The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the management of a popular spa parlor to pay back wages and damages to its former manager who was removed from her job upon the advice of the owner’s feng shui master.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Jose C. Mendoza, the High Court’s Second Division ruled that Loreta T. Yung, former administrative manager on Timog Avenue, Quezon City branch of Wensha Spa Center Inc., had been dismissed without a valid reason.

Thus, the SC ordered Wensha Spa and its president Xu Zhi Jie, also known as Pobby Co, to pay Yung from the time of her dismissal in 2004 as well as P100,000 in damages and attorney’s fees.

Court records showed that on August 10, 2004, Yung was asked to leave her office because Xu and a feng shui master were exploring the premises. Later that day, Xu asked Yung to go on leave with pay for one month, which the latter actually did.

Upon her return on September 10, 2004, Yung was asked by Xu and his wife to resign from Wensha because they were allegedly told by the feng shui master that her aura did not match that of the owner.

Yung refused but was informed that she could no longer continue working at Wensha Spa. That same afternoon, she went to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and filed a case for illegal dismissal against the spa parlor and its owner.

But the NLRC sided with Wensha Spa, which claimed that two months after Yung was hired the management received various complaints against her from the employees.

The NLRC sustained the argument of Wensha Spa that Yung’s employment was terminated on Aug. 31, 2004 due to “loss of trust and confidence.”

Felt aggrieved, Yung elevated her case to the Court of Appeals, which eventually reversed the NLRC ruling. This prompted the spa owner to bring the case to the High Court.

However, the SC ruled against the spa owner and upheld the decision of the appellate court. “As correctly found by the CA, the cause of (Yung’s) dismissal is questionable. Loss of trust and confidence to be valid ground for dismissal must have basis and must be founded on clearly established facts.”

It held that Yung’s dismissal due to loss of trust and confidence was “utterly erroneous as it is contrary to the applicable rules and pertinent jurisprudence.”