FAQs: How to Deal with Labor Disputes Under the SH Lockdown

On April 28, 2022, the Shanghai High People’s Court and Human Resources Bureau published FAQs on handling pandemic-related labor disputes. In this article, we will walk you through the official guidance on some typical labor dispute issues. 

2022年4月28日，上海高级人民法院和人力资源局发布了有关处理大流行病间劳动纠纷的常见问题。在这篇文章中，我们将向你介绍一些典型的劳动争议问题的官方指导。

China’s labor regulations are designed to maintain social stability by balancing the rights of the employers and employees – a top priority for Beijing.

中国的劳动法规旨在通过平衡雇主和雇员的权利来维护社会稳定——这是北京的首要任务。

However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s labor legislation has been subject to various stress tests as existing legal enforcement practices may be viewed as inadequate to sufficiently address such unique circumstances.

然而，在新冠病毒疾病大流行期间，该国的劳动立法一直受到各种压力测试，因为现有的法律执行做法可能被视为不足以充分解决这种特殊情况。

To fill this gap in legal understanding and regulation, the Supreme Court and local high courts have issued successive judicial guidance and “opinions” on the application of law in response to disputes arising during this special period.

为了填补法律理解和规章方面的这一空白，最高法院和地方高等法院针对在这一特殊时期出现的争端，就如何适用法律发布了一系列司法指导意见和”意见”。

These opinions must be noted by companies who are struggling with human resource management, or have questions about payment of employees’ wages, social security, and so on.

这些意见必须被那些正在人力资源管理中挣扎，或者对员工工资支付、社会保障等问题有疑问的公司注意到。

A new document published in FAQ format by the Shanghai High People’s Court and the Human Resources Bureau on handling pandemic-related labor disputes, addresses several questions on the matter. It shall be noted that, as per the Shanghai government, labor disputes arising in these circumstances shall be resolved according to four fundamental principles – namely harmony, negotiation, balance, and diversification.

上海市高级人民法院和人力资源局以常见问题解答形式发布了一份关于处理与大流行病关的劳动争议的新文件，解决了有关该问题的几个问题。应当注意的是，根据上海市政府的规定，在这种情况下发生的劳动争议，应当按照和谐、协商、平衡和多样化四项基本原则来解决。

In this article, we intend to share some of the key takeaways for employers, shedding some light on the most noteworthy information.

在这篇文章中，我们打算为雇主分享一些关键要点，让大家了解最值得注意的信息。

Democratic consultation and notification procedures

民主协商和通知程序

Under the current lockdown, how should employers implement democratic consultation and notification procedures when formulating, modifying, or deciding rules or major issues directly related to the immediate interests of employees?

在目前的封锁下，雇主在制定、修改或决定与雇员切身利益直接相关的规则或重大事项时，应如何执行民主协商和通知程序？

During the period of epidemic prevention and control, employers can use emails, internal office automation (OA) systems, WeChat groups, and other forms to share information with trade union or employee representatives and let them solicit opinions from employees regarding important matters. Important matters here refer to suspension of work and production, changes in wages and salaries, adjustments in work hours and methods, work shift and rest, and other rules or major issues directly related to the immediate interests of employees.

在防疫期间，用人单位可以使用电子邮件、办公室套装软件比较、微信群组等形式与工会或职工代表分享信息，征求职工对重要事项的意见。重要事项包括停工停产、工资变动、工作时间和方法调整、轮班和休息，以及直接涉及职工切身利益的其他规定或重大问题。

Where employers determine rules and matters through consultation in the way as described above, only apply the rules and matters during the period of epidemic prevention and control, and have informed the employees, the democratic consultation and notification procedures can be deemed to have been fulfilled.

用人单位以上述方式通过协商确定规章制度和事项，只在防疫期间适用规章制度和事项，并通知劳动者的，可视为履行了民主协商和通知程序。

Contract signing and renewal

合同签订和续签

During the lockdown, how will the court decide the legal consequences where the employer fails to sign or renew the employee’s contract in a timely manner?

在封锁期间，如果雇主未能及时签署或续签雇员的合同，法院将如何裁定其法律后果？

If the employer is unable to conclude or renew labor contracts with employees in writing in time due to the epidemic situation or the epidemic prevention and control measures, the employer may resort to electronic solutions or reasonably postpone the conclusion or renewal of a written labor contract through democratic negotiations.

用人单位因疫情或者防疫措施不能及时与劳动者签订或者续签劳动合同的，可以采取电子解决办法，或者通过民主协商合理推迟签订或者续签劳动合同。

Where the employee requests double salary for the period of not signing or renewing written labor contract, such request won’t be supported by the court.

