The same worker inexplicably became an employee of three companies, and when a labor dispute occurred, the three companies said they had nothing to do with them——
Who is responsible for the mixed employment of affiliated companies?
Our reporter Lai Zhikai
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Lawyers remind that when a laborer signs a labor contract with an employer, when the main body of the employer, the main body of wage payment, and the main body of social insurance payment changes, they should raise objections in time and collect and retain relevant evidence. When there is no clear and reasonable explanation for doubts , can seek help from trade unions and legal aid agencies to ensure that their legitimate rights and interests are not violated.
Master Wang worked as a welder in a processing factory in Tongzhou District, Beijing. He joined the company on September 1, 2008.
In 2019, due to the relocation of the unit and the change of the workplace, Master Wang had a labor dispute with the unit.
In the process of defending his rights, Master Wang encountered many difficulties.
In desperation, Master Wang sought help from the Tongzhou District Federation of Trade Unions in Beijing. With the legal assistance of the trade union, he not only confirmed the length of service, but also returned the compensation that the company should give.
Signed labor contracts with three affiliated companies for 10 years
From joining the company in 2008 to a labor dispute in 2019, Master Wang, who did the same job, signed labor contracts with three units working at the same address.
After joining the processing factory on September 1, 2008, Master Wang signed a two-year labor contract with the processing factory on January 23, 2010.
On January 22, 2012, the two parties signed an indefinite labor contract.
In 2013, Master Wang, who did not leave his job, signed an indefinite labor contract with another mechanical and electrical company.
The processing factory paid social insurance for Master Wang from September 2008 to December 2012 and from April 2014 to February 2017.
Another mechanical and electrical company paid social insurance for Master Wang from January 2013 to March 2014 and from June 2019 to August 2019.
After that, the third company paid social insurance for Master Wang from March 2017 to May 2019.
It is worth noting that this processing plant, the electromechanical company, and another third company belong to the same location and are related to each other. The three employers and Mr. Wang signed the labor contract for all the jobs agreed upon in the labor contract are welders.
In August 2019, the mechanical and electrical company informed Master Wang that the company would move to Hebei to work, and asked Master Wang to work in Hebei, otherwise it would be handled as automatic resignation.
On August 16, 2019, Master Wang applied for labor arbitration, requesting confirmation of the existence of a labor relationship with the mechanical and electrical company from September 1, 2008 to August 16, 2019, and requiring the mechanical and electrical company to pay economic compensation for the termination of the labor relationship.
The arbitral award rejected Master Wang's request for financial compensation.
Only some requests are supported for the duration of the labor relationship.
Master Wang refused to accept the arbitration ruling and filed a lawsuit.
In the meantime, Master Wang sought legal aid from the Tongzhou District Federation of Trade Unions in Beijing.
The Tongzhou District Federation of Trade Unions conducted a preliminary trial of the case in accordance with the law, and believed that Mr. Wang's case met the conditions for acceptance of the trade union's legal aid, and reported it to the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions Legal Service Center as soon as possible.
After the approval was obtained, the Tongzhou District Federation of Trade Unions immediately appointed Zhou Lijun, a trade union assistance lawyer, as the authorized agent of Master Wang.
Zhou Lijun believes that the processing factory, a certain mechanical and electrical company, and a certain company have mixed employment. During the arbitration stage, Master Wang only took a certain mechanical and electrical company as the respondent, so some of his working years were not recognized.
How to Prove Mixed Employment
Before the first-instance trial, Zhou Lijun submitted an application for an additional defendant to the court, adding a processing factory and a company as the defendant in the case, and submitted social security payment records and labor contracts during the trial, proving that Master Wang and the above-mentioned companies existed in different time periods labor relations.
At the same time, it submitted the company's inquiry information and photos to the people's court, proving that the three companies work at the same location and there is a situation of mixed employment.
During the trial, the processing factory insisted that it only established a labor relationship with Master Wang from January 2010, but did not provide a reasonable explanation for why it paid social security to Master Wang in September 2008.
A company claimed that the payment of insurance was made at the request of Master Wang, and it should not be considered that there was a labor relationship between the two parties.
Zhou Lijun believes that Master Wang lives in Tongzhou, and the company's relocation to Hebei Dachang will undoubtedly cause inconvenience to Master Wang's work and life, and the company has not taken any remedial measures for the inconvenience caused by the relocation to the employees. Work is treated as automatic resignation to intimidate employees, resulting in the inability to continue to perform the labor contract. According to the relevant provisions of the Labor Contract Law, economic compensation should be given.
The electromechanical company also proposed that since August 16, 2019, Mr. Wang has not worked in the company, and the company has served Mr. Wang with a notice of termination of the labor relationship in September 2019, on the grounds that Mr. Wang has been absent from work. Therefore, the payment of financial compensation is not agreed.
In response to the company's point of view, Zhou Lijun believes that the company's behavior of sending a notice of ordering to work and a notice to terminate the labor relationship to Master Wang after receiving the labor arbitration application is unreasonable, and its behavior is completely against Master Wang's arbitration. Litigation preparation.
Moreover, in the defense, the company recognized that the deadline for the existence of the labor relationship with Master Wang was August 16, 2019, and now it is considered that the time when the termination notice is served as the termination time is obviously inconsistent.
Affiliates shall bear joint and several compensation
The court comprehensively considered the actions of both parties to stop providing labor, pay wages, and stop paying social security, and found that Master Wang had a labor relationship with the processing factory from September 1, 2008 to January 21, 2013, and from January 22, 2013 to 2019 On August 16, 2008, there was a labor relationship with a mechanical and electrical company.
A company paid some social security for Mr. Wang and the salary slip stated that a company had close relationship with a processing factory and a mechanical and electrical company, and it should also bear corresponding responsibilities.
The court of first instance supported Master Wang's claim of 30,085 yuan for economic compensation, and ruled that the three companies should be jointly and severally liable.
After the first-instance judgment, the processing factory and a mechanical and electrical company filed an appeal, and the second-instance court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
Attorney Zuo Zengxin, a member of the labor model legal service group of the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions Legal Service Center, believes that some employers take advantage of the information asymmetry with the laborers to adopt the method of mixing labor with affiliated enterprises, and in the confirmation of working age, social insurance payment, and identification of work-related injuries , rescinding labor contracts and other aspects of opportunistic, in order to increase the difficulty of labor rights protection and avoid legal responsibilities.
"The court in this case determined that the processing factory, the mechanical and electrical company, and a certain company were closely related, so it ruled that the three companies jointly paid the laborer the economic compensation for the termination of the labor contract. The typical significance of this case is that when two or more employees are employed In the case where the personnel of the unit are mixed and employed together, they must bear the corresponding responsibility for the legitimate demands of the laborers." Zuo Zengxin said.
Zuo Zengxin reminded the majority of employees that, as workers, they must have a sense of rights protection, understand the main body of the employer who signs the labor contract, the main body of wage payment, and the main body of social insurance payment. Relevant evidence, when doubts cannot be clearly and reasonably explained, seek the help of trade unions and legal aid institutions to ensure that their legitimate rights and interests are not infringed.