What Is a Position Paper?
A position paper is a party's principal written submission in administrative and quasi-judicial proceedings in the Philippines. It sets out, in one document, the facts the party relies on, the issues to be resolved, the legal arguments supporting the party's side, the evidence offered, and the specific relief prayed for. It is the labor-case counterpart of a trial brief — the place where each side lays out its complete case in writing.
It is most often filed in labor cases before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), and is sometimes referred to as a labor position paper or an NLRC position paper. The same type of submission is also required in proceedings before the DOLE, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and various regulatory agencies that decide cases on the basis of position papers rather than full trials.
Because NLRC proceedings are largely non-litigious and summary in nature, the position paper carries unusual weight: the Labor Arbiter generally decides the case on the position papers and their annexes, often without a full-blown hearing. What you put in it — and the evidence you attach — is, in practice, your case.
Generate This Document Online
Unlock this document for 30 days in Legalia — guided fields, the correct legal format, PDF export, and AI-assisted drafting.
Unlock & Generate — ₱199 or get All-Access — ₱999/30 daysWhen Do You Need a Position Paper?
In an NLRC labor case, the position paper stage comes after the early, informal stages have run their course:
- SEnA / mandatory conciliation-mediation fails. The dispute first goes through the Single Entry Approach and the mandatory conciliation-mediation conference. If no settlement is reached, the case is referred to a Labor Arbiter.
- The Labor Arbiter issues an order to submit position papers. Under the 2011 NLRC Rules of Procedure (Rule V), after the parties fail to settle, the Arbiter directs both the complainant and the respondent to file their verified position papers — commonly within ten (10) days.
- Both sides file simultaneously. The employee-complainant and the employer-respondent each submit their own position paper, covering only the issues raised in the complaint and the conciliation conference.
Outside the NLRC, you may also be required to file a position paper in a DOLE administrative case, a BIR tax protest, or proceedings before agencies such as the HLURB/DHSUD, the ERC, or the NTC. The structure below applies to the NLRC labor position paper, which is what Legalia generates.
Required Elements of a Position Paper
A properly drafted NLRC position paper should contain the following:
- Case caption — the Republic, the Department of Labor and Employment, the National Labor Relations Commission, the arbitration branch and its location, the parties, the NLRC RAB case number, and the nature of the action
- Statement of facts — a chronological narrative: who the parties are, what happened, and each complainant's particulars (position, dates of hiring and dismissal, last salary) and individual grievance
- Issues — the specific questions for the Arbiter to resolve, e.g. whether the dismissal was illegal and what monetary awards follow
- Arguments and discussion — the legal analysis, citing the Labor Code and jurisprudence (substantive just/authorized cause, the twin-notice rule, and the employer's burden of proof in termination cases)
- List of supporting documents — the evidence attached as Annex "A", "B", etc. and referred to in the body (optional but strongly advised)
- Prayer — the specific relief sought: a declaration of illegal dismissal, reinstatement or separation pay, full backwages, money claims, damages, and attorney's fees
- Verification and certification of non-forum shopping — the sworn closing block, signed by the party (jointly by all complainants) before a notary, with the notarial register entry
Free Position Paper Template Sample
Below is a sample position paper generated by Legalia for two employees jointly claiming illegal dismissal with money claims before the NLRC. The forum caption, the numbered statement of facts (built from each party's details), the issues, arguments, prayer, the counsel's signature block, and the joint verification and certification of non-forum shopping are all produced automatically from your entries.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION ARBITRATION BRANCH
QUEZON CITY
Maria Santos,
Complainants,
For: Illegal Dismissal with Money Claims
Ricardo Bautista,
Respondents.
COMPLAINANTS, by counsel, unto this Honorable Office, most respectfully submit this Position Paper and state:
STATEMENT OF FACTS1. Respondent ABC Trading Services is a domestic corporation and the employer of the complainants, with address at 123 Commerce Avenue, Barangay San Antonio, Quezon City.
2. Respondent Ricardo Bautista is the President and General Manager of respondent ABC Trading Services.
3. The complainants were regular employees of respondent ABC Trading Services at its warehouse in Quezon City.
4. On November 15, 2025, the respondents barred the complainants from entering the work premises and verbally informed them that their employment had been terminated.
5. The complainants were never served any written notice of the charges against them, nor were they given any opportunity to explain their side.
6. Complainant Juan Dela Cruz was employed by respondent ABC Trading Services as Warehouse Supervisor, having been hired on March 1, 2021, with a last salary of ₱22,000.00 per month. On November 15, 2025, said complainant was dismissed from employment by the respondents. He was barred from entering the work premises without any prior notice and was simply told that his services were no longer needed.
7. Complainant Maria Santos was employed by respondent ABC Trading Services as Inventory Clerk, having been hired on June 15, 2022, with a last salary of ₱18,500.00 per month. On November 15, 2025, said complainant was dismissed from employment by the respondents. She was likewise refused entry on the same date, and her repeated requests for a written explanation went unanswered.
