Documents Needed for NLRC Labor Arbitration: The Burden Is on the Employer, So Here Is What to Keep

The governing principle: only contemporaneous records carry weight

Before deciding what to keep, understand what an arbiter is actually weighing. The same document created at two different moments carries wildly different weight.

Contemporaneity comes first. Records created as events occurred are the most credible: that day's attendance data, that month's payroll register, a written notice issued three days after the incident. Documents that appear only once a dispute exists — minutes written up afterwards, handbook acknowledgements signed retroactively, a warning letter with a backdated date — are typically not accepted and cast doubt over the entire submission.

Signed beats unsigned by a wide margin. You can only argue the employee knew something if they acknowledged it. Payslips, the handbook, the job description, performance standards, warning letters, transfer notices all need a signature and a date. Where an employee refuses to sign, record the refusal — read the document aloud, have two people present annotate and sign it, then send a copy separately — rather than dropping the matter.

The medium must be traceable. System-generated records — biometric logs, payroll system transactions, mail server records — are stronger than handwritten ones because they are harder to alter after the fact, provided you can explain how the data was extracted. Manual records still work if they are continuous, sequentially numbered and were genuinely in use at the time.

Consistency is itself evidence. If every employee signs the same set of documents and every disciplinary matter follows the same process, the documents in this particular case inherit that background credibility. Conversely, if this one employee has a thick file of warnings and nobody else has anything, the file itself looks manufactured for the dismissal. Uniform application of policy is more persuasive than any single case file.

What to do the day a dispute signal appears. Freeze and export every electronic record for the relevant period — attendance, payroll, email, chat, approval trails, CCTV — noting who exported them, when and on what device, and seal the employee's personnel file as a complete set. Then stop editing anything. CCTV is the most urgent item, because once the system overwrites, it is gone.

Three things never to do. Do not delete records; loss of evidence invites an adverse inference against the employer. Do not backdate or retroactively sign. And do not suddenly run a batch of process on the person once a dispute exists — a sudden warning letter, a hastily conducted appraisal. Timestamps tell that story on their own.

Group one: the employment relationship and pay baseline file

Nearly every labour dispute starts here: was this person your employee, from when, at what pay, in what role. This group sets the computation base for every monetary figure that follows, and it is the group most often incomplete.

The signed employment contract. Signed by both parties and dated, stating position, place of work, pay components, working hours and the type of engagement — regular, probationary, fixed term, project-based. Fixed-term arrangements especially need their period and end arrangements stated, because expiry and dismissal are entirely different legal events. Foreign-national contracts have additional considerations; see employment contracts for foreigners.

Offer letter and onboarding documents. Terms in the offer should match the contract; where they diverge, the divergence tends to be read against the employer. The most overlooked and most consequential field in onboarding paperwork is the address written and signed by the employee personally — it later determines whether service of notice was effective.

Job description. Setting out duties and reporting lines. It matters directly in two dispute types: establishing what performance fell short of, and whether a transfer fell within management prerogative.

Employee handbook and acknowledgement records. The handbook must have substance, be properly promulgated, and be acknowledged in writing. Without acknowledgements, arguing that the employee should have known is difficult. See how to write a handbook that holds up.

Probationary standards, in writing, acknowledged. If you may decline to regularise on performance grounds, the standards must have been communicated in writing at engagement and acknowledged. Standards produced after the fact are generally not accepted.

The full pay-change chain. Every increase, promotion and role change needs a written instrument and employee confirmation. Computations of unpaid wages, separation pay and thirteenth-month pay rest on this chain, and a missing link tends to be resolved in the employee's favour.

Statutory registration and contribution records. Registration and monthly contribution records for the three mandatory contributions, plus withholding certificates. Beyond compliance, these directly evidence a genuine employment relationship and that entitlements were provided; see mandatory employee benefits.

Group two: time, attendance and payroll evidence, which decides monetary claims

Monetary claims — unpaid wages, overtime, holiday premium, night differential, leave conversion, thirteenth-month pay — are the most common heads of claim and usually travel attached to a dismissal claim. This group has a distinctive quality: it is decided purely on records, with almost no room for narrative.