劳动者在未签订或者续签书面劳动合同期间要求双倍工资的，法院不予支持。

Wages and salaries payment

工资和工资支付

How should employers pay wages to employees who are recognized as COVID-19 confirmed patients, asymptomatic cases, or close contacts to a confirmed case during their isolation treatment or medical observation period?

新冠病毒疾病确诊病人、无症状个案或与确诊个案有密切接触的雇员在隔离治疗或医学观察期间，雇主应如何支付工资？

Where an employee is recognized as COVID-19 confirmed patient, asymptomatic case, or close contact to a confirmed case due to reasons not attributable to himself or herself, is placed under quarantine or medical observation accordingly, and thus cannot provide normal work, according to Paragraph 2 of Article 41 of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases of the People’s Republic of China, the employer shall pay the wage of the employee according to the wage standard for normal working hours during the period of isolation treatment or medical observation.

根据《中华人民共和国传染病防治法》第四十一条第二款的规定，劳动者因不属于其本人的原因被确认为新冠病毒疾病确诊病人、无症状病人或者与确诊病例有密切接触者，因而被隔离或者医学观察，不能从事正常工作的，用人单位应当按照隔离治疗或者医学观察期间正常工作时间的工资标准支付劳动者工资。

Where the employee still needs to stop working to have treatment after the isolated treatment or medical observation period, the employer should pay wages and salaries to the employee according to standards for the recuperation period.

在隔离治疗或者医学观察期结束后，雇员仍然需要停止工作进行治疗的，雇主应当按照恢复期的标准向雇员支付工资和薪金。

Recuperation period is a specific type of sick leave in which the employer cannot terminate the employee suffering from non-occupational sickness or injury and is responsible for paying a proportion of salary by law. The payment standard for recuperation period in Shanghai is as below:

休养期是一种特殊类型的病假，雇主不能解雇患有非职业病或受伤的雇员，并根据法律负责支付一定比例的工资。休养期在上海的支付标准如下:

How should the employer pay wages to employees who are unable go to work because of reasons related to the epidemic situation or the epidemic prevention and control measures?

用人单位应当如何向因疫情或者疫情防治措施等原因不能上班的职工支付工资？

Where the employee cannot go to work normally due to the epidemic situation or the epidemic prevention and control measures, and claims that the employer should pay wages, the claims can be treated differently according to the following circumstances:

如果雇员因疫情或防疫措施不能正常工作，并要求雇主支付工资，可根据以下情况区别对待:

Where the employer can arrange for the employee to work remotely, it shall be regarded as the employee’s normal attendance, and the employer shall pay wages to the employee according to the standard of the normal attendance; and

用人单位可以安排劳动者远程工作的，视为劳动者的正常出勤，用人单位应当按照正常出勤标准支付劳动者工资;

Where the employer hasn’t arranged remote working or the employee is unable to provide work in the way arranged by the employer, the employer can ask the employee to use their paid annual leave or other leaves that the company provides – on priority – and pay wages and salaries according to the payment standard of corresponding holidays.

如果雇主没有安排远程工作，或者雇员不能按照雇主安排的方式提供工作，雇主可以要求雇员使用带薪年假或公司优先提供的其他假期，并按照相应假日的支付标准支付工资和薪金。

If the above two cases are not an option, the employer may refer to the state’s regulations on wages paid during the suspension of work and production:

如果不能选择上述两种情况，雇主可以参照国家关于停工停产期间工资的规定:

Accordingly, if the suspension period is within one wage payment cycle, salaries shall be paid according to the standards stipulated in the labor contract.

因此，停工期在一个工资支付周期内的，应当按照劳动合同规定的标准支付工资。

If the suspension period goes beyond one wage payment cycle, the living allowance shall be paid by the enterprise. The living allowance is usually at 70~80 percent of the local minimum wage and shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant local regulations.

停发期超过一个工资发放周期的，由企业支付生活津贴。生活补贴通常为当地最低工资的70% ー80% ，并按照当地有关规定执行。

If the employer has difficulties in production and operation due to the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, can it delay the payment of employees’ wages?

如果用人单位由于疫情或者疫情防治措施的影响，在生产经营中遇到困难，是否可以延迟支付职工工资？

According to the relevant guiding opinions of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments and Article 10 of the Wage Payment Measures for Enterprises in Shanghai, under such circumstances if a company is temporarily unable to pay wages on time, after consultation with the trade unions or employee representatives, the payment of wages to employees may be temporarily postponed.  However, the time of deferred payment generally shall not exceed one month.

