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Recently, the cross-border e-commerce circle was shocked by the news that a Shenzhen seller with annual sales of 800 million yuan was accused of owing wages, laying off employees, and forcing them to resign. In this article, the editor will tell you the cause and effect of the whole incident.
Shenzhen big seller was exposed for withholding wages and forced to resign
Recently, an employee of a cross-border e-commerce company in Shenzhen revealed on social media that during the epidemic, the company withheld and delayed employee commissions and wages , and required employees to sign an agreement: agreeing to overtime, pay cuts, delayed salary payments, no negative complaints, and even jogging three times a week for no less than 3 kilometers each time . If any of the conditions are not met, they will be deemed to have voluntarily accepted the active resignation arrangement.
According to the information provided by the whistleblower, the company issued three announcements during the epidemic, saying that the company has been hit by the epidemic and is currently facing a life-and-death crisis. Its cash flow can no longer be sustained, so it asked employees to sign various "controversial" treaties.
In the announcement on January 29, it was mentioned:
In an announcement on January 29, the company originally promised that the February salary would be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations of Guangdong Province . However, in the announcement on March 5, it can be seen that the commissions and wages that should have been paid in January before the epidemic were divided into three installments, and all year-end bonuses and other bonuses were cancelled. All employees who returned to work in February had their salary delayed by one month, and employees who stopped working in February did not receive any salary at all .
In the announcement on February 28, it was mentioned:
1. Agree to salary adjustment; 2. Leave work earlier than 10 pm no more than 4 times per month; 3. Jog 3 km at least 3 times a day (weekly); 4. No negative complaints. In addition, it was stated at the end that if any of the above items were not met, the performance appraisal would be D, and the applicant would not participate in any monthly bonus or profit-sharing plans and would resign voluntarily.
The March 5 announcement included: January salary will be paid in three installments. Employees who have been on standby since February have not received any salary. All employees were postponed to return to work on April 1, and their salaries were reduced by 20%-50% by default. (Employees revealed that from February to April, except for a few people, almost all employees did not receive any salary, and the right to work from home was closed at the end of January.) The Shenzhen office was closed and employees were required to work in Huizhou. If they disagreed, they would be fired with a pay cut. (Employees said that the computers originally from the Shenzhen company were secretly moved to Huizhou and the data on the computers could not be recovered.)
With annual sales of 800 million, is there really no money to be made? According to netizens, this company mainly distributes goods. At the company's annual meeting last year, it said that the company's sales in 2019 were 800 million yuan. Before the epidemic, a senior executive of the company said that 57 million RMB had not been paid back on the Amazon platform alone. Moreover, during the peak season last year, the company had been emphasizing the goal of listing, and the company's finances also stated that the company's funds had fully met the listing standards. But after the full outbreak of the epidemic, the company was said to have no money. Where did all the money go? While the employees were resting at home, they secretly emptied the Shenzhen office and spent money to buy a 7-story commercial office in Huizhou! Do they have money to buy a building but no money to pay salaries? However, some employees revealed that the company owed employees wages, while company leaders bought buildings and cars during the epidemic. In addition, employees revealed that the company maliciously tampered with sales data every month. Now the employee ERP system has been blocked, making it impossible to view commission data. In the comment section, netizens are already going crazy: At present, according to the company’s employees, the January salary was paid yesterday, but a lot of money was deducted, and they are already preparing to go to arbitration. Can’t get salary even after bankruptcy liquidation?
Due to the exposure of many employees on various social channels and media reports, the company's image in the industry has been deeply affected. On March 8, the company's senior management said in the group that "the company had been operating in debt before the New Year", and said that the announcement had detailed the cost pressure and cash flow situation of the company under the epidemic. He even threatened that if the company really went bankrupt and liquidated, employees might not get their wages , and everyone would have to take their computers with them. There was a strong threat in his words. Did he really think his employees were ignorant of the law? The company and the employees each have their own version of the story. What is the truth? An insider tried to contact several senior executives of the company, but to no avail . In addition, according to the National Enterprise Credit Inquiry System, the company is still in operation...... After a company goes bankrupt, how should the wages of liquidated employees be paid? According to the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, bankruptcy expenses and common debts are repaid first during enterprise bankruptcy liquidation. After these expenses are paid, the wages of the enterprise's employees will be paid. According to the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China Article 113 After bankruptcy expenses and common debts are paid off in priority, the bankruptcy property shall be paid off in the following order: (1) Wages and medical, disability and pensions owed by the bankrupt to employees, basic pension insurance and basic medical insurance expenses owed that should be transferred to the employees' personal accounts, and compensation that should be paid to employees as prescribed by laws and administrative regulations; (2) Social insurance expenses owed by the bankrupt other than those specified in the preceding paragraph and taxes owed by the bankrupt; (3) Ordinary bankruptcy claims. If the bankruptcy property is insufficient to pay off claims of the same order, it shall be distributed in proportion. The wages of directors, supervisors and senior managers of a bankrupt enterprise shall be calculated based on the average wage of the enterprise's employees.
The incident continues to ferment
After the incident was exposed, it was like a depth bomb, attracting the attention of many practitioners in the industry and continuing to ferment on social media such as Weibo and Zhihu. In response to this question, some netizens said they had the same experience, some said they were very angry when seeing this kind of thing, and some supported the company's employees to take up legal weapons to protect their legal rights... Some netizens said: If you break my wings, I will destroy your paradise! Place an order, refund, place an order, refund, the inventory is ruined, then open AZ, open Chargeback, brush bad reviews, the store is ruined, and then the store collapses in minutes! Of course, this idea is not rational. Some netizens expressed their determination to defend their legitimate rights and interests.
Netizen: The company has breached the contract and violated the labor law in various ways. This week, I can only apply for labor arbitration. I still have to protect my legal rights through legal channels. Of course, more netizens are angry: Such a company is cheating and treating labor laws as a joke. It is really the scum of the industry and should be despised by everyone! It must be exposed!
With layoffs and salary cuts amid the epidemic, how can cross-border people protect themselves?
Judging from the current development of the incident, it is still impossible to judge the company's cash flow because both parties have their own opinions. If the company really needs to lay off employees and cut wages to survive, it must negotiate with employees to ensure their basic living. At the same time, it must be open and honest to let employees understand the company's true situation. Don't avoid answering. I believe that employees are willing to work with the company to overcome difficulties. On the other hand, companies should take the initiative to seek change, adjust their strategies, and actively seek self-reliance. In addition, the many policies that benefit enterprises issued by the government and financial institutions will help these companies overcome difficulties. However, if the company has sufficient cash flow, they will take advantage of the epidemic to sell misery , lay off employees in disguise, cut wages, deduct wages, force employees to resign, and even threaten employees with bankruptcy and liquidation! Such tricks are too dirty, and such companies have simply brought shame to the cross-border industry! Since this incident involved hundreds of employees, it quickly fermented in the cross-border e-commerce circle and even attracted the attention of the Shenzhen Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. This gave operators who were struggling in the e-commerce circle a glimmer of hope, and also made many workers under the epidemic no longer worried. We hope that this company can take on the responsibility that a business should, face up to all existing problems, and negotiate with its employees in an open and honest manner. We also hope that its employees can consider the matter from the business’s perspective, and that with the mediation of relevant government departments, both parties can resolve the matter reasonably and legally. I hope that the company can take on more responsibilities during the epidemic, and I also wish the company’s employees can fight for their due rights through legal means! Statement: When reprinting this article, the title and original text must not be modified, and the source and original link must be retained. | 