Attendance records must be original and continuous. Raw logs from the time clock or biometric system, daily time records, and attendance summaries acknowledged by the employee. Continuity is the key point — producing only the disputed months and nothing either side of them invites the argument that the data was selected. System exports must come with an account of how and when they were extracted.

Overtime needs prior approval records. This is the single most common losing point. The company asserts that overtime was never authorised but cannot show any trace of an approval system, while the employee produces clock records showing late departures every day. Without an approval regime, records of extended presence tend to be read as overtime worked. The fix is a written request and approval process that is actually operated, with both approvals and refusals filed.

Payroll registers and acknowledged payslips. The register for each period, individual payslips, and evidence of receipt. Payslips should itemise basic pay, overtime, allowances, each deduction and net pay — a payslip showing only a single total cannot prove that any particular component was paid.

Proof of payment. Bank transfer records are the strongest form. Companies paying in cash carry materially higher risk because they must rely on acknowledgement slips, which are weaker than bank records. If cash payment is unavoidable, slips must exist per period, per person, with date and amount.

Leave records. Applications and approvals, service incentive leave usage and conversion, holiday scheduling and premium computations.

Thirteenth-month pay workings and payment records. The computation worksheet showing how the base was derived, plus payment evidence; see how thirteenth-month pay is computed.

Final pay records. An itemised computation of the final pay, proof of payment and the employee's acknowledgement. For scope and timing, see final pay and separation pay. A clean, itemised final settlement often resolves a monetary dispute before it starts.

Retain for the full period, and err long. Limitation periods for monetary claims run longer than most people assume, and destroyed records cannot be rebuilt. Keep payroll and attendance records for the maximum period the rules require, and do not purge a leaver's file in the year they leave.

Group three: the discipline and dismissal chain, where a single missing link breaks it

What defines this group is chain integrity. Having several documents is not enough; every link from incident to final decision has to connect. How the notices themselves should be drafted is a separate subject — see writing termination notices. Here we cover what must survive in the file.

Primary evidence of the incident. Evidence of the conduct itself: CCTV exports with an extraction statement, system logs, source documents, the original customer complaint, site photographs, third-party written statements. Primary evidence must be secured when the incident happens, not retrieved when the dismissal decision is made — by then the footage may be overwritten and the witnesses gone.

Investigation records. Who investigated, who was interviewed, when, what was asked and what was answered. Interview notes are best confirmed by the interviewee's signature. The value of this material in demonstrating procedural fairness is routinely underestimated.

First notice and proof of service. The notice itself plus service evidence: the signed and dated original, or the record of refusal to sign (the reading, annotated and signed by two people present), or dispatch and delivery evidence, or the send and receipt records for electronic service. Proof of service is as important as the notice. A notice you cannot prove was delivered was, for practical purposes, never issued.

The employee's written explanation, as submitted. Keep the explanation and its attachments in original form. Where none was submitted, keep evidence that a period was given and nothing was received.

Hearing records. Date, place, attendees, the substance of what was said, the grounds the employee raised — signed by those present where possible.

Second notice and proof of service. As above. The second notice should address the employee's explanation point by point, which makes the document itself the evidence that the explanation was genuinely considered.

The progressive discipline history. Where the dismissal rests on repeated infractions, every prior verbal counselling record, written warning and suspension, each with its service evidence, must be in the file. The final incident alone cannot establish repetition.

Consistency evidence. How comparable conduct by other employees was handled. If someone else received a warning for the same thing and this person was dismissed, you need to be able to explain the difference. Nobody prepares this proactively, but opposing counsel will look for it.

Property return and clearance records. Access cards, equipment, documents and system access, signed off on a clearance form. This closes the matter and prevents secondary disputes.

Group four: performance and authorized-cause cases, where the evidential bar rises

These two share a feature: you must prove not only what happened but that a judgement was reasonable — why this performance was inadequate, why this role had to go. Because the judgement itself must rest on objective grounds, the documentary demands are heavier.

