Answer: Whether you should bear personal responsibility of loss compensation depends on whether the loss is related to personal injury or property damage.
If it is related to property damage, the Tort Liability Law stipulates that the employer shall be liable for the tort committed by an employee acting their duty, therefore you are not liable for the loss compensation.1Article 34 of the Tort Liability Law stipulates that ¡°if a staff member of an employer causes damage to others due to actions of their work tasks, the employer shall bear tort liability.¡±Of course, the employer may punish you according to the company rules if you are in breach of it, but this kind of economic punishment is strictly limited and is different from your direct civil liability for compensation. Please see Should an employee compensate the employer for the losses caused by their fault?
If the loss is related to personal injury (such as causing disability to the other party), you may be jointly and severally liable with the employer. Your employer is certainly liable for the personal injury under the Tort Liability Law. Meanwhile, as ruled by the case of Li Changjun before Sichuan Provincial High Court in 2019, the law does not prohibit a victim of personal injury from claiming compensation against the tortfeasor himself according to the judicial interpretation of the Supreme Court on personal injury compensation cases.2Li Changjun and Sichuan Aonong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Civil Ruling on Labor Dispute Retrial Review and Trial Supervision Sichuan Provincial People¡¯s High Court Civil Ruling (2019) Chuan Min Shen No.5196. In this case, the employee drove a scrapped vehicle to perform the work tasks of the employer and caused damage to other, and the victim sued the employee and the employer as co-defendants. The employer finally assumed the liability for compensation. Article 8 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases stipulates: “If the legal representative, person in charge, or staff member of a legal person or other organization causes damage to others in actions of their duties, the legal person or other organization shall bear civil liability in accordance with the provisions of Article 121 of the General Principles of Civil Law. If the above-mentioned personnel commit acts unrelated to their duties and cause damage to others, the perpetrator shall be liable for compensation. If it belongs to the compensation subject matter of the State Compensation Law, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the State Compensation Law.¡±
There is a special circumstance where an employee is not directly engaged in the activities of his job, but in the activities related to the work task. If the activity is not intrinsically related to the employee’s job, the employer may not be liable for compensation, in which case the employee is solely liable.3Article 9 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases stipulates that ¡°if an employee causes damage to others in their employment activities, the employer shall be liable for compensation; if the employee causes damage to others intentionally or in gross negligence, he shall be jointly and severally liable with the employer. If the employer is jointly and severally liable for compensation, it may recover the compensation from the employee. The term “engaging in employment activities” as mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to engaging in production and operation activities or other labor activities within the scope authorized or instructed by the employer. If an employee’s behavior is beyond the scope of authorization, but its manifestation is the action of their duties or has intrinsic connnection to the action of their duties, it shall be recognized as “engaging in employment activities”. Wang Jinping v. Yang Tailu et al. Maritime Personal Injury Liability Dispute, Civil Ruling of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (2017) Supreme Fa Min Shen No.2650. The court held that although the employee was not strictly engaged in the required fishing activities at the time of injury, he was directly related to such activities, so it was determined that there was an intrinsic connection.For example, a drunk driver causing damages to others while delivering goods is intrinsically related to their work task; so, the employer may bear joint and several liability for the damages.4Anyang Wanfeng Logistics Co., Ltd. v. Zhang Yi et al. Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Liability Dispute Hubei Provincial People¡¯s High Court Civil Ruling (2017) E Min Shen No.3351.However, if the employee drunk drives a vehicle after work causing injury to others, the employer is unlikely to be liable.
Therefore, if you had a traffic accident with others in the course of delivering goods for your employer causing property damages, the victim can only ask your employer for compensation; but if the accident caused personal injury, the victim can claim joint and several liability against both you and your employer. It should be noted that if you use your employer¡¯s vehicle for private affairs without authorization, after work, you are likely to bear the liability for compensation to the other party alone.
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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.
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- 1Article 34 of the Tort Liability Law stipulates that ¡°if a staff member of an employer causes damage to others due to actions of their work tasks, the employer shall bear tort liability.¡±
- 2Li Changjun and Sichuan Aonong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Civil Ruling on Labor Dispute Retrial Review and Trial Supervision Sichuan Provincial People¡¯s High Court Civil Ruling (2019) Chuan Min Shen No.5196. In this case, the employee drove a scrapped vehicle to perform the work tasks of the employer and caused damage to other, and the victim sued the employee and the employer as co-defendants. The employer finally assumed the liability for compensation. Article 8 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases stipulates: “If the legal representative, person in charge, or staff member of a legal person or other organization causes damage to others in actions of their duties, the legal person or other organization shall bear civil liability in accordance with the provisions of Article 121 of the General Principles of Civil Law. If the above-mentioned personnel commit acts unrelated to their duties and cause damage to others, the perpetrator shall be liable for compensation. If it belongs to the compensation subject matter of the State Compensation Law, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the State Compensation Law.¡±
- 3Article 9 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases stipulates that ¡°if an employee causes damage to others in their employment activities, the employer shall be liable for compensation; if the employee causes damage to others intentionally or in gross negligence, he shall be jointly and severally liable with the employer. If the employer is jointly and severally liable for compensation, it may recover the compensation from the employee. The term “engaging in employment activities” as mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to engaging in production and operation activities or other labor activities within the scope authorized or instructed by the employer. If an employee’s behavior is beyond the scope of authorization, but its manifestation is the action of their duties or has intrinsic connnection to the action of their duties, it shall be recognized as “engaging in employment activities”. Wang Jinping v. Yang Tailu et al. Maritime Personal Injury Liability Dispute, Civil Ruling of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (2017) Supreme Fa Min Shen No.2650. The court held that although the employee was not strictly engaged in the required fishing activities at the time of injury, he was directly related to such activities, so it was determined that there was an intrinsic connection.
- 4Anyang Wanfeng Logistics Co., Ltd. v. Zhang Yi et al. Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Liability Dispute Hubei Provincial People¡¯s High Court Civil Ruling (2017) E Min Shen No.3351.