Basic Facts

In January 2022, Sun Mou, an employee of a company, was injured in a traffic accident on his way to work. The traffic police department determined that Sun Mou was not responsible for the accident. The company was unwilling to file an application for work-related injury recognition with the human resources and social security department, so Sun Mou filed the application on his own. Since some procedures required the company's cooperation to complete, the company presented a "Commitment and Guarantee Letter", stating that it would cooperate only if Sun Mou signed to promise to voluntarily terminate the labor relationship with the company and voluntarily waive all work-related injury insurance benefits that the company should bear. Sun Mou had no choice but to sign the "Commitment and Guarantee Letter". In August 2023, the human resources and social security department identified Sun Mou as having a work-related injury. After a labor capacity appraisal, Sun Mou's injury was determined to constitute a Grade 6 disability. In April 2024, Sun Mou received a one-time disability subsidy paid by the work-related injury insurance fund. In August 2024, Sun Mou applied for labor arbitration, requesting the termination of the labor relationship with the company and that the company pay him wages during the work suspension period and a one-time employment subsidy for disability. The Labor Dispute Arbitration Commission rejected Sun Mou's arbitration request on the grounds that the relevant matters had been stipulated in the "Commitment and Guarantee Letter". Sun Mou was dissatisfied and filed a lawsuit with the court.

Court Judgment

The court held that Sun Mou's request for the employer to pay the work-related injury insurance benefits it should bear is his legal right, and it is unreasonable for Sun Mou to "voluntarily" waive the work-related injury insurance benefits worth hundreds of thousands of yuan that he could claim from the company. The content of the "Commitment and Guarantee Letter" signed between the company and Sun Mou, which involves Sun Mou waiving his legal rights and the company being exempted from performing its legal obligations, leads to an obvious imbalance of rights and obligations between the two parties, constituting a situation of obvious unfairness. When Sun Mou needed the company's cooperation to apply for work-related injury recognition, the company took advantage of its dominant position to sign the obviously unfair "Commitment and Guarantee Letter" with Sun Mou, which constituted taking advantage of others' difficulties. The content of the "Commitment and Guarantee Letter" was not Sun Mou's true and free expression of will and should be deemed invalid. Finally, the court ruled that the company should pay Sun Mou wages during the work suspension period and a one-time employment subsidy for disability.

Judge's Statement

According to the provisions of the "Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance", work-related injury insurance benefits include items borne by the work-related injury insurance fund and items borne by the employer. For employees who are identified as having Grade 5 or Grade 6 disabilities due to work-related injuries, the work-related injury insurance fund shall pay a one-time disability subsidy, and the employer shall pay wages during the work suspension period; if an employee with Grade 5 or Grade 6 disabilities due to work-related injuries terminates or ends the labor relationship with the employer, the work-related injury insurance fund shall also pay a one-time medical subsidy for work-related injuries, and the employer shall also pay a one-time employment subsidy for disability. In this case, Sun Mou was identified as having a Grade 6 disability, and the labor relationship between Sun Mou and the company was confirmed to be terminated by the court, so the company should pay him wages during the work suspension period, a one-time employment subsidy for disability, etc.

According to Article 35 of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases (I)", an agreement reached between a worker and an employer is valid only if there are no circumstances such as fraud, coercion, or taking advantage of others' difficulties. If there are circumstances of gross misunderstanding or obvious unfairness, the parties may request revocation. In this case, if the company had not cooperated with Sun Mou in completing the application materials, Sun Mou would not have been able to apply for work-related injury recognition. The company took advantage of Sun Mou's difficult situation to sign an obviously unfair agreement with him, and such an agreement should be legally deemed invalid.

If a worker suffers a work-related injury due to a third party's infringement and the infringer has compensated the worker for losses, the worker can still enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits except for medical expenses. Work-related injury insurance belongs to the field of public law, and infringement belongs to the field of private law. Unless otherwise stipulated by law, the protection of both public law and private law should be realized in judicial practice. In judicial practice, the compensation a worker receives in an infringement case may not fully compensate for his losses. At this time, the guarantee and relief function of social insurance is particularly important. If a worker suffers a work-related injury due to a third party's infringement, he must not forget that he has the right to obtain "double compensation".

Legal Provisions

Paragraph 1 of Article 33 of the "Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance": Employees who need to suspend work for medical treatment due to work-related accidents or occupational diseases shall, during the work suspension period, maintain their original wage and welfare benefits, which shall be paid monthly by their employer.

Article 36: Employees who are identified as having Grade 5 or Grade 6 disabilities due to work-related injuries shall enjoy the following treatments:(1) A one-time disability subsidy shall be paid from the work-related injury insurance fund according to the disability grade. The standard is: 18 months of the employee's own wage for Grade 5 disability, and 16 months of the employee's own wage for Grade 6 disability;(2) The labor relationship with the employer shall be retained, and the employer shall arrange appropriate work. If it is difficult to arrange work, the employer shall pay a disability allowance monthly, with the standard being 70% of the employee's own wage for Grade 5 disability and 60% of the employee's own wage for Grade 6 disability. The employer shall pay all social insurance premiums that should be paid in accordance with regulations. If the actual amount of the disability allowance is lower than the local minimum wage standard, the employer shall make up the difference.Upon the application of the employee with work-related injury, the employee may terminate or end the labor relationship with the employer. The work-related injury insurance fund shall pay a one-time medical subsidy for work-related injuries, and the employer shall pay a one-time employment subsidy for disability. The specific standards for the one-time medical subsidy for work-related injuries and the one-time employment subsidy for disability shall be prescribed by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

This article is reprinted from the WeChat official account "Yufa Yangguang" (Henan Judiciary Sunshine), and we express our gratitude here!