Keywords: Labor dispute; termination of employment relationship; unlawful termination; economic compensation.

Counseling Attorney: Liu Qinqun

Basic Facts of the Case:

Before leaving the company, the client served as the Deputy General Manager of Sales at a certain real estate company, overseeing the sales and marketing of the company’s projects. During his tenure, the last employment contract he signed with the company had a term from September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020. The client’s annual salary consisted of: monthly pre-tax base salary + quarterly allowances + year-end bonus (provided that the company’s established annual sales target was met).

On June 16, 2020, the company issued a “Notice of Termination of Employment Relationship” to the client, notifying the client that the employment relationship would be terminated as of June 25, 2020. The reasons for termination were as follows: 1. Falsely reporting the company receiving payments under external payment contracts; 2. Falsely reporting the contents of personal shop lease agreements; 3. Engaging in fraudulent practices when claiming reimbursement for business entertainment expenses; 4. Violating company procedures during shop recruitment efforts by exercising authority beyond the scope of approved responsibilities without obtaining prior approval; 5. Failing to perform job duties honestly and significantly falling short of sales targets; 6. Repeatedly making work-related mistakes. Relying on several provisions of the company’s “Employee Handbook,” the company asserted its right to unilaterally terminate the employment relationship with the client. After receiving the “Notice of Termination of Employment Relationship,” the client argued that the notice constituted an unlawful termination and therefore filed a labor arbitration claim, demanding that the company pay economic compensation for unlawful termination, subsidies, and reimbursed expenses.

After accepting the mandate in this case, Attorney Liu Qinqun first analyzed the reasons for termination listed in the company’s “Notice of Termination of Employment Relationship.” The company had cited numerous reasons for termination, each of which required thorough investigation and evidence collection as well as careful organization of supporting documentation. Ultimately, Attorney Liu meticulously refuted each of these termination grounds one by one, securing the maximum possible benefit for the client.

Case Highlights: By meticulously organizing evidence based on the “Notice of Termination of Labor Relationship” issued to the employer, we can thoroughly demonstrate that the employer’s termination was unlawful and thereby safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the party involved.

Typical significance:

In cases where the employer’s “Notice of Termination of Employment Relationship” explicitly lists the reasons for termination in labor disputes, each of these stated reasons must be thoroughly investigated and supported by organized evidence. In this case, after conducting investigations and gathering evidence, the court ultimately found that: 1. Although the name of the company listed on the “Expense Application Form” submitted by the client’s marketing department was incorrect, the name of the payee specified in the submitted “Contract Payment Application Form” and the accompanying invoices matched the defendant’s actual payment account. Therefore, the plaintiff did not intentionally conceal the name of the payer when submitting the documents; 2. The lease contract for the client’s commercial premises underwent several revisions over time, resulting in changes to the content of both the earlier and later contracts. However, the rental rate remained unchanged. The marketing department’s staff members repeatedly modified the contract and completed the approval procedures as required by the group, and the client did not engage in any false reporting; 3. All application and approval documents related to hospitality expenses provided by the client were duly signed and confirmed by the marketing department’s staff, the client, and the general manager, and the attached invoices were accurate and authentic. The defendant falsely claimed that the aforementioned materials had been provided with forged evidence to support its position; 4. As early as about two years ago, the defendant itself admitted to knowing that the two commercial premises had been handed over to tenants without obtaining prior approval from the group. Yet, the defendant failed to specify whether this situation was caused by the plaintiff, nor did it take any action to address it. Moreover, the relevant lease contracts bore the company’s official seal, confirming that third parties had indeed collected property management fees. Thus, the defendant’s stated reason for termination is unfounded; 5. The company failed to provide any evidence demonstrating that the client was unfit for the job, nor did it offer the client any training as required by applicable laws and regulations. Therefore, the company’s unilateral issuance of the “Notice of Termination of Employment Relationship” constitutes an unlawful termination. Ultimately, we successfully secured for the client nearly 500,000 yuan in economic compensation, subsidies, and reimbursement payments due to the unlawful termination.