On July 4th, the Jing'an District Federation of Trade Unions in Shanghai posted a labor dispute case involving a foreign employee.

7月4日，上海市静安区总工会发布了一起涉及外籍雇员的劳动争议案件。

基本案情摘要

Mr. J, a foreign employee, joined Company Y as a Chief Financial Officer on April 10, 2021. Both parties signed an employment contract effective from April 10, 2021, to April 9, 2023. On the same day, Company Y secured a work permit for Mr. J.  On April 9, 2023, Company Y decided not to renew Mr. J’s contract, terminating their employment relationship. Mr. J demanded an economic compensation of 64,329.52 yuan from Company Y in accordance with the Labor Contract Law. However, Company Y insisted that, as per their employment agreement, no compensation was owed to the employee regardless of the reason for contract termination.  In May 2023, Mr. J filed for arbitration with the Labor Dispute Arbitration Committee, seeking the economic compensation of 64,329.52 yuan. The committee ruled in favor of Mr. J, ordering Company Y to pay the compensation.  Dissatisfied with the arbitration ruling, Company Y appealed to the court, requesting a judgment that no compensation was required. The court found that Mr. J, as a foreign worker, was not entitled to economic compensation upon termination of his employment under Chinese labor standards. Furthermore, the labor contract between Mr. J and Company Y did not stipulate any such rights or obligations. Consequently, the court ruled that Company Y was not obligated to pay Mr. J the economic compensation of 64,329.52 yuan.

外籍员工J先生于2021年4月10日加入Y公司担任首席财务官。双方签订了一份有效期从2021年4月10日至2023年4月9日的劳动合同。同一天，Y公司为J先生办理了工作许可证。2023年4月9日，Y公司决定不与J先生续签合同，终止了双方的雇佣关系。J先生根据《劳动合同法》要求Y公司支付64,329.52元的经济补偿。然而，Y公司坚持认为，根据他们的雇佣协议，无论合同终止的原因如何，都无需向员工支付补偿。2023年5月，J先生向劳动争议仲裁委员会申请仲裁，寻求64,329.52元的经济补偿。仲裁委员会支持了J先生的请求，命令Y公司支付补偿。Y公司对仲裁裁决不满，向法院提起上诉，请求判决无需支付补偿。法院发现，J先生作为外籍工人，根据中国劳动标准，在终止雇佣关系时无权获得经济补偿。此外，J先生与Y公司之间的劳动合同并未规定任何此类权利或义务。因此，法院裁定Y公司无需向J先生支付64,329.52元的经济补偿。

Court Judgment

法院判决

The court ruled that according to the "Rules for the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China" and the "Answers to Several Issues on the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases by the Shanghai High People's Court," foreign employees working in China are subject to Chinese labor standards concerning minimum wage, working hours, rest and leave, labor safety and hygiene, and social insurance. These aspects are supported by Chinese labor standards. Other labor rights and obligations may be determined based on the terms of the contract or the actual performance of the contract. Beyond these, any additional labor standards and treatment requirements requested by the parties to the labor contract are not applicable.  In this case, since both parties had agreed in the contract that no economic compensation would be required upon termination of the labor contract, Mr. J's claim for economic compensation lacks legal and contractual basis. Therefore, the court does not support Mr. J's claim for economic compensation upon termination of the labor contract.

法院裁定，根据《外国人在中国就业管理规定》和《上海市高级人民法院关于审理劳动争议案件若干问题的解答》，在中国工作的外籍员工在最低工资、工作时间、休息和休假、劳动安全卫生以及社会保险等方面应遵守中国劳动标准。这些方面由中国劳动标准支持。其他劳动权利和义务可以根据合同条款或合同实际履行情况确定。除此之外，劳动合同双方要求的任何额外劳动标准和待遇要求不适用。在本案中，由于双方已在合同中约定终止劳动合同时无需支付经济补偿，J先生关于经济补偿的主张缺乏法律和合同依据。因此，法院不支持J先生关于劳动合同终止时的经济补偿主张。