[Summary of the trial]
The documents submitted by the employee do not show the corresponding date, and only the chairman of the board of directors personally signed them, which is not sufficient to prove that the document was issued by the chairman of the board of directors in the name of a legal person. Although the employee submitted other evidence to prove that he communicated and implemented financing matters for the company, he did not submit evidence to prove that the company had corresponding rules and regulations on the bonuses involved in the case, or to prove that the company had made a clear agreement with the company on the bonuses involved in the case, so the employee's request for the company to pay the difference in bonuses was rejected.
【Brief Facts of the Case】
Jiang joined the engineering center of the environmental protection group as the deputy general manager. Jiang advocated that a company had a business crisis in 2017 and 2018, and funds were tight, Jiang raised 1.905 billion yuan for a company through hard work, and a company rewarded Jiang with a bonus of 2.56 million yuan, which was converted into 320,000 shares at 8 yuan per share, and the then chairman He personally issued a bonus certificate to Jiang, promising that the payment time was scheduled for May 21, 2021.
On May 21, 2021, the stock price per share of a company was 3.7 yuan, and the company has not paid the bonus to Jiang so far, so the corresponding bonus amount of 118,400 yuan should be paid according to the market value of that day. Regarding the "2018 XXXX Defense Bonus", the loss of the difference in the bonus refers to the difference in the corresponding stock price of the bonus. According to the "2018XXXX Defense Battle Bonus", the bonus is 2.56 million yuan, and 2.56 million yuan is subtracted from 118,400 yuan, and there is a difference of 1,376,000 yuan. In fact, Jiang's two litigation claims required a company to pay a bonus of 2.56 million yuan.
Jiang submitted the "2018XXXX Defense Battle Bonus" for his claim, screenshot of Oriental Fortune Network: stock price on May 21, XXXX2021, "Letter of Commitment", "Application for Payment of M&A Project Funds (Investment)", "Equity Transfer Agreement", China Minsheng Bank Transfer Record, "Investment Decision Approval Form", "List of Materials for Transfer Files (March 10, 2022)", business trip records, "Loan Contract", "Supplementary Agreement", "Certificate" Shareholders' resolution of XXXX Group Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. (October 29, 2018). "2018XXXX Defense Battle Bonus" shows "2018XXXX Defense Battle Bonus, Jiang, 1.2018 performance, personal performance: borrowing 225 million, team performance: Shanghai Electric financing 680 million, ABC investment 1 billion;2. Bonus, bonus 2.56 million, converted into 320,000 shares according to 8 yuan per share, market value of 100 billion yuan, stock value 12.8 million. 3. The time of stock redemption, market value of 100 billion yuan or May 21, 2021. The signature is the handwritten signature of "He".
A company did not recognize the authenticity of the above-mentioned evidence submitted by Jiang, and asserted that He was once the legal representative of the company, but now he has resigned. Jiang and He are relatives and have interests, and the company has not agreed on the bonus with Jiang, nor has it issued the "2018XXXX Defense Bonus". Equity is not within the scope of labor dispute cases accepted by the court. A company submitted an Employee Personal File Form in response to its claim.
Jiang recognized the authenticity of the above-mentioned "Employee Personal File Form", but claimed that although there was a family relationship with He, He was the legal representative and chairman of the board of directors at the time, and he left in 2019, and the defense bonus occurred in 2018, and the two had nothing to do with it. At that time, Jiang was the director and investment director of the environmental protection group, financing more than 200 million yuan for the company, and the company should pay the 2018 defense bonus.
【Judgment Result】
The Beijing Chaoyang District Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission issued the Jing Chao Lao Ren Zhong Zi [2022] No. 24700 Award, rejecting all of Jiang's arbitration claims;
The Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court (2023) Jing 0105 Min Chu No. 43605 Civil Judgment rejected all of Jiang's litigation claims;
The Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People's Court (2024) Jing 03 Min Zhong No. 1618 Civil Judgment upheld the original trial court's determination to reject all of Jiang's litigation claims.
【Case Tips】
Employers are reminded to have a clear and unambiguous bonus system in place and to ensure that all employees are aware of and familiar with the details of these systems. The system must elaborate on the core information such as the calculation method, payment time, and payment conditions of the bonus, so as to avoid disputes that may arise due to vague or unreasonable bonus payment conditions. If the bonus paid by the employer is determined to be part of the fixed salary, even if the employee resigns before the bonus payment date, as long as the employer's regulations clearly indicate that the employee who leaves the company before the bonus payment date is not entitled to the bonus, the court will comprehensively consider the employee's time of resignation and the reason for the resignation.
Workers are reminded that they should fully understand and be familiar with the company's bonus system, and properly keep all evidence related to the bonus, including written agreements with the company, email correspondence, chat records, etc. Since the bonus is higher than the statutory remuneration, if the employer denies the existence of the bonus, the employee has the responsibility to provide basic evidence to support his claim for the bonus, otherwise he may face legal consequences if he or she cannot provide evidence.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is for reference only and is not intended as legal advice for specific cases.