Answer: The two types of employment relations, assignment contract and casual contract, still have the dependent characteristics of employment relation, and differ significantly from contractor relations that bear relatively independence and equality between the parties.
An assignment contract with a period of time to complete a certain task is quite different from a contractor relationship. A typical assignment contract is an employment contract signed by an employer and an employee for a specific Research & Development task, which stipulates that the contract will be terminated upon the task is completed. Usually, this contract is a full-time job. Although this has the same business purpose as a contractor relationship (for example, outsourcing the task to a freelancer). However, the former is characterized by the fact that the employee is engaged in work under the management and control of the employer, and the employee has the characteristics of economic and personal dependence on the employer. Freelancers (contractors) in the latter are independently engaged in R & D work, self-managed work arrangements, and often provide services for multiple companies, operate independently, and are not dependent to the employer.
Casual employment relationships are the weakest employment relation in terms of personal dependence and management control. Although some courts believe that this is the third form of relation independent of employment relations and contractor relations,1Jiamusi Tianhong Trading Co., Ltd., Sun Long Employment Dispute Civil Judgment of Second Instance Civil Judgment of Jiamusi Intermediate People’s Court of Heilongjiang Province (2023) Hei 08 Min Zhong No.49. The court held that casual flexible employment is the third form of relation independent of employment relations and employment relations.and that termination of casual relations do not necessitate economic compensation at the end of the relationship, the Employment Contract Law and prevailing cases all consider it a kind of employment relations, where the employer has a certain management of employees, the employee has certain degree of dependence on the employer, and the employer is obligated to purchase work injury insurance for employees. This is different from the independent and equal operation of contractor relations.
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
- 1Jiamusi Tianhong Trading Co., Ltd., Sun Long Employment Dispute Civil Judgment of Second Instance Civil Judgment of Jiamusi Intermediate People’s Court of Heilongjiang Province (2023) Hei 08 Min Zhong No.49. The court held that casual flexible employment is the third form of relation independent of employment relations and employment relations.