Myline Cordial

Joey Sonza vs. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp
G.R. No. 138051, June 10, 2004

 FACTS:   In May 1994, Respondent ABS-CBN signed an agreement with the Mel and Jay Management and Development Corporation (MJMDC) where the latter agreed to provide Sonza’s services exclusively to ABS-CBN as talent for radio and television. ABS-CBN agreed to pay Sonza a monthly talent fee of P310, 000 for the first year and P317, 000 for the second and third year.

In 1996, Sonza wrote a letter to ABS-CBN for resignation and rescission of the contract. The letter also contained the waiver and renunciation for recovery of the remaining amount stipulated but reserves the right to seek recovery of the other benefits under said Agreement.

Sonza then filed with the Department of Labor and Employment a complaint alleging that ABS-CBN did not pay his salaries, separation pay, service incentive pay, 13th month pay, signing bonus, travel allowance and amounts under the Employees Stock Option Plan (ESOP). ABS-CBN contended that no employee-employer relationship existed between the parties. However, ABS-CBN continued to remit Sonza’s monthly talent fees.

The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint and found that there is no employee-employer relationship and ruled that he is not an employee by reason of his peculiar skill and talent as a TV host and a radio broadcaster. Unlike an ordinary employee, he was free to perform his services in accordance with his own style. NLRC and CA affirmed the LA. Should there be any complaint, it does not arise from an employer-employee relationship but from a breach of contract

ISSUE:  Whether or not there was employer-employee relationship between a television and radio station and one of its talents, a program host.

RULING: There is no employer-employee relationship between Sonza and ABS-CBN. It held that the elements of an employee- employer relationship are selection and engagement of the employee, the payment of wages, the power of dismissal and the employer’s power to control the employee on the means and methods by which the work is accomplished. The last element, the so-called “control test”, is the most important element.

Applying the control test, Sonza is not an employee but an independent contractor. Individuals with special skills, expertise or talent enjoy the freedom to offer their services as independent contractors. Control test is based on the extent of control the hirer exercises over a worker. A radio broadcast specialist who only needs his talents and skills to perform his job and works under minimal supervision is an independent contractor. The records do not show that ABS-CBN exercised any supervision and control over how SONZA utilized his skills and talent in his shows.

The rules imposed by ABS-CBN on Sonza did not control his performance but these were merely guidelines towards the achievement of the mutually desired result, which are top-rating television and radio programs that comply with standards of the industry. Even the exclusivity clause in the Agreement is not a form of control which ABS-CBN exercised over him. The hiring of exclusive talents is a practice not designed to control the means and methods of work of the talent, but simply to protect the investment of the broadcast station.

NOTE:
Not every performance of services for a fee creates an employer-employee relationship. To hold that every person who renders services to another for a fee is an employee – to give meaning to the security of tenure clause – will lead to absurd results.