Is it a contract relationship or an employment relationship? Courier companies "lip service" does not count

Workers Daily-Zhonggong Network reporter Ye Xiaozhong correspondent Zhong Yuandong

The driver, Long San (pseudonym), did not sign a labor contract with the courier company, nor did he sign a contracting contract. After a dispute arose between Longsan and the courier company over whether there was an employment relationship between the two parties, Longsan demanded confirmation of the existence of an employment relationship with the company, and asked the courier company to pay him wages, return the security deposit, pay rescue fees, and terminate the labor contract with severance pay. A few days ago, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court tried the case according to law.

So, what is the relationship between the driver Longsan and the courier company? What fees does the company need to pay to Dragon Three?

【Case Review】

Longsan went to work for a courier company since March 25, 2015, engaged in long-distance freight driver work, the vehicle it drives is owned by the courier company, longsan's bank transaction details show that the shareholders of the courier company pay Longsan through bank transfer on a monthly basis, and the transfer notes are road fuel fee, trailer fee, labor fee, road fee, maintenance fee, accident hospitalization fee, annual inspection road fuel fee, accident advance fee, wage, fine, safety award, shuttle fee, etc. The courier company issued a work card to Longsan, marked with the words "so-and-so express", "Guangdong", "Longsan", "position: driver" and so on. Longsan has always believed that there is an employment relationship between it and the courier company, but the company believes that the relationship between Longsan and the courier company is a contracting relationship.

Hou Longsan initiated arbitration, requesting confirmation that it had an employment relationship with the courier company from March 25, 2015 to February 24, 2019; requiring the courier company to pay him wages, return the security deposit, pay rescue fees, and terminate the labor contract.

【Trial Process】

In court, the courier company said that there had been no labor contract between the company and Longsan, and there was no labor relationship between the two parties.

Ryusan believes that there is an employment relationship between the two parties. After investigation, the vehicle driven by Longsan is owned by the courier company, and the bank transaction details show that the shareholders of the courier company pay longsan money through bank transfer on a monthly basis, and the transfer notes are road fuel fee, trailer fee, labor fee, road fee, maintenance fee, accident hospital fee, annual examination road oil fee, accident advance fee, salary, fine, safety award, shuttle fee and so on. The courier company issued a work card to Longsan, marked with the words "so-and-so express", "Guangdong", "Longsan", "position: driver" and so on.

The court of first instance ruled that it was confirmed that there was an employment relationship between Longsan and the courier company from March 25, 2015 to February 24, 2019; the courier company returned the security deposit, paid the rescue fee, and terminated the labor contract severance payment.

The courier company was not satisfied and filed an appeal.

【Trial Result】

Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court's second-instance judgment: The appeal was rejected and the original judgment was upheld.

Case by case

The judge pointed out that there is a dispute in practice as to whether the relationship between express delivery companies, takeaway companies and other new formats of industry and their employees is an employment relationship, and in this regard, it should be examined whether the relationship between the two parties conforms to the substantive characteristics of the labor relationship and be determined. According to Article 1 of the Notice on Matters Related to the Establishment of Labor Relations (issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security [2005] No. 12), the labor relationship refers to the relationship of rights and obligations arising from the employer's recruitment of workers as its members and the provision of paid labor by the employees under the management of the employer. According to the ascertained facts, Longsan accepts the management of the courier company and provides labor according to the arrangement of the courier company, and the labor provided by Longsan is an integral part of the business of the courier company. According to the bank transaction details provided by Longsan, the shareholders of the express delivery company have paid money to Longsan through the bank for many times, the transfer notes are wages or labor fees, the vehicle driven by Longsan is owned by the courier company, and the courier before Longsan leaves the car to pay Longsan for shuttle fees, fuel fees and other expenses in advance, and it can be determined that there is an employment relationship between the two parties. The courier company denied the existence of an employment relationship with Longsan and claimed that the two parties were in a contracting relationship, but did not provide evidence such as the contracting contract and settlement bills, so the court did not accept this claim.