论雇员不能胜任工作的解雇规则

我国《劳动合同法》第40条继续设定了雇主因雇员不能胜任工作而有权单方预告解除劳动合同的裁量性解雇规则,这是雇主对经培训或调岗仍不能胜任工作的雇员所能采取的终极措施,同时附随着预通知或支付代通知金的前置性义务。能否胜任工作是判断雇员有否适当履行劳动给付义务的基本准则,是雇主作出录用、试用期满经同意转正、继续雇用等决定的主要依据。域外劳动法中,雇主行使解雇权应当具备正当理由;就雇员不能胜任工作这一与其自身状况相关联的事由而言,雇主享有预告解雇权。如雇员的工作业绩达不到岗位任务目标或未能恪守忠实勤勉义务的,可以认定其不能胜任工作,经挽救仍不能适当履行劳动给付义务的,雇主就可以作出解雇决定,以均衡保护雇主和雇员的合法权益。     

论美国法上的“禁止报复性解雇”规则

雇佣自由原则是调整美国不定期雇佣关系的基本准则，其对美国经济运行活力、效率与竞争力的支撑作用不言而喻。但它又是建立在劳资地位不平等基础上的。随着资本积累的加剧，其内含的对劳方利益牺牲、对资方利益偏袒的弊端愈加明显。顺应效率与公平相协调、契约正义以及积极权利理念的兴起，联邦和州制定法上的举报人保护规则以及判例法上的公共政策例外规则逐渐确立，形成对雇主任意解雇权的限制。我国可借鉴美国立法、司法经验，构建起完善的禁止报复性解雇法律法规体系。司法实践中确立用人单位不仅负有“解雇正当理由”的证明责任，还要承担“解雇决定不存在报复性动机”的说服责任。这既有利于规范雇主的内部行为，落实企业社会责任，又有利于平衡雇员、雇主和社会的三方利益关系。     

劳动合同解雇保护制度比较研究

各国解雇保护制度上呈现出多样化特点,反映了对雇主解雇权不同水平的限制。当前我国劳动合同短期化日益突出,劳动力市场的失衡加剧,如何对劳动者进行解雇保护成为当前争论的重点。本文指出各国劳动合同立法中的解雇保护制度是基于雇员处于弱势地位,应当通过严格限制解雇权来实现对雇员的保护,这种立法上的保护包括了相应的经济补偿。     

轻度伤残雇员的解雇保护机制

职业伤害防治法律制度构建的传统思路是保障工伤致残雇员获得及时的医疗救治和充分的经济补偿,而工伤保险基金则重在赔付工伤致残雇员工伤保险待遇或伤残待遇。雇员因工作遭受事故伤害或罹患职业病而致使其暂时不能或未能适当履行劳动给付义务的,工伤致残雇员的劳动给付障碍风险应当如何在雇主和雇员之间公平分配殊值研究。在劳动关系存续过程中,雇主对工作场所的职业安全和卫生保护负有谨慎注意义务,如果雇员因工致残是由雇主的过错导致的,雇主应当承担无正当理由不得解雇轻度伤残雇员或拒绝与之续签劳动合同的解雇限制义务,从而使轻度伤残雇员享有更充分的解雇保护权。     

解雇保护：我国大陆与台湾地区之比较研究

对用人单位或者说雇主解雇权的限制称之为解雇保护，由此产生了对雇主解雇权限制的必要性和相应的法律制度。我国台湾地区对于因劳动者过错而解雇设立除斥期很有启发意义，根据劳动者的有无过错来划分解雇保护的类别是两岸的共识。解雇权行使禁止和解雇权行使限制使雇主的法定解雇权受到禁止和限制。解雇保护的预告期与补偿金制度是我国大陆与台湾地区都采用的，却各有自己的特色。追究雇主非法解雇的法律责任在解雇保护中具有重要意义。     

论正当解雇事由的体系范式

自我国《劳动合同法》颁行以来,围绕第39、40条的争论一直不绝于耳,何为解雇的"正当事由"业已成为个中焦点,其内涵和外延扩一分则太险(劳动保护体系恐堤溃蚁穴),收一分则太死(企业合理需求恐挂一漏万)。事实上,解雇所需的"正当事由"并非一方概念便可厘定,或一纸清单足以罗列的,而应是一套由多个规范相互配合而支撑起来的体系。在我国解雇保护机制中,"正当事由"是实体性要求的关键一环,在立法模式上主要遵循清单范式(包含正面列举和反面排除),但倘若借望通过调整清单来一劳永逸地解决问题,则会让理论界和实务部门在实践问题面前陷入立法论或法教义学的迷思当中,恐难解时下之困。对于正当解雇事由的优化路径应是进一步拓展清单范式,构建体系范式,充分做好以下工作:提升正面列举的概括性、增强负面排除的充分性、发掘和遵从最佳实践惯例、适当引入程序性审查来替代部分实体性审查,以期达到完善相关机制的效果。此外,立法者在构建正当解雇保护机制时还须立足国情、因地制宜,构建新时代中国特色的解雇保护体系。     

