After an employee resigns, the company withholds commissions citing "internal regulations." Having done the
work but unable to receive the deserved compensation, how can workers protect theiimate rights and
interests?
Case Review
Ms. Zhang previously worked as a property consultant at a real estate consulting company. After working there for nearly half a year, she resigned due to personal reasns. However, what she did not expect was that while the company agreed to pay her commission for six of the eight houses she sold during her employment, it refused to pay the commission for temaining two, citing that they "did not meet the settlement conditions." After multiple failed negotiations, Ms. Zhang filed a lawsuit against the company at the Hongqiao Court, demandinyment of the sales commission for all eight houses, totaling over 20,000 yuan.
During the trial, the defendant company argued that Ms. Zhang had indeed completed the sales of six properties while employed, and the company was willing to pay the cnding amount. However, the sales contracts for the additional two properties were signed after Ms. Zhang's resignation. According to the company's assessment and reward regulations, for employees who voluntarily terr employment contracts, unsettled commissions are settled based on the portion of the full payment received within 60 days from the date of contract termination; commissions are not settled for payments red more than 60 days after the termination date. Therefore, the company refused to pay the commissions for these two properties.
court judgment
The court held that the employer shall pay labor remuneration to the employee in a timely and full manner in accordance with the labor contract and national regulatio commissions constitute consideration for the labor provided by the employee and fall within the scope of labor remuneration, the employer shall pay them in a timely and full manner. Regarding tsix units of housing sold by Ms. Zhang, which the defendant company acknowledged, the court confirmed the corresponding commissions.
Regarding whether commissions for the two disputed properties should be paid, according to the defendant
company's assessment and reward regulations, although Ms. Zhang not meet the settlement conditions for
the disputed commissions at the time of her resignation, she had completed core sales tasks such as client
reception and subscription procedures for the two properties prior to her depThis conduct was a key
prerequisite for the final conclusion of the property sales contracts. The subsequent delay in payment was due
to external objective reasons and not the fault of the employee. Gihat the full payment for the properties has
been received and the company has actually benefited, refusing to pay the commission solely based on
internal regulations is inconsistent with the law.
Ultimately, basedon Article 30 of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, the court ruled that
the defendant company must pay Ms. Zhang the full sales commissionof over 20,000 yuan.
Legal provision link
Article 30 of the "Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China": The employer shall pay labor
remuneration to the employee in a timely andll manner in accordance with the agreement in the labor
contract and national regulations.
If the employer withholds or fails to pay labor remuneration in full, the employee may apply to the cal
people's court for a payment order in accordance with the law, and the people's court shall issue a payment
order in accordance with the law.
Judge's Note
Labor remuneration is the consideration for the hard work of the worker and is protected by law in the most fundamental way. Internal rules and regulations of employers mbe legal and compliant, and cannot arbitrarily include clauses that exclude the rights of workers. When workers encounter disputes regarding unpaid wages or withheld commissions, they should preserve evidence materials such as commiss transaction records, and communication records, and promptly safeguard their legitimate rights and interests through arbitration or litigation.
This article is reprinted from the WeChat Official Account "Shandong Higher People's Court", and we express our gratitude!