专业团队

In labor dispute cases, the phenomenon of employers infringing on the interests of workers is widely concerned by society, but there are also cases where workers "infringe" on the interests of employers, especially in cases where losses are caused to enterprises due to worker reasons. How to define relevant responsibilities is a common concern for workers and employers. This article provides a brief analysis of the relevant issues as follows:

1、 What are the main circumstances in which workers cause losses to employers?

In the practice of enterprise employment management, the situations where workers cause losses to employers mainly include:

（1） The illegal termination of labor contracts by workers leads to losses for the company: for example, if the worker fails to fulfill the obligation of advance notice and leaves the job position, making it impossible for the company to supplement personnel in the short term, or some important projects of the company may not be completed due to the worker's absence, causing external commercial breach risks and indirectly causing losses to the company;

（2） The violation of relevant agreements by workers leads to losses for the enterprise, such as the breach of confidentiality obligations or non compete restrictions stipulated in the labor contract by workers, which leaks the employer's trade secrets and leads to a decline in enterprise profits, resulting in economic losses;

（3） During the performance of labor contracts, losses to the enterprise caused by the employee's duty behavior mainly manifest as failure to fulfill their duties in accordance with their job responsibilities, serious negligence in failing to fulfill their duties, or intentional behavior of using their position for personal gain, resulting in significant damage to the tangible and intangible assets of the employing unit. For example, the business manager of a commercial bank violates risk control regulations by lending money arbitrarily, resulting in bad debts and bad debts in the bank.

2、 The principle of employers holding employees accountable for compensation?

For the first two situations mentioned above, which usually occur after the employee resigns and there is no longer a labor relationship between the two parties, the employer may hold the employee liable for compensation according to the agreement between the two parties and the actual size of the loss. At this time, the employer's liability for compensation against the employee is mainly based on the general principles of civil law, with actual losses as the main reference standard.

For losses caused during employment, the particularity of labor relations should be considered. Firstly, during the existence of labor relations, the employer is not only the owner and manager of the enterprise's property, but also the internal manager and supervisor of the enterprise. Therefore, once an employee causes economic losses to the employer, the employer has a dual identity, that is, they are both the victim and the manager of the employee. If workers are held responsible for all compensation in this situation, the enterprise as a manager will no longer bear any responsibility, which is not in line with the principle of fairness. Secondly, the consideration paid by employers to workers, namely labor remuneration, is unequal to the labor results created by workers. As the beneficiaries of labor results, enterprises should bear more operational risks. Furthermore, every job of an employer is carried out by different workers. If strict requirements are imposed on workers to assume compensation liability based on their faults, it essentially transfers all operational risks of the enterprise to the workers, which is not entirely reasonable for workers in a disadvantaged position.

Therefore, in general, workers are only liable for compensation if they cause economic losses to the employer due to intentional or gross negligence. If the worker is not at fault or only has minor negligence, no compensation is required.

3、 The scope of compensation pursued by employers against workers?

Employers should also analyze the types of damages caused when holding employees liable for compensation. If an employee illegally terminates a labor contract and causes losses to the enterprise, according to the "Compensation Measures for Violation of Labor Law on Labor Contract Provisions," the employer may require the employee to compensate for the following expenses: (1) the expenses paid by the employer for recruiting and employing the employee; （2） The training fees paid by the employer shall be handled in accordance with the agreement between the two parties, if otherwise agreed; （3） Direct economic losses caused to production, operation, and work; （4） Other compensation expenses stipulated in the labor contract.

According to relevant regulations, compensation can be made in accordance with Article 20 of the Anti Unfair Competition Law for losses caused by employees violating confidentiality agreements or non compete agreements and infringing on the employer's trade secrets. (According to the Anti Unfair Competition Law, if an operator violates this law and causes damage to the infringed operator, they shall bear the liability for compensation. If the losses of the infringed operator are difficult to calculate, the compensation amount shall be the profits obtained by the infringer during the infringement period; and they shall also bear the reasonable expenses paid by the infringed operator to investigate the unfair competition behavior of the infringed operator that infringed on their legitimate rights and interests.).

According to relevant regulations, employees can only be required to provide limited compensation for losses incurred by the company due to their job behavior during their employment. For example, Article 16 of the Provisional Regulations on Wage Payment issued by the Ministry of Labor stipulates that if an employee causes economic losses to the employer due to their own reasons, the employer may demand compensation for the economic losses in accordance with the provisions of the labor contract. The compensation for economic losses can be deducted from the worker's own salary. But the monthly deduction shall not exceed 20% of the worker's monthly salary. If the remaining salary after deduction is lower than the local monthly minimum wage standard, payment will be made according to the minimum wage standard. The Shanghai Enterprise Wage Payment Measures also stipulate that if an employee causes economic losses to the unit due to personal reasons, the employer shall demand compensation from the employee in accordance with the law, and the compensation fee shall be deducted from the employee's salary. The deducted amount shall not exceed 20% of the employee's monthly salary income, and the remaining salary after deduction shall not be lower than the minimum wage standard stipulated in this city.

4、 Sharing of Compensation Liability for Losses in Labor Dispatch

In the labor dispatch employment method, if the worker, as an employee of the dispatch company, provides labor to the employing unit and causes economic losses to the employing unit or damages to others due to their job behavior, how should the relevant compensation liability be borne? In the author's opinion, in the labor dispatch relationship, the employer and the employer jointly bear the rights and obligations originally assumed by the employer, and the actual employer is separated from the employer who signed the contract. However, although the scope of the rights and obligations relationship between the employer and the employee is smaller than that of general labor relations, its specific content is not separate from labor relations. In most cases, the employing unit enjoys the right to command and manage the actual work of the workers. Therefore, if damage is caused to the employing unit due to the worker's reasons, the employing unit can claim compensation for the loss.

For cases where workers cause losses to third parties, according to the Tort Liability Law to be implemented on July 1, 2010, if an employee of an employer causes damage to others while performing work tasks, the employer shall bear the tort liability. During the period of labor dispatch, if the dispatched staff causes harm to others due to the execution of work tasks, the employing unit receiving the labor dispatch shall bear the liability for infringement; If the labor dispatch unit is at fault, it shall bear corresponding supplementary responsibilities. Therefore, in labor dispatch, the responsibilities and rights of the employer are not separated from those of the worker due to the absence of a labor relationship.

For situations where workers cause losses to the employer, it is recommended that the employer take preventive measures through management measures, such as strengthening safety production training, adopting confidentiality measures for trade secrets, and stipulating loss calculation methods in the contract, in order to minimize losses.