In our daily life and work, the labor contract is an important document to protect the rights and interests of workers. However, sometimes an employment contract may be invalidated for various reasons. In this case, does the employer need to pay severance payment?
1. Reasons for the invalidity of the labor contract
According to Article 26 of the Labor Contract Law, the circumstances under which an employment contract is invalid or partially invalid include: using fraud, coercion or taking advantage of the danger of others to cause the other party to conclude or modify the employment contract contrary to its true intentions;The employer exempts itself from statutory liability and excludes the rights of employees;Violation of mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations. If there is a dispute over the invalidity or partial invalidity of the labor contract, it shall be confirmed by the labor dispute arbitration institution or the people's court.
2. Legal consequences of the invalidity of the labor contract
The legal consequence of the invalidity of the labor contract is that it is invalid ab initio, that is, the performance of the contract, breach of contract and termination of the contract will not occur. According to Article 14 of the Interpretation (I) of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases, after a labor contract is confirmed to be invalid, the employer may generally pay the labor remuneration to the employee with reference to the wage standard of the same period, type of work and position of the same unit. According to Article 97 of the Labor Law, if an invalid contract concluded due to reasons attributable to the employer causes damage to the employee, the employee shall be compensated for the economic losses caused by the invalidity of the contract in accordance with the standard of payment of severance for violation or termination of the labor contract. If the employment contract is invalid and both parties are at fault, they should each bear the corresponding responsibility. Of course, if the employment contract is invalid due to the employee's reasons, it is generally manifested in the employee's fraud, etc., the employer can directly and unilaterally terminate the employment contract without paying any economic compensation.
To sum up, when an employment contract is confirmed to be invalid, whether the employer needs to pay severance should be judged in light of the facts of the case and the provisions of the law. If the labor contract is invalid due to reasons attributable to the employer, the employee may claim severance from the employer. China's Labor Contract Law also has clear provisions on the payment standard of economic compensation. Generally speaking, severance is calculated based on the employee's years of service with the employer, salary level and other factors. If the employment contract is invalid due to the employee's reasons, the employer is not required to pay any economic compensation.