Brief facts of the caseXie Moumou joined a company in June 2010, and the two parties signed a labor contract. Xie Moumou's position is a senior business representative, responsible for maintaining and visiting sales customers. In the labor contract signed with Xie XX, the company stipulated that the latter's place of work was "China", and did not make special reminders on the company's business model and the characteristics of Xie XX's job position. Xie Moumou's actual place of residence and place of work are both located in Shunyi District, Beijing. On July 26, 2019, a company notified Xie Moumou to carry out sales work at a workplace located more than 40 kilometers away from August 1, 2019. Xie XX submitted the diagnosis certificate of her pregnancy to a certain company, indicating that it was inconvenient to adjust her workplace during pregnancy. A company insisted on adjusting the position of a certain person, and the two sides communicated unsuccessfully many times. On August 26, 2019, a company notified Xie to terminate the labor contract on August 27, 2019 on the grounds that Xie had "been absent from work since August 10, 2019". Subsequently, Xie Moumou applied to the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission for labor arbitration, demanding that the company pay him more than 240,000 yuan in compensation for illegally terminating the labor contract. The Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission ruled that the company should pay Xie more than 220,000 yuan in compensation for illegally terminating the labor contract. A company filed a lawsuit with the people's court against the arbitral award.
Adjudication ResultsThe Beijing Daxing District People's Court held that the workplace is an important matter closely related to the rights and interests of the employee, and the employer's adjustment of the employee's workplace should be reasonable and should be consulted with the employee in advance. In this case, in the labor contract signed between the company and Xie XX, the company broadly agreed that Xie XX's place of work was "China", and did not specifically indicate the characteristics of the job position and other matters, so the company and Xie XX should have agreed that the latter's place of work should be unclear. In view of the fact that Xie Moumou's actual work place has been relatively fixed since he joined the company, it should be deemed that the specific work place has been determined, and the company may not change it at will without a legitimate reason. A company failed to take measures to reduce the adverse impact on Xie XX's daily life and insisted on adjusting its workplace when it knew that Xie XX was pregnant and that the remote adjustment of the workplace would inevitably have an adverse impact on his daily life. Based on this, it can be determined that the company's act of adjusting Xie XX's place of work, and the act of determining that Xie XX constituted absenteeism and terminating the labor contract with Xie XX when Xie XX refused to do so, are not legitimate and legal. In accordance with Article 50 of the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 87 of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, and Paragraph 3 of Article 5 of the Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for Employees, it was decided that a certain company should pay compensation for illegal termination of labor contract to Xie XX 221495$16.
Lawyer analysisAs the manager in the labor relationship, the employer has the right to adjust the employee's work location according to the company's operating conditions and the employee's working conditions, provided that the employer's corresponding actions must not seriously infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of the employee or have a material adverse impact on the employee, and if there is a material adverse impact on the employee, the employer shall take reasonable remedial measures. In this case, the employer deliberately made vague and broad agreements on the employee's place of work, and accordingly carried out acts of "maliciously adjusting the employee's place of work" and "abusing the right of punishment" against the pregnant female employee, which seriously infringed on the legitimate rights and interests of the pregnant female employee. In this case, the court made an efficient, fair and lawful judgment, and safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the pregnant female employee in accordance with the law.
Legal basis
Labor Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 50:The employer shall issue a certificate of dissolution or termination of the labor contract when dissolving or terminating the labor contract, and complete the formalities for the transfer of the employee's file and social insurance relationship within 15 days. The worker shall handle the handover of work in accordance with the agreement between the two parties. Where an employer shall pay economic compensation to an employee in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law, it shall do so at the time of completion of the work handover.
Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 87:If an employer dissolves or terminates a labor contract in violation of the provisions of this Law, it shall pay compensation to the employee in accordance with twice the standard of economic compensation provided for in Article 47 of this Law.
Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for EmployeesArticle 5.3:If the employer is unable to arrange for the employee to take annual leave due to work needs, it may not arrange for the employee to take annual leave with the consent of the employee himself. For the number of days of annual leave that should be taken by the employee, the employer shall pay the annual leave salary and remuneration according to 300% of the employee's daily wage income.
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