Backwages for Illegal Dismissal

He never bothered to redeem his license at the soonest possible time when there was no showing that he was unlawfully prevented by respondent from doing so. Thus, petitioner should not be paid for the time he was not working. The Court has held that where the failure of employees to work was not due to the employer's fault, the burden of economic loss suffered by the employees should not be shifted to the employer. Each party must bear his own loss. It would be unfair to allow petitioner to recover something he has not earned and could not have earned, since he could not discharge his work as a driver without his driver's license. Respondent should be exempted from the burden of paying backwages.

The age-old rule governing the relation between labor and capital, or management and employee, of a "fair day's wage for a fair day's labor" remains as the basic factor in determining employees' wages. If there is no work performed by the employee, there can be no wage or pay -- unless, of course, the laborer was able, willing and ready to work but was illegally locked out, suspended or dismissed, or otherwise illegally prevented from working, a situation which we find is not present in the instant case.