Performance cases need three things. First, specific standards communicated in writing and acknowledged, existing before the assessment period began; standards written afterwards cannot support the conclusion. Second, continuous records across multiple periods rather than a single final rating, since one low score rarely supports dismissal. Third, a written performance improvement plan and its execution record: what the targets were, how long was given, what support and coaching were provided, and the assessment at the end. A performance dismissal without a documented improvement plan is a high-risk action. See making appraisals capable of supporting dismissal. Also keep the process trail itself — discussion notes and the employee's signed feedback.

Authorized-cause cases need five. First, objective evidence of the ground: losses should be evidenced by audited financial statements rather than internal reports or assertion; redundancy by before-and-after organisational charts, volume data, and the decision documents for outsourcing or automation. Second, a written selection criteria document — criteria that are objective (tenure, performance record, skills fit), fixed in advance and applied uniformly; explaining after the fact why this person was chosen persuades nobody. Third, the record of applying those criteria to the whole candidate pool, as a scoring or ranking sheet. Fourth, proof of service of the advance written notice on the employee. Fifth, evidence of the required filing with the labour authority. See the lawful retrenchment process.

Separation pay computation and payment evidence. The worksheet showing the base and the service computation, plus payment records.

Internal timeline consistency. In both categories the arbiter reads the sequence: when the evidence of deterioration was created, when the decision was made, when notice was issued. A decision document dated after the notice, or a loss argument running alongside active recruitment in the same period, means the material contradicts itself. Lay every date on one timeline and read it yourself before submitting — it is the single most effective self-check available.

Form requirements, retention, and a one-page file checklist

Substance is not enough; what you submit must be capable of being given weight. This section covers form, and ends with a checklist you can build a filing system from.

Witnesses need written sworn statements. Saying the supervisor can testify has limited value in a predominantly written proceeding. Key witness accounts must be reduced to writing, signed, and sworn or notarised as required. Take them while the person is still employed and still willing — after they resign or leave the country, they are effectively unavailable.

Copies need proper certification. Submit originals or certified copies; casually scanned images invite challenges to their weight. Maintain a register of where originals are held and by whom.

Electronic records need an extraction account. For chat, email, system logs and CCTV, export complete context rather than fragments, preserve the original medium, and have the person who performed the export sign a statement recording date, method and device.

Foreign-language documents need translation. Chinese-language contracts, handbooks and message threads generally require sworn translation; see sworn translation in the Philippines. The efficient answer is bilingual documents from the outset — contracts, handbooks and notices issued and signed in both languages. It saves time and cost in a dispute and closes off the argument that the employee could not understand what they signed.

Retention and sealing. Keep records for the periods currently required, and do not purge leavers' files in their final year. Maintain both electronic and physical copies. On separation, collate and seal the complete file, noting who sealed it and when.

One-page file checklist, per employee.

• Signed and dated employment contract, offer letter, and the address written and signed by the employee
• Job description; handbook acknowledgement; written probationary standards with acknowledgement
• Written instruments and employee confirmations for every pay increase, promotion and role change
• Registration and monthly records for the three mandatory contributions; withholding certificates
• Continuous raw attendance records; overtime requests and approvals; leave applications and approvals
• Payroll register per period and itemised payslips, with acknowledgements or bank payment evidence
• Thirteenth-month pay workings and payment evidence; leave conversion records
• Discipline chain: primary evidence, investigation records, first notice with proof of service, the employee's written explanation, hearing records, second notice with proof of service, and prior warnings
• Performance chain: standards communicated and acknowledged, multi-period assessments, the improvement plan and its execution record, discussion notes
• Separation: resignation original or dismissal documents, clearance form, itemised final pay computation and payment evidence, copy of the certificate of employment, and any settlement or waiver documents
• Sworn statements from key witnesses; extraction statements for electronic records; bilingual versions or translations of Chinese-language documents

Disclaimer. This is general information and not legal advice. Retention periods, evidential form requirements and procedural rules change with issuances and practice; verify against current DOLE and NLRC rules. Labour arbitration is a legal proceeding; consult a licensed lawyer on your specific case. This article does not constitute legal advice. If you want to build this filing system before a dispute arises, or want a gap assessment of the files you already hold, contact our compliance management team.