ISSUES1. Whether or not the complainants were illegally dismissed from employment;
2. Whether or not the complainants are entitled to reinstatement and full backwages;
3. Whether or not the complainants are entitled to their money claims, damages, and attorney's fees.
ARGUMENTS AND DISCUSSIONThe complainants were dismissed without just or authorized cause. Under Article 294 of the Labor Code, an employee who is unjustly dismissed from work is entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges, and to full backwages, inclusive of allowances and other benefits, computed from the time compensation was withheld up to the time of actual reinstatement.
The respondents likewise failed to observe procedural due process. The twin-notice requirement obliges the employer to serve a first written notice specifying the grounds for termination, afford the employee an opportunity to be heard, and serve a second written notice of the decision to dismiss. None of these were observed here.
In termination cases, the burden of proving that the dismissal was for a valid or authorized cause rests upon the employer. Failure to discharge this burden means the dismissal was illegal.
PRAYERWHEREFORE, premises considered, complainants respectfully pray that this Honorable Office render judgment:
1. Declaring the complainants to have been illegally dismissed from employment;
2. Ordering the respondents to reinstate the complainants to their former positions without loss of seniority rights and other privileges, or, if reinstatement is no longer feasible or practical, to pay separation pay in lieu of reinstatement in accordance with law and jurisprudence;
3. Ordering the respondents to pay the complainants their full backwages, inclusive of allowances and other benefits, computed from the date of dismissal until actual reinstatement;
4. Ordering the respondents to pay the complainants their unpaid wages, holiday pay, service incentive leave pay, and 13th month pay;
5. Ordering the respondents to pay the complainants moral and exemplary damages;
6. Ordering the respondents to pay the complainants attorney's fees equivalent to ten percent (10%) of the total monetary award.
Complainants likewise pray for such other reliefs as may be deemed just and equitable under the premises.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED. Quezon City, Philippines, January 15, 2026.
Roll of Attorneys No. 54321
IBP No. 123456, January 5, 2026, Quezon City
PTR No. 7654321, January 5, 2026, Quezon City
MCLE Compliance No. VIII-0012345
WE, Juan Dela Cruz, Maria Santos, all of legal age, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:
1. We are the complainants in the above-entitled case; we have caused the preparation and filing of the foregoing Position Paper; and we have read and understood its contents, which are true and correct of our own personal knowledge and/or based on authentic records;
2. We certify that we have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same issues before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other court, tribunal, or agency; that to the best of our knowledge, no such other action or proceeding is pending therein; and that if we should learn hereafter that the same or a similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending before any such court, tribunal, or agency, we undertake to report that fact to this Honorable Office within five (5) days therefrom.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands this January 15, 2026 at Quezon City, Philippines.
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this January 15, 2026 at Quezon City, Philippines, affiants having exhibited to me competent evidence of their identity, and they acknowledged to me that they voluntarily executed the foregoing Verification and Certification and understood its contents.
Generate This Document Online
Unlock this document for 30 days in Legalia — guided fields, the correct legal format, PDF export, and AI-assisted drafting.
Unlock & Generate — ₱199 or get All-Access — ₱999/30 daysHow to Draft a Strong Position Paper
- Frame the issues narrowly. List only the questions the Arbiter actually has to decide — illegal dismissal, the monetary awards, damages. A tight issue list keeps your facts and arguments focused.
- Tell the story chronologically. Lay out the employment, the events leading to the dismissal, and what was (and was not) done, in date order. Give each complainant their own paragraph so individual particulars are clear.
- Argue both substance and procedure. In a dismissal case, address both whether there was a just or authorized cause and whether the twin-notice due-process requirement was followed — a failure on either is fatal to the employer.
- Remember who carries the burden. In termination cases the employer must prove the dismissal was valid. Point this out and frame gaps in the employer's evidence as a failure to discharge that burden.
- Attach and reference your evidence. Mark documents as Annex "A", "B", etc. — payslips, the appointment letter, screenshots of the termination message — and refer to each in the body so the Arbiter can match proof to claim.
- Verify it and file on time. The party (all complainants) must personally sign the verification and certification of non-forum shopping before a notary. File the verified position paper with all annexes within the period set by the Arbiter, and keep a stamped copy.
Position Paper vs. Complaint vs. Memorandum
These are distinct stages of a labor case and are easy to confuse. The complaint (the verified complaint or complaint-affidavit) initiates the case and states the cause of action. The position paper is each party's main argumentative submission, filed after conciliation fails and the issues are joined — it carries the facts, arguments, evidence, and prayer. A memorandum, where a tribunal requires one, is a later summary of the arguments after the position papers and evidence are in. Legalia generates the NLRC labor position paper described in this guide.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
The Labor Arbiter can decide the case on the basis of the position papers actually filed. If a party fails to submit its position paper within the period, the Arbiter may resolve the dispute on the submissions and evidence on record — meaning the defaulting party loses the opportunity to present its facts and arguments. If you cannot meet the deadline, file a written motion for additional time for good cause before the period lapses rather than letting it expire.