南非:《劳动法》照不进的地心深处

过去,解雇一位雇员很容易。而现在,雇主必须先给雇员一次当面警告,然后是两次书面警告,随之而来的是雇员在听证会上对自己的行为做辩护,全部通过后,雇员才能被解雇。此后,雇员仍然可以将雇主诉上劳动法庭,并为被解雇寻求补偿。(图/东方IC)     

论不当解雇之临时救济措施

解雇行为具有形成效力,雇主的解雇决定送达劳动者即发生消灭劳动关系的后果。劳动关系的属性使得不当解雇的事后救济往往无法完全补偿劳动者的损失。建立不当解雇之临时救济措施,有条件限制解雇行为的形成效力是现代国家的普遍作法。我国现行法律不仅未在实体法中规定解雇争议期间劳动者的工作权,也未在程序法中设置相应的保全措施,使得劳动者在司法救济期间的相关利益无法得到保障。借鉴他国的立法经验,赋予部分劳动者在解雇争议处理期间享有继续工作的权利,以及建立行为保全措施,构建不当解雇之临时救济措施。     

劳动法上经济补偿的适用范围及其性质

经济补偿作为一项制度与失业保险、解雇保护立法、工会和集体谈判等相关制度密切相关,并没有统一的模式,也不应孤立地考察经济补偿制度。经济补偿的基本目的在于补偿雇员由于遭雇主解雇而丧失的工作上的财产利益,但经济补偿在不同的适用场合,其性质和功能并不相同。因此,在方法上,不必对经济补偿的性质和功能寻求统一的答案。我国《劳动合同法》扩大经济补偿的适用范围,在现阶段具有合理性和必要性。从长远看,我国应该适当缩小经济补偿的适用范围,增强这一制度的科学性和合理性。     

我国雇主责任主体制度的缺陷和完善之路径——兼评雇主责任、帮工责任和法人责任之关系

最高人民法院《关于审理人身损害赔偿案件适用法律若干问题的解释》中将雇主责任、帮工责任和法人责任分别规定，各自适用不同的法律规则。这样的规定与民事诉讼法、劳动法的相关法律规则产生了冲突和矛盾，造成劳动者或者雇员因职务行为致人损害，受害人寻求救济时陷入法律适用上的困境的问题。我国未来的《民法典》应当重视这一问题的解决，在确定雇主责任时，遵循雇主责任的法理，借鉴其他国家的成功经验，注意民法与其他部门法之间的体系化协调，将现行的雇主责任、帮工责任和法人责任合并规定，统一适用雇主自己责任，排除雇主和雇员共同责任的法律规则的适用。     

美国劳动法上雇用自由原则的公共政策例外:形成、实践与反思

公共政策例外是美国各州法院司法实务中形成的普通法例外,它构成了对美国传统劳动法上雇用自由原则的限制。该例外的适用,为那些因拒绝从事违反公共政策行为而遭解雇的员工提供了侵权法上的诉因。由于法院在适用该例外时对公共政策的涵义和法源存在不同认识,因而导致司法判决的不统一,对全面保护劳动者权益造成不利影响。为了改变这种状况,应当通过对法律的明文规定探求公共政策的法源,并在此基础上扩大公共政策例外在不当解雇案件中的适用。     

Individual Dismissals in Europe and the United States: A Model on the Influence of the Legal Framework on Firing Costs

In this article, we present a model of individual dismissals based on the workers' right to file a suit against their employer arguing that the dismissal is unjustified or unfair. The model is a standard pre-trial bargaining game between a firm and a worker. We study two cases: when the law states the severance pay for unfair dismissal (the European case), and when judges can decide freely on the compensation to be paid to the worker (the American case). The model provides some guidelines for Labour Law reforms. In the European case, a decrease in the severance pay for unfair dismissals fixed by law will decrease the severance pay offered by the firm, and only under some assumptions will decrease the expected firing cost and will increase the settlement probability. In addition, the transition from the European to the American case is likely to increase the probability of settlement (and to decrease it in the opposite case) with ambiguous effects on agreed severance pay and expected firing costs.     

