Can the year-end awards that have been shrunk due to the epidemic come back?
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Without notice or negotiation, the issuance of year-end bonuses will be delayed indefinitely; workers who work from home and on leave can hardly get the full year-end bonus; modify the rules and regulations at will, and do not pay the year-end bonus...Affected by the epidemic, some companies have too much time to issue year-end bonuses. Casually, professionals think this is not conducive to motivating employees, and it is recommended that companies sit down and negotiate frankly with employees on the distribution of year-end bonuses.
Year-end awards are rewards given to employees by enterprises and are usually issued at the end of each year.
However, some companies consider that March and April are the peak season for job-hopping, and in order to retain talents, they will issue year-end bonuses during this period.
Not long ago, Peng Jie’s company notified that the year-end awards for 2019 and 2020 will be issued on April 1.
Among them, the year-end bonus in 2019 will be issued at 50%, in 2020 it will be issued at 20%, and the remaining part will not be reissued.
Prior to this, Peng Jie had thought about applying for labor arbitration because the year-end awards had not been issued in the past two years, and the company “has not even said anything”.
Affected by the epidemic, business operations are difficult, and how to issue year-end bonuses has become a topic of general concern to employees.
Many people, like Peng Jie, feel that it is expected that the year-end awards are not issued on time, but it is unreasonable to not even make a statement.
A reporter from the Workers’ Daily found that under the epidemic, new changes have taken place in the distribution of year-end bonuses for companies. Unclear agreements and random changes to corporate rules and regulations have become more prominent.
The year-end bonus suddenly shrank and disappeared
Peng Jie is a channel manager of an Internet technology company in Dalian. He has been working for 8 years.
The company’s year-end bonus is clearly stated that the channel manager’s year-end bonus is twice the average level of sales staff.
Before the Spring Festival in 2020, all employees signed and confirmed the amount of the year-end bonus. Peng Jie's 2019 year-end bonus was 32,000 yuan.
However, according to the company's latest notice, even if the money can be sent, it has shrunk by half.
"Before March of this year, the company did not notify in any form, nor negotiated with employee representatives." Peng Jie said, there were no emails, online announcements, or even oral notifications.
In April 2019, Peng Jie was elected as the employee representative.
In December 2020, the company held a staff representative meeting, and there was no discussion on matters related to year-end awards at the meeting.
"The company's payment has dropped sharply, and life is difficult. However, for a long period of time, companies will not express their views on year-end bonuses. It would be too casual."
Unlike Peng Jie, Li Yemei failed to get the full year-end award due to working from home.
The company deducted 16.7% of her year-end bonus for two months of working at home due to the epidemic.
"I didn't miss work when I was at home. When the year-end bonus was issued, the full quota was given to those who were on duty, and the "discount" at home was not in line with equal pay." Li Yemei said that her two colleagues did not receive the full year-end bonus due to retiring.
Zheng Yiwei, who works in labor arbitration in Liaoning, introduced that before the outbreak, due to the vague agreement on year-end bonuses, some companies had reported that year-end bonuses for performance wages were issued, verbally agreed to be non-counted, and year-end bonuses for resigned employees were arbitrarily deducted.
After the outbreak, the problem of labor disputes caused by "unclear agreements" became more prominent.
The year-end bonus is given priority to the contract agreement
Can year-end bonuses be delayed, shrunk, or even cancelled at will?
Some companies choose to issue year-end bonuses in March and April and during the peak period of job-hopping to stabilize their employees. Is it legal?
“The year-end bonus is part of the salary and is an agreed salary, and its payment shall be subject to the contractual agreement. If there are related agreements in the company’s rules and regulations or labor contracts, it should be paid. Indefinite delay is a back pay." Beijing Yingke (Dalian) Lawyer Said the firm's lawyer Wang Jinhai.
Zheng Yiwei also holds the same view. He believes that if the employer and the employee have agreed on the year-end bonus in the contract and there is no negotiated change, they should be issued according to the agreed content.
During the interview, the reporter learned that some companies unilaterally amended the regulations on year-end awards in corporate rules and regulations in order to make it seem reasonable to not issue year-end bonuses.
In this regard, Zheng Yiwei reminded that Article 16 of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases (2)" stipulates that the internal rules and regulations formulated by the employer are inconsistent with the content agreed in the labor contract, and the worker's request has priority If the contract is applicable, the court shall support it.
"Many companies and employees have ignored the prior agreement in the labor contract." Zheng Yiwei introduced a case.
Because the company cancelled the year-end bonus, employee Song Yuhang took the initiative to defend his rights.
At the end of November last year, Song Yuhang’s company updated part of the internal regulations: when the sales of the current year were lower than 50% of the previous year, the year-end bonus for the current year was cancelled.
"My labor contract clearly stipulates that the year-end bonus is 12 months' salary, and the contract has not been changed during the performance of the contract. It is illegal for the company to cancel it at will." Song Yuhang believes.
On December 28, 2020, through arbitration and mediation, he won a year-end bonus of RMB 33,600.
Zheng Yiwei said that in Song Yuhang's case, even if the employer and Song Yuhang agreed in advance not to issue the year-end bonus, they did not change the labor contract in accordance with the law, and the employer was unable to provide evidence, and the court would find it difficult to support his request.
The best way is to negotiate frankly
“Under the epidemic, only companies survive to have a future for employees. It’s okay to miss the year-end bonus for one year, but the company’s not saying that it hurts the hearts of employees." Peng Jie and many colleagues believe that year-end bonuses involve the vital interests of employees. Companies should negotiate frankly with their employees.
Lawyer Wang Jinhai agreed with this.
The "Labor Contract Law" clarifies that when the employer revises the rules and regulations of labor remuneration, it shall be discussed by the employee representative assembly or all employees, put forward plans and opinions, and negotiate and determine on an equal basis with the labor union or employee representatives; the employer and the employee shall reach an agreement through consultation. The content agreed in the labor contract can be changed.
"Whether it is to amend the relevant internal regulations of the year-end bonus or change the content of the relevant labor contract, the enterprise must negotiate with the employees in advance." Wang Jinhai said.
"The qualifications and standards for issuing year-end bonuses should be agreed and explained in the labor contract as much as possible." Wang Jinhai suggested that if they cannot be agreed, they should be explained in detail in the rules and regulations and follow the procedures to ensure that the rules and regulations are legal and It is effective to ensure that it is legally binding on employees, which can reduce disputes caused by year-end bonus issues.
Wang Jinhai also suggested that workers should collect evidence in time if they find that the employer has not issued the year-end bonus as agreed. You can check the labor contract signed with the employer or the rules and regulations of the employer to see if there are relevant explanations.
"If you can't find it, you can provide a colleague's statement, and it is best to form a written testimony. If necessary, you can apply for witnesses to testify in court. The more witnesses, the stronger the persuasiveness, the greater the chance of acceptance by the arbitration committee or the court." Wang Jinhai suggested Tao.
To some extent, the distribution of year-end bonuses affects people's willingness to change jobs.
Zhao Yuanhao, who has many years of experience in human resource management, believes that in the issuance of year-end awards, companies should fully negotiate with workers and determine it to show respect for workers.
"The more important thing to keep people is to be careful, relying on a reasonable salary system and humane corporate management."
(Some interviewees have pseudonyms)
Liu Xu