as illegal. The teacher, who handled language, physical education, arts, mother tongue, and writing classes, was verbally suspended when she disclosed her pregnancy to the school principal and administrative team head.
The administrative team head demanded proof of marriage to the father of her unborn child before she could resume teaching and issued a notice suspending her indefinitely without pay due to “immorality.”
The teacher filed a complaint for illegal suspension. While the Labor Arbiter initially ruled in her favor, the National Labor Relations Commission reversed this. However, the Court of Appeals upheld the illegality of her suspension.
The SC affirmed the appellate court’s decision, stating that consensual sexual relations between two adults with no legal impediment to marry cannot be deemed immoral. It stressed that public and secular standards, not religious beliefs, must apply when determining morality under the law.
The court ordered the school to compensate the teacher with back wages and benefits for the suspension period.
