The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that employees cannot be forced to retire before the compulsory retirement age of 65 without their clear and voluntary consent.

In a decision written by Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, the SC First Division found Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Laguna guilty of illegally dismissing former finance executive Rodolfo C. Ondevilla, whose employment was terminated when he turned 60 in 2019.

The Court stressed that optional retirement must be based on a voluntary agreement between the employer and employee, without pressure or coercion.

Ondevilla was awarded full backwages, separation pay in lieu of reinstatement, and retirement benefits covering his employment until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 in August 2024.