NIO intern was not retained after attempted rape by a colleague, lawyer: the reason for refusal must be reasonable and legal

The NIO "intern incident" is still fermenting. On March 3, a netizen with the screen name "Is Ice Cream Pulled Today" (hereinafter referred to as "Ice Cream") posted on social platforms that he was attempted to be raped by his colleague Xu while working at NIO. At present, Xu has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for rape, but "ice cream" has been rejected by company personnel as "a risky person" and "will affect the company's image".

The post quickly attracted public attention. At about 11 o'clock on March 4, NIO Holdings Co., Ltd. issued a statement on its official Weibo, saying that it had set up an investigation team on the evening of the 3rd and was investigating the internship retention process of the parties, especially whether they were treated unfairly in this process, and promised to give a fair and equitable evaluation of the parties' work.

At noon on March 5, a reporter from the Beijing News called NIO's customer service, and the staff said that the company had set up an investigation team, and the specific results were subject to the official release.

In this regard, Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejian Law Firm, believes that at present, the legal focus of the incident is whether the reason for the intern's refusal to be retained is reasonable and legal. If there is evidence that company personnel do say that the girl is "a risky person" and "affect the company's image", it can be considered that this is the main reason why the girl cannot be retained, but even then it is difficult to hold the girl legally responsible.

On March 4, NIO released a fact sheet. Screenshot of web pages

Client: After being raped by a colleague during the internship period, he was not retained because of "affecting the company's image"

According to a fact sheet released by NIO on March 4, the poster "Ice Cream" is a former NIO intern. On Saturday, August 6, 2022, an intern surnamed Xu tried to rape him after he went out. After the party called the police, Xu was detained. On August 18, 2022, Xu was arrested; On August 19, the company terminated the internship relationship with Xu. The party "Ice Cream" left on February 28 this year.

For this fact sheet, "ice cream" did not agree, and at about 1 a.m. on March 5, she posted another response.

"Ice Cream" said in its response that his departure was not February 28 this year, but February 13. The materials attached to the post show that "Ice Cream" joined NIO for internship on July 27, 2022, and the last working day was February 13 this year. On February 21, the company issued an internship certificate for the parties. Xu's Feishu page profile only shows that his department is related to human resources, not whether he is an intern.

Proof of internship provided by the parties. Screenshot of web pages

According to the timeline listed by "Ice Cream", on October 26, 2022, two months after the case, "Ice Cream" was still recruiting front-end interns for the products she was responsible for on social platforms. In November, in addition to the original product, she also took on important projects, and on the 29th, she conducted a positive defense. In December, the product she was responsible for appeared on NIO Day, and that same month, she received feedback from the company that she would not be retained.

A recruitment post posted by the parties on October 26, 2022. Screenshot of web pages

"Ice Cream" said that she communicated several times and learned the real reason why she was not retained: there are recruitment quotas and work results are no problem, but HR (personnel) people who want "low risk" need to maintain the company's image. She said she was described by personnel as "a risky person" and "would affect the company's image" and that she had recordings.

In the early morning of March 5, the party posted another response. Screenshot of web pages

Lawyer's interpretation: The reason for refusing to retain should be reasonable and legal

Regarding the above incident, Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejian Law Firm, believes that at present, the legal focus of the incident is whether the reason for the intern's refusal to be retained is reasonable and legal.

If there is evidence that the company personnel did say that the girl is "a risky person" and "affect the image of the company", it can be considered that this is the main reason why the girl cannot be retained, unless the company can prove that the girl's inability to retain is due to other factors.

Fu Jian said that the case specifically involves the relevant provisions of the Labor Law, there is no labor relationship between the ungraduated intern and the employer, and the company has the right not to retain the intern, but the parties can claim compensation and other rights according to the "internship agreement" signed with the company. If the above remarks of the company's personnel are indeed the main cause, it is difficult to pursue legal responsibility.

According to Article 1010 of the Civil Code, if a person sexually harasses another person against his will by means of words, words, images, physical acts, etc., the victim has the right to request the perpetrator to bear civil liability in accordance with the law. Organs, enterprises, schools, and other units shall employ reasonable measures such as prevention, acceptance of complaints, and investigation and handling, to prevent and stop sexual harassment by taking advantage of their authority or subordinate relationships.

"The Civil Code stipulates the company's responsibility to prevent and investigate sexual harassment in the workplace, and the company should actively take measures to include the prohibition of sexual harassment in the Employee Handbook to clarify the company's attitude, severely punish employees who sexually harass them, and create a good working environment for employees." Fu Jian said that when individuals face sexual harassment in the workplace, they must also show their attitude, actively defend their rights, and seek help, and only when more and more people choose to speak out, the legal system will be more perfect.

Beijing News reporter Zuo Lin Editor Liu Qian Proofreader Zhai Yongjun