What Happens If I Go AWOL?

"AWOL" is a workplace word, not a term in the Labor Code. The legal concept is abandonment. In Agabon v. NLRC (2004), the Supreme Court said abandonment is the deliberate and unjustified refusal of an employee to resume work, and that it is "a form of neglect of duty, hence, a just cause for termination of employment". Neglect of duties is one of the just causes in Article 297 [282] of the Labor Code. See What are the valid reasons to fire an employee?

Agabon set two conditions that must both be present:

1. Failure to report for work, or absence, without a valid or justifiable reason.
2. A clear intention to sever the employer-employee relationship. The Court called this "the more determinative factor", and said it must be shown by overt acts.

So an absence alone is not abandonment. Being sick, caring for a family member in the hospital or being stuck in a typhoon may be valid reasons. And if you come back or explain your absence, those acts can show that you did not mean to quit. On the other hand, taking a job elsewhere and ignoring every letter from your employer can show an intent to leave.

There is no fixed number of days in the rules and decisions we read. Your company handbook may have its own attendance rules, but the decisions we read judge abandonment by the two conditions above.

Yes. Abandonment is a just cause, so the two-notice rule applies: a first written notice stating the charge and giving you a chance to explain, a hearing or conference, and a written notice of termination. In Agabon, the Court quoted the rule that the notices "shall be served on the employee's last known address".

In Agabon, the workers had left to work for another company. The employer argued that sending notices would have been useless because they no longer lived at their old address. The Court said that was not a valid excuse. It upheld the dismissal for abandonment, but ordered the employer to pay ₱30,000 in nominal damages to each worker for skipping due process. That amount was set by the Court for that case, not as a fixed fine. See Fired without notice? and the case explainer Agabon v. NLRC.

Absences the employer never asked about may not help it later. In C.P. Reyes Hospital v. Barbosa (2024), an employee was sent a notice to explain three days marked AWOL. She explained them with a notice to her supervisor, a medical certificate and leave forms. The hospital then relied on other absences it had never asked her about. The Court said that ground was used "merely as an afterthought" and found the dismissal illegal.

The law we read does not say that an employee who goes AWOL forfeits what he or she already earned. In Agabon, even though the dismissal for abandonment was upheld, the Court ordered the employer to pay the workers' unpaid holiday pay and service incentive leave pay, and the unpaid balance of one worker's 13th month pay. It also said the employer carries the burden of proving that those benefits were paid.

For what final pay usually includes, see our final pay guide and the final pay calculator.

No, but they are close. If you want to leave, the Labor Code lets you resign with one month written notice, or without notice for a just cause such as serious insult or inhuman treatment. If you leave without notice and without a just cause, Article 300 [285] says the employer "may hold the employee liable for damages". Going AWOL leaves things unclear: your employer may treat it as abandonment, and you may lose the chance to leave on clean terms. See Do I need to render 30 days when I resign? and Can I resign immediately without notice?

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Rico stops reporting to his job in a Pasig warehouse because he started at another company. He ignores two letters asking him to report back. Both conditions of abandonment are present: an unjustified absence and a clear intent to leave, shown by working elsewhere. His employer may have a just cause to dismiss him, but it must still send the notices to his last known address.

Liza is absent for four days because her child was in the hospital. She texts her supervisor and, when she receives a notice to explain, answers with the hospital records. She has a reason for the absence and her acts show she wants to keep her job, so neither condition of abandonment appears to be met.

Paolo misses work for a week after a family emergency in the province and returns. His employer fires him on the spot for "AWOL", with no notices. His return points against an intent to quit. If the employer cannot prove abandonment, the dismissal can be illegal. See Illegally dismissed: what can you get?

Talk to a lawyer if you received a notice for AWOL or abandonment and need to answer it, if you were dismissed for AWOL after explaining your absence, or if your employer threatens to sue you for leaving. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines for the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and other options.