Case Introduction

Plaintiff A joined Company B on April 16, 2012. Due to the company's division, they signed an open-ended labor contract with the defendant on March 11, 2020, which stipulated that the cumulative length of service would be calculated. By the time of the dispute, the length of service had reached 11 years and 4 months. The plaintiff holds the position of communication expert with a monthly salary of 18295 yuan. On August 1, 2023, the defendant terminated the labor contract in accordance with Article 39 (2) of the Labor Contract Law, citing that the plaintiff had received two formal warnings within twelve months. The defendant claims that the plaintiff has repeatedly made defects in translation proofreading, work logs, white paper layout, and other work, such as punctuation errors and layout problems, which constitute a serious violation of rules and regulations. The plaintiff believes that these work defects are minor errors that did not cause significant losses, and the defendant's termination of the procedure is illegal and constitutes an illegal termination. The plaintiff then applied for arbitration to the Chaoyang District Labor Dispute Arbitration Commission in Beijing, requesting payment of compensation for illegal termination. After the arbitration rejected the plaintiff's request, the plaintiff was dissatisfied and filed a lawsuit with Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing.

 Lawyer intervention

Lawyer Liu Qiang, representative of the Haidian District Bar Association in Beijing, Chief Legal Advisor of the Lu Shang Federation, Chief Legal Advisor of Changzhi Enterprises in Beijing, invited expert lawyer on the "ShuoZheng" column of People's Daily, has been exclusively interviewed by People's Daily and Beijing Daily, and served as the Director of an Excellent Law Firm in Haidian District in 2019.

Specializes in labor disputes, legal counsel, commercial arbitration, corporate affairs, economic disputes, contract disputes, property disputes, marriage and family matters.

Case handling process

The process of handling cases is divided into two stages: arbitration and litigation. During the arbitration stage, Lawyer Rude assisted the plaintiff in submitting an application to the Chaoyang District Labor Dispute Arbitration Commission in Beijing, requesting the revocation of the termination notice and payment of wage losses. The lawyer submitted evidence such as labor contracts, salary statements, and warning emails to argue that the termination of the law was illegal. But the arbitration award rejected the plaintiff's request and deemed the defendant's termination of the action to be legal.

After analyzing the arbitration results, the legal team believed that the arbitration did not fully consider the minor nature of the work defects, and therefore represented the plaintiff in filing a lawsuit with the Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing. During the litigation phase, Lawyer Rude focused on two core issues in his defense: first, whether the plaintiff's work flaws (such as punctuation errors and formatting problems) constituted a "serious violation of rules and regulations"; The second is whether the defendant's termination of the procedure is legal. Lawyer Liu Qiang submitted evidence such as income proof, transfer agreement, and job description during the evidence exchange and cross examination process, proving the continuous calculation of seniority and salary standards, and refuting the defendant's accusation of "serious violations of discipline". During the trial, the lawyer pointed out that the defendant's two warnings were based on minor work errors, did not cause actual losses, and did not fully comply with the notification procedure before termination, violating procedural justice. After trial, the court adopted the lawyer's claim of illegal termination.

 Case outcome

The Chaoyang District People's Court of Beijing has determined through trial that the defendant's termination of the labor contract is illegal. The court held that although the plaintiff's work defects existed, they were minor errors that did not reach the level of serious violation of rules and regulations, and the defendant failed to prove that the plaintiff had subjective malice or caused significant losses. Therefore, the defendant shall pay the plaintiff the difference of 415893.59 yuan in compensation for illegal termination of the labor contract within seven days after the judgment takes effect, and dismiss the plaintiff's other claims. The case acceptance fee of 10 yuan shall be shared by both parties. This result fully safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the plaintiff, affirmed Lawyer Rude's legal arguments and defense strategies, and demonstrated the judicial protection of workers' rights and interests.

 Lawyer's reminder

Lawyer Liu Qiang from Rude Law Firm reminds employees in this case that:

Firstly, if the employer terminates the labor contract on the grounds of "serious violation of rules and regulations", it must prove that the employee's behavior has subjective malice or caused significant losses, and minor work defects do not constitute a legitimate reason for termination;

Secondly, employees should retain evidence such as labor contracts, pay stubs, and communication records for use in case of disputes;

Thirdly, when encountering unfair termination, professional lawyers should be sought in a timely manner to protect rights and interests through arbitration or litigation. At the same time, lawyers suggest that companies improve their rules and regulations, clarify the criteria for "serious violations", avoid abuse of termination rights, and prevent legal risks. This case enlightens us that the intervention of professional lawyers is crucial in labor disputes, and Lawyer Rude has successfully safeguarded the rights and interests of the parties with his superb professional skills.