Publications

Recently, “layoffs” or “salary cuts” frequently popped up on social media. Employers believe that they could independently determine the salary level of all employees according to Article 47 of the “Labor Law”, which prescribes that, “An employer shall, in light of the characteristics of its production and business operations and its economic benefits, independently determine its own salary distribution measures and salary levels.” Employees believe that the salary level could only be changed based on employees’ consent according to Article 35 of the “Labor Contract Law”, which prescribes that, “Upon negotiation and consensus between an employer and an employee, the…

In contract dispute cases, if a court determines that the defendant has breached the contract, it often orders the defendant to pay liquidated damages. Whether the plaintiff should issue an invoice for such liquidated damages? Firstly, for those who are ordered to bear compensation liability due to the fault of one party in the contract, since the contract has not been established, is invalid or revoked, which means the business has not actually occurred, the plaintiff should not issue an invoice. Article 29 of the “Implementing Rules for the Administrative Measures for Invoices” (2024 Edition) prescribes that, where an invoice…

According to Article 40 of the “Labor Contract Law”, an employer could unilaterally terminate the labor contract with its employee who suffers from an illness or a non-work-related injury and is unable to undertake the original job duties or other job duties arranged by the employer following completion of the medical treatment period. Literally speaking, there are two prerequisites, which are, the employee is unable to undertake the original job duties, in addition, the employee is unable to undertake the other job duties arranged by the employer. Generally speaking, the first prerequisite refers to an employee who still needs medical…

A creditor applies for compulsory enforcement, if the court discovers that the debtor has real estate, movable property, or other property rights (such as equity), the court would auction such properties. However, if auction fails in a judicial auction, what could creditors do? Whether those properties could be used to offset the debt? According to the relevant provisions of the ” Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Auctioning or Selling off Property by People’s Courts in Civil Execution (Amended in 2020)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Auction Provisions”), the process of a judicial auction is as follows: The court…

On May 12, 2024, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions published an article titled as “A company fired an employee who was late 98 times with 2N compensation” ?!”. In this article, the company fired an employee who was late 98 times, however, both the Beijing Fangshan District People’s Court and the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court determined that such termination is illegal. This article has a ripple effect. Because the management of attendance is very important for enterprises, many of whom have stipulated punishment rules for being late and leaving early in their internal rules and regulations. If such…

Nowadays goods are being updated frequently. Consumers don’t have any trouble with the updated FMCG, however, there are troubles with those updated durable consumer goods (“DCG”), such as appliances. Because consumers may need components and parts for the maintenance and repair of DCG. Therefore, the manufacturer shall pay attention to two issues, 1) how long should components and parts be supplied after the product is discontinued? and 2) does the notification of product discontinuance shall be disclosed? How long should components and parts be supplied after the product is discontinued? It shall be determined based on the category of the…

According to the “Administrative Provisions on Employment of Foreigners in China” (hereinafter referred to as the “Provisions”), an employer hiring a foreigner shall apply an employment permit for the said foreigner. Many provinces and cities require the employer to provide a labor contract with the foreign as stipulated in Article 17 of the “Provisions” for applying the employment permit. However, considering that many foreigners are temporarily dispatched to work in subsidiaries in China and maintain the employment with the parent companies, some provinces and cities accept an assignment letter or a dispatch letter instead of a labor contract where the…

Company A had three legal person shareholders, one of which was deregistered without notifying A. Due to the absence of this shareholder, and the director appointed by it, A faced many challenges, including the effectiveness of resolutions of the shareholders’ meeting and the board of directors, as well as the procedures for business registration, and etc. With the slowdown of economic growth, and the amendment on the paid-up capital system as stipulated in the revised “Company Law” in 2024, A’s challenges may become more and more common. However, the current and the revised “Company Law” provide rules in dealing with…

Lau works as a packaging worker at a company in Dongguan. On October 13, 2017 at 21:22, Lau got off work. On the next day at 8:00, Lau’s wife contacted Lau’s supervisor to ask for a sick leave on his behalf. Lau went to the hospital for medical treatment. At 11:30, Lau was lack of consciousness, and died due to “sudden death” after being sent to the hospital for rescue. Lau’s wife applied for the work-related injury recognition. The local human resources and social security bureau reviewed relevant information, and decided Lau’s death should not be recognized as a work-related…

Recruiting talent through headhunting companies is an important way for many companies. However, disputes arising from headhunting agency services are not rare in practice. How can we reduce such risks and take preventive measures? Firstly, we have to figure out the common causes of such disputes. In practice, the causes could be mainly classified into the following categories: The first cause is the “collision order”. When recruiting, companies may use multiple channels, including public recruitment, internal referrals, and posting job requirements to several headhunters. Different channels may lead to the same candidate. For example, if candidate A is recommended via internal referrals and a headhunter,…