Family seek 1.4M compensation after man dies for working 2hrs
▲Click above to subscribe 点击上方蓝字关注我们▲
A company in Shanghai was sued by their deceased employee's family after the said employee died suddenly at work. The family is suing the company for 1.4 million yuan compensation but the company is not willing to give them that amount, saying that the former employee had just worked at the company for just 2 hours.
The company agreed to give them a consolation amount (not disclosed) but argued that the cause of death was not work related and he had just joined the company.
By the end of October 2020, October 29th to be exact, a protective equipment factory in Shanghai urgently needed an operator and through an agent, recruited Mou Wei to join their company.
That same day at 22:20, Mou Wei started working for the company and around 00:25 a.m. the next day he suddenly fainted and fell on the ground.
People at the scene called 120, a health emergency number, and an ambulance arrived after about 20 minutes later. Medical staff perfomed first aid and rescue procedures on him but were not able to revive him and he was pronounced dead.
When his family members heard about the sad news, they rushed from Henan to Shanghai and after confirming that the deceased is indeed their relative, they went to the person in charge of the company to claim for compensation but both sides could not reach an agreement.
Family members argued that since their relative died during employment period and he died at the post, the company should be responsible for his death. They asked for 1.4 million yuan compensation from the company.
The company on the other hand, argued that though they are saddened and express grief and regret over this situation, Mou had just worked for them for only two hours.
Furthermore, the company did not assign Mou any heavy physical labor, his death is not related to the company. But from the moral perspective, they could arrange for a consolation amount which will be lower than what the family is asking.
Since both sides can't agree on the terms, at this point, the only way to solve this matter was through mediation or law. Both agreed on mediation.
The company told the mediator that since Mou was just employed, he was still under "trial" period and could not enjoy all the benefits of someone who is actually employed. The mediator disapproved this argument, saying:
"Trial period is set as a means to understand an employee by companies, but there is no such a thing as 'trial period' in China's labor law. According to Article 7 of the labor contract law, the employer shall establish a labor relationship with the laborer from the date of employment. The judgment of whether an employee/employer relationship has been established is based on the objective fact of employment.
From this fact, Mou had already established an employee/employer relationship and enjoying the protection of a company employee when he worked for 2 hours. Furthermore, his rights and interests are protected by law. "
The mediator, therefore, concluded that Mou's death meets conditions for identifying work-related injury and his family deserve the right to seek compensation through work-related injury insurance. He also said that he believe that the company was not at fault for Mou's death, and so he suggested that the company give an appropriate comfort and compensation to the family members of the deceased from moral perspective.
According to Article 15 of the regulations on industrial injury insurance, if an employee dies of sudden illness during working hours or after rescue within 48 hours, it shall be deemed as an industrial injury.
But, the person in charge of the company said that their company is deeply affected by the pandemic and it could not even sustain itself during this period of time. He added that the company could not even pay rent, not to mention this amount claimed by the family.
The company is not trying to evade its responsibility but the amount is more than what they can afford. He asked the family members to understand their (company) situation as well.
They both reached an agreement of an undisclosed amount and it will be paid in lump sum as soon as possible. But this also calls to question, what exactly is considered work-related injury?
If you were on your way to/from work, is it considered work-related injury?
How about if you get sick/injured when you are on a work-related business trip?
And most importantly, what happens when you suddenly get illness that is not related to your job at work?
Let us know what you know in the comment section so more people can understand about work-related illnesses or injuries.
Source: Shanghai law daily, 021 video, People's Daily
Contributions will be appreciated！
欢迎投稿！
▲ QQ group
▲ Official account