根据人力资源和社会保障部等部门的有关指导意见以及《上海市企业工资支付办法》第十条的规定，在暂时不能按时支付工资的情况下，经与工会或者职工代表协商后，可以暂缓支付职工工资。但是，延期支付的期限一般不得超过一个月。

Termination and compensation

终止和补偿

How will the court or the labor bureau handle employees’ claims to terminate labor contract and obtain economic compensation where the employer fails to pay wages and contribute to social insurance schemes in time due to production suspension or temporary difficulty in production and operation caused by epidemic situation or epidemic prevention and control measures?

因疫情或者防疫措施造成停产或者暂时生产经营困难，用人单位不及时支付工资和缴纳社会保险费的，法院或者劳动局如何处理职工提出的终止劳动合同和获得经济赔偿的要求？

For labor disputes caused by the circumstance where the employer, especially in the case of micro-, small-, and medium- sized enterprises, fails to pay wages and contribute to social insurance schemes in time due to production suspension or temporary difficulty in production and operation caused by epidemic situation or epidemic prevention and control measures, the guidance encourages the disputes to be resolved through conciliation, mediation, and other non-litigation means, so as to restore employment relations and continue the labor contracts.

用人单位，特别是中小微企业，因疫情或者防疫措施造成暂停生产或者暂时生产经营困难，未及时支付工资、缴纳社会保险金的，发生劳动争议的，鼓励通过调解、调解等非诉讼方式解决争议，恢复劳动关系，继续履行劳动合同。

Where the employee insists upon termination of the labor contract and asks for economic compensation according to Article 38 of the Labor Contract Law, the court shall deal with the claims adhering to the principle of prudence and generally shall not support such claims.

劳动者坚持解除劳动合同并依照劳动合同法第三十八条要求经济赔偿的，法院应当按照审慎原则处理，一般不予支持。

How will the court or the labor bureau handle employees’ claims to terminate labor contract and obtain economic compensation where an employee does not agree with the employer’s remote working arrangement and claim that the employer fails to provided working conditions?

如果雇员不同意雇主的远程工作安排，并声称雇主未提供工作条件，法院或者劳动局将如何处理雇员提出的终止劳动合同和获得经济补偿的要求？

According to the official answers from the court and the labor bureau, the remote work arrangement is regarded as a reasonable response to the epidemic that should be accepted by both enterprises and employees. It plays a positive role in protecting employees’ labor rights and maintaining normal operation of enterprises.

根据法院和劳动局的官方答复，远程工作安排被认为是企业和职工应该接受的大行病的合理应对措施。它在保护员工劳动权益和维护企业正常运营方面起到了积极的作用。

If the remote work arrangement is  reasonable and does not infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of the employees, employees should actively cooperate.

如果远程工作安排是合理的，并且不侵犯员工的合法权益，员工应该积极合作。

Where the employee insists termination of the labor contract and asks for economic compensation on the basis that the employer failed to provide work condition as stipulated on the labor contract, the court shall not support such claims.

劳动者坚持终止劳动合同，以用人单位未按照劳动合同规定提供劳动条件为由要求经济赔偿的，法院不予支持。

Termination

终止合同

Are employers allowed to return the dispatched employees who cannot provide normal work due to being recognized as COVID-19 confirmed patients, asymptomatic cases, or close contacts to a confirmed case during their isolation treatment or medical observation period?

新冠病毒疾病确诊病人、无症状病例或在隔离治疗或医学观察期间与确诊病例有密切接触而不能提供正常工作的雇员，雇主是否可以将他们遣返？

According to the opinions jointly released by the MHRSS, the China Federation of Trade Unions, and other relevant departments, enterprises are not allowed to terminate the labor contract of employees or return the dispatched workers to the dispatched agency on the basis that the employees or dispatched workers cannot provide normal work due to isolation treatment or medical observation.

根据人力资源和社会保障部、中国工会联合会等有关部门联合发布的意见，企业不得以雇员或被派遣劳动者因隔离治疗或医疗观察不能正常工作为由，终止雇员的劳动合同或将派遣劳动者返回派遣机构。

Can employers terminate the labor contract with employees who are investigated for criminal responsibility or are subject to administrative punishments, such as public security detention for failing to cooperate with the government’s epidemic prevention and control measures?

用人单位是否可以解除与被追究刑事责任或因不配合政府防疫措施而受到公安拘留等行政处罚的雇员的劳动合同？

During the epidemic prevention and control period, if the employee is investigated for criminal responsibility for not cooperating with the epidemic prevention and control measures of the government, the employer may terminate the labor contract according to the provisions of Item (6) of Article 39 of the Labor Contract Law.

在防疫期间，因不配合政府防疫措施而被追究刑事责任的，用人单位可以依照劳动合同法第三十九条第(六)项的规定解除劳动合同。

If an employee is subject to administrative punishment, such as public security detention due to his/her failure to cooperate with the prevention and control measures of the government, the employer can terminate the labor contract, if the company rulebook formulated according to law stipulates so for such circumstance.