论不公平条款制度——兼论我国显失公平制度之于格式条款

为防止格式条款阻却正义、伤害社会,德国和欧盟法确立了不公平条款制度,通过对违背诚信原则、导致合同权利义务严重失衡的格式条款的否定来控制格式条款的内容,保护弱势合同当事人。我国应当借鉴德国和欧盟法,在格式条款制度之下建构不公平条款制度,而不应将其整合到现行颇具争议的显失公平制度之中。我国不公平条款制度除了建立公平性审查的一般规则外,亦应当建立不公平条款"黑名单"与"灰名单"以及公平性审查之"豁免"规则,为法官、当事人、行政机关和相关社会团体提供法律指引,为格式条款自律、行政监督、公益诉讼和司法审查提供制度支撑。     

劳动合同法中经济补偿金的定性及其制度构建

作为劳动合同法中的一项重要制度,经济补偿金在性质上应当是用人单位对员工被动解除劳动关系进行帮助的义务化或法定化。在经济补偿金性质的立法讨论中,用人单位帮助义务说最集中地体现了社会法的立法思路。劳动者层次的差异性反映出了劳动者由"抽象人"向"具体人"的转变过程,应该是经济补偿金制度重构的理论基础。     

Redfearn v UK: Political Association and Dismissal

In Redfearn v UK the European Court of Human Rights examined the question whether dismissal for membership of a political party is compatible with freedom of association under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court endorsed a strong commitment to multi‐party democracy and protection of employees against the domination of the employers. This note discusses the judgment and its implications for UK law, looking at three key issues: first, whether the law of unfair dismissal provides effective protection against action that poses a threat to the enjoyment of Convention rights; second, the grounds under which an employer may justify the lawfulness of a dismissal that interferes with a Convention right; third, the available remedies against the employer when there is a breach of a Convention right.     

从就业保障权看我国劳动法

就业保障权是我国宪法保护的工作权的衍生权利。国际法对此权利的丰富内涵已有明确的标准。以这些国际标准为基准,分析我国现行劳动法对就业保障权的保护程度,并分别从反对任意解雇,限制固定期限合同,提高就业能力三方面对劳动法条文及其实践进行了考察。     

The use of medical examinations for employment purposes

This article examines a number of legal issues which arise where medical examinations or tests are used in the employment context, either to test the suitability of a prospective employee in pre-employment situations or to ascertain the fitness of existing employees. Employer justifications for seeking medical information usually relate to attempts to comply with health and safety legislation and to reduce workers compensation costs. This article discusses the legal obligations involved in pre-employment medical testing and, in particular, employee obligations to provide correct information in relation to their health to a prospective employer. It also notes the consequences for employees of providing false information in relation to workers compensation claims and dismissal cases. The article notes the growing trend of requiring drug and alcohol testing for existing employees, particularly in the mining industry. The article concludes by noting that employers need to take care in seeking medical information, and that it should not simply be done as a mechanical, matter-of-course exercise. Failure to observe anti-discrimination laws may result in the employer facing allegations of misuse of medical information and claims for damages for discrimination.     

THE RIGHT TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY IN CHINESE LABOR LAW：LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN LIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Employment security is very often examined from a labor law rather than a human rights perspective. This article looks at the employment security in Chinese labor law from a human rights perspective. The right to employment security includes both negative and positive aspects: a negative right to protection against unfair dismissal, including dismissal for cause and economic redundancy, and a positive right to employment stability. Comparing Chinese labor law with international standards, this article focuses on analyzing important changes in the legislative developments in China in the past years, such as severance pay, labor contract with indefinite duration, and labor dispatching. This article also points out the main deficiencies, such as dismissal on the ground of criminal liabilities, weakness of trade unions and law enforcement, and no exemption of small employers. The article concludes with observing a tendency of Chinese law getting closer to international standards and pointing out the approach China should follow: to enhance employability through vocational training and providing better social security when strengthening the legislative protection of employment security.     

Deregulation of dismissal law and unjust dismissal in Korea

Using data of Korean court cases, related to the unjust dismissal claims between 1987 and 2000, this paper examines how the deregulation of Korean dismissal law in 1998 affects the incidence of unjust dismissals. Logit estimation to identify the determinants of unjust dismissal rate in Korea shows that deregulation of the dismissal law led to a higher incidence of unjust dismissals. Reasons for this empirical result were explored. These included misinterpretations of the law on the part of employers, due to the disorderly process of legislation and poor coordination in industrial relations, changes in court's adjudication criteria influenced by socio-economic factors, and finally misalignment of law and economic conditions.     

Law for Life: Preliminary Thoughts

Law for Life is a training programme in contract law, unfair dismissal law and the English court system. It is aimed specifically at employees who in the course of their work are required to underdstand and apply the law regardless of whether or not they have received any formal legal training. One of the primary reasons for developing Law of Life was to provide training to the SME sector. Very often such companies do not have any in-house legal advisors and research has estimated that 70% of them do not provide any training for their employees in any aspect of their work. This suggests that smaller companies are relying on informally training, and even untrained personnel, in areas requiring legal expertise. Research carried out in the Luton area had indicated that SMEs tended to adopt a pragmatic approach to legal matters, addressing them as and when they arose. Law for Life was developed as a direct response to these findings. Recognizing that the SME sector is highly competitive, operates at minimum staffing levels and that SMEs are not generally in a position to release employees for staff training Law for Life had to be tailored to suit the needs of the SME sector. This meant that in order for Law for Life to be accessible to SME employees it had to be offered as a distance-learning package.