This is a labor dispute case arising from a worker’s desire to delay retirement. The plaintiff in the case is a company management company in Guangdong (Company A), and the defendant is Ms. Ou. The case is a labor contract dispute.

1.Basic Case Summary

Ms. Ou is a financial employee of Company A. 

In May 2018, Ms. Ou was employed by Company A as a middle-level economist, but there was no agreement in their labor contract that Ms. Ou was in a management position.

 On April 9, 2019, Company A sent Ms. Ou a “Notice of Retirement,” informing her that she would reach the legal retirement age on April 10, 2019, and notifying her to handle retirement procedures and complete work handover within the specified period.

 On April 10, 2019, Ms. Ou turned 50 years old. She believed that during her working period, she had obtained the professional qualifications of a junior accountant and a middle-level economist, and enjoyed the treatment of professional title subsidy, so she should be classified as a female cadre. Therefore, she applied to Company A to choose to retire at 55 years old. After inquiring with relevant departments, Company A believed that she had reached the legal retirement age and sent her another “Notice of Retirement.” 

From April 1, 2019, to July 1, 2022, Ms. Ou repeatedly filed applications through labor arbitration, social security fund management, human resources and social security authorities, etc., to clarify her retirement age, but was rejected multiple times. 

On August 11, 2022, the Human Resources and Social Security Authority issued a “Notice of Retirement Age Clarification,” confirming that Ms. Ou is a female