Answer: Termination or dissolution of employment relationship may have the following seven ways:
The first is termination of employment contract by mutual agreement (Article 36 of the Employment Contract Law). Normal terminations by mutual agreement are that both parties sign a clear settlement agreement. In practice, there may be situations where termination¡¯s reason is disputed where the employee claims dismissal by the employer, while the employer insists that the employee resigned. This normally is considered as termination by mutual agreement in judicial practice. Please refer to My boss fired me, but now he claims I resigned. What can I do?
The second is employees resignation (Article 37 of the Employment Contract Law). Please see I don’t want to work for my employer any more. How should I resign?
The third is forced resignation (see Article 38 of the Employment Contract Law), including situations where employer causes employee’s continuous work unbearable, for example, employee illegally deduct employee¡¯s wage, and immediate termination due to the employee having been subjected to forced labor or risk of physical harm. For details of forced resignation, please refer to My company received a resignation letter claiming forced resignation. Are we liable for economic compensation? I had to resign due to the relocation of my employer. Am I entitled to economic compensation?
The fourth is the terminations on the following grounds: employees’serious violation of company rules (see Can my employer fire me for my misconduct?), employees committing crimes (see My employee is sentenced to imprisonment for committing a crime. Can we terminate his employment?), employees’gross negligence and corruption (see My employer fired me for gross negligence and corruption. Is it legal?), employee having multiple employment relationships (see One of my employee is also working for another company. Can we fire him?), invalid employment contracts (see Is the employment contract I signed invalid? Employment Contract Law Article 39), and employees being considered not up to hiring requirements during probation period (see The employer notified the employee of termination only after the probation period. Is it legal?).
The fifth are the terminations due to employees’health incompetence for work after medical care leave (see What should I do if an employee of my company has not recovered after the expiration of the medical care leave?), employee being ability incompetent, and major changes in objective situation (see My employer terminates my employment contract on the ground of major changes in objective situation. Is it legal?(Article 40 of Employment Contract Law).
The sixth is termination due to economic redundancy (Article 41 of the Employment Contract Law). Please refer to My company is experiencing business hardship. Can we reduce workforce for survival?
The seventh is the terminations due to employment contract expiration, work assignment contract ending, employee reaching retirement age (See Can an employer terminate an employee who has reached retirement age?), employees¡¯ decease, or employers¡¯ bankruptcy, license being revoked or canceled, or operation period being expired (Article 44 of the Employment Contract Law).
This article is a part of our new book“Employment Law in China: A Practical Guide. A book about “What should I do” with case laws.”Stay tuned, and the book will soon be published as an electronic books!
Mr. Dong Wang has been in practice for over 20 years, specializing in business law, including employment law, commercial law, company law, and intellectual property law. Mr. Wang has earned respect and trust from his clients due to his professionalism, fidielty, and kindness.
Email: wangdong@royalaw.com