劳动者因不配合政府防控措施而受到治安拘留等行政处罚的，用人单位可以解除劳动合同，依法制定的公司规章对此作出规定的。

Protection to workers

对工人的保护

How to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests for employees who are transferred under the mode of “shared employment” during the epidemic prevention and control period?

在疫情防控期间，如何保障以“共享就业”方式转移的职工的合法权益？

In principle, it is not suitable to identify the dual labor relationship between the lending unit, the borrowing unit, and the transferred employee under the shared employment mode. During the period of shared employment, the transferred employee and the lending unit remain in a single labor relationship, and the labor rights and obligations of both parties remain unchanged.

在共享就业模式下，原则上不宜确定借款单位、借款单位和转移就业者之间的双重劳动关系。在共同就业期间，被转移的劳动者与出借单位保持单一的劳动关系，双方的劳动权利义务不变。

To protect the legitimate rights and interests of the transferred employees, the lending unit, the borrowing unit, and the transferred employee are encouraged to sign a shared employment agreement following the principles of equality, integrity, fairness, and legitimacy, and in conformity with public laws and regulations. The agreement should contain provisions stipulating the period of shared employment, job position, work content, working hours, settlement method of remuneration, settlement cycle and payment method, labor protection conditions, and vacation, etc. The agreed daily or hourly compensation shall not violate the city’s minimum wage standards.

为保护被转移职工的合法权益，鼓励借贷单位、借贷单位和被转移职工按照平等、诚信、公平、合法的原则，按照公共法律法规，签订共同就业协议。协议应当载有共同就业期限、工作岗位、工作内容、工作时间、报酬结算方式、结算周期和支付方式、劳动保护条件、休假等规定。约定的每日或每小时补偿不得违反本市最低工资标准。

Litigation and arbitration

诉讼和仲裁

How should the time limit of arbitration or litigation for labor disputes be determined during the epidemic prevention and control period? What shall the parties do if they cannot normally participate in relevant arbitration or litigation activities?

在防疫期间，如何确定劳动争议仲裁或者诉讼的期限？如果当事人不能正常参与相关的仲裁或诉讼活动，他们应该怎么办？

If the parties concerned are unable to apply for arbitration or file a lawsuit within the legal period due to the epidemic, the limitation of arbitration shall be suspended and the affected period shall not be counted within the time limit for filing a lawsuit.

当事人因疫情不能在法定期限内申请仲裁或者提起诉讼的，应当中止仲裁时效，不得在提起诉讼的期限内计算。

If the parties are unable to participate in arbitration or litigation activities due to the epidemic, the provisions on the suspension of arbitration or litigation procedures may be applied in accordance with the law, except as otherwise provided by law. The procedures of labor supervision shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of labor supervision.

当事人因疫情不能参加仲裁或者诉讼活动的，可以依法适用仲裁中止或者诉讼程序的规定，但是法律另有规定的除外。劳动监察程序按照劳动监察的有关规定办理。

Key takeaways

关键要点

In the wake of COVID-19 flare-ups, employment stability is the top priority for the government. According to what is stipulated in the FAQs, the government is trying not to overly favor any party. Rather, it wants both the employers and employees to take the epidemic situation into account and share the burden caused by the epidemic. After all, the government thinks it is in the best interest for all parties to maintain harmonious and stable labor relations, rather than to break it.

新冠病毒疾病爆发后，稳定就业是政府的首要任务。根据常见问题解答中的规定，政府正在努力不过分偏袒任何一方。相反，政府希望雇主和雇员都能考虑到疫情，分担疫情带来的负担。毕竟，政府认为维持和谐稳定的劳资关系比打破这种关系更符合各方的利益。

Bearing that in mind, it is not difficult to notice and understand the government’s efforts revealed in the FAQ on balancing the right and interests of the employers and employees.

有见及此，我们不难注意到和理解政府在「常见问题」中就平衡雇主与雇员权益所作的努力。

On the other hand, however, the FAQs do not go beyond the existing legal framework. All the official answers have their legal basis in labor laws and regulations.

然而，另一方面，常见问题并没有超出现有的法律框架。所有的官方回答都有其劳动法律法规的法律依据。

What the FAQs do is to clarify the application of relevant laws and regulation in atypical circumstances, such as under the current lockdown. In this way, both the employers and employees can have a better assessment of the result of their actions and thus have a better chance to strive through the difficulties together.

常见问题解答所做的就是澄清相关法律法规在非典型情况下的应用，比如在目前的封锁情况下。这样，雇主和雇员都可以更好地评估他们行动的结果，从而有更好的机会共同努力克服困难。

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