Is it legal? Does it require employee consent? Do I need to pay for overtime?
[People's Livelihood and Economic Highlights] Three Questions about the Internet Companies' "Weekly" Work System
The lawyer pointed out that non-illegal overtime is only a bottom-line requirement, and companies should take care of their employees’ physical and mental health
Our reporter Dou Feitao Yang Zhaokui
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In recent years, Internet companies have implemented a "small and large week" work system.
The lawyer pointed out that if the company simply implemented the "small and small" work system, it would not necessarily be illegal.
But the prerequisite is that the corresponding legal procedures must be fulfilled, and if the workers are arranged to work on a rest day and cannot be arranged for compensatory time off, overtime should be paid.
Recently, the sudden death of a young employee of a well-known Internet company after get off work early in the morning continued to arouse public opinion, which also caused the public to question the Internet company’s excessive overtime work.
A reporter from the Workers’ Daily found that in the fields of short video, online education, travel, and e-commerce, some Internet companies have begun to implement a “small and small” work system.
So, is the "small and small week" work system legal?
Does it require employee consent?
Do I need to pay for overtime?
In this regard, the reporter conducted an investigation and interview.
"Big and small weeks" are common in Internet companies
“I submitted a resume to an Internet travel company at the end of last year. I didn’t expect that when the company’s HR talked to me on the recruitment software, the first question that was raised was not about my work experience, but about the company’s implementation of'big and small weeks' , Can I accept it? I was blinded at the time. Can HR talk about'big and small weeks' like this without any evasiveness?" Ms. Liu, who works in Chaoyang District, Beijing, told reporters on January 6.
The so-called "small and large weeks" refers to the 6-day shift this week (only one day off on Sunday or one day on Saturday), five days off the next week (two days off on Saturday and Sunday), and only off the next week One day, so cycle.
"We are now implementing the'small and small week' work system, with single off a week and two off a week, but not all employees implement the'small and small weeks'. Our assistant teaching position is not the sales position. Because K12 (abbreviation for pre-school education to high school education ) In this area, weekends are business peak days." Ms. Zhang, who works in an online education company in Beijing, told reporters.
The reporter found in the interview that the "small and small" work system has become common in Internet companies, involving short video, online education, travel, e-commerce and other fields.
However, some companies implement the "small and small week" work system for some positions, and some companies implement the "small and small week" work system for all employees.
At the end of December last year, after a short video platform company announced that all employees started the "small and small week" work system, it sparked heated discussions on social media. The topic of the "big and small week" work system was also on the Weibo hot search list.
Is it legal to implement a "small and small week" work system?
During the interview, the reporter found that some companies that implement the "small and small" work system did not specify special requirements for working hours in their labor contracts or rules and regulations.
"The company does not have explicit regulations on'big and small weeks', but the leaders will verbally request them. If they don't comply, the leaders will talk to employees or criticize them during meetings." Wu Yuezhi (pseudonym) who works in an Internet company in Beijing told reporters. The rest time is indeed restricted by the "small and small week" work system. When encountering a "big week", you can only take one day off on weekends, and sometimes you feel particularly tired.
So, is it legal to implement the "small and small week" work system?
According to the survey data on "How do you think about the'small and small week' work system" launched on the official Weibo of "Workers Daily" on December 30 last year, more than 11,000 of the 17,800 people who participated in the vote believed that it should not exceed the labor law Working hours.
"The'small and small week' work system is not a legal concept, but a working time system implemented by some companies in practice according to their own needs." Cheng Yang, a lawyer at Beijing Lantai Law Firm, told reporters that according to the law, the working hour system is divided They are standard working hours, comprehensively calculated working hours and irregular working hours. The latter two are special working hours and can only be implemented after approval by the labor administrative department.
In the standard working hours system, according to the Labor Law and the "Provisions of the State Council on Working Hours of Employees", the daily working hours of workers should not exceed 8 hours, and the average weekly working hours should not exceed 40 hours.
"Employers can arrange for workers to work overtime, but they should abide by the law, otherwise they need to bear legal liabilities." Cui Jie, a lawyer from Beijing Deheng Law Firm, told reporters.
Article 41 of the Labor Law stipulates that due to production and business needs, employers can extend their working hours after consultation with the labor union and workers, generally not exceeding one hour per day; if the working hours need to be extended due to special reasons, the health of the workers is guaranteed. The extended working hours shall not exceed 3 hours per day, but shall not exceed 36 hours per month.
"It can be seen from the law that, in addition to a few special circumstances that require overtime as required by law, the company needs to negotiate with employees for arranging overtime, and can only arrange overtime if the employee agrees. If the employee does not agree, the company has no right to force it. Employees are required to work overtime. There are also restrictions on overtime hours, that is, no more than 3 hours per day and no more than 36 hours per month. If this limit is exceeded, it is illegal to work overtime. If the company only implements the "small and large week" work system, it is not It must be illegal. But if you also work overtime on working days and implement'small and small weeks', it may be illegal." Cui Jie said.
Companies should take care of their employees’ health
So, if the 36-hour limit is not exceeded, can companies require employees to implement a "small and small week" work system?
"It is not impossible for companies to implement the'small and small week' work system, but they must perform corresponding legal procedures." Cheng Yang told reporters that Article 4 of the Labor Contract Law stipulates that employers are formulating, modifying or deciding on labor remuneration, working hours, When taking breaks and vacations, labor safety and health, insurance and welfare, employee training, labor discipline, and labor quota management, etc., rules and regulations or major issues that directly involve the vital interests of the workers, the workers’ congress or all the workers shall discuss and put forward plans and opinions. The trade union or employee representatives shall negotiate and determine on an equal footing.
The employer shall publicize the rules and regulations and major matters that directly affect the vital interests of the workers, or inform the workers.
The "'size week' work system" involves the working hours of employees and concerns the vital rights and interests of employees.
According to Zhang Ningxiao, a lawyer at the Jiang Triangle Law Firm, when a company implements a "small and small week" work system, it needs to perform democratic procedures in accordance with the law when formulating relevant systems, solicit the opinions of labor unions and workers, and ask each employee to Make public announcements.
In addition, Zhang Ningxiao also stated that according to Article 44 of the Labor Law, if workers are arranged to work on rest days and cannot be arranged for compensatory time off, they shall be paid not less than 200% of their wages.
Therefore, for standard working hours employees, the employer arranges employees to work 6 days a week, and does not arrange compensatory time off or pay overtime for the employees, which violates the labor law.
However, in the opinion of Wang Junxiu, director of the Social Psychology Research Office of the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, even if "small and small weeks" are not illegal, overtime culture is not desirable.
If working hours and life time are not balanced, it will cause physical and mental health problems for employees.
Rather than simply increasing working hours, companies should consider how to optimize work processes, improve employee work efficiency, and achieve a balance between corporate development and employee rights.
"The'big and small week' work system is a method adopted by enterprises and employees who desire rapid development. Enterprises must balance the relationship between employees' health rights and enterprise development in employee management." Cheng Yang said that various regulations of the labor law are employees The basic right to life and health is the bottom-line requirement in the labor law. Non-illegal overtime is only the bottom-line requirement. Enterprises should also effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees and care for their physical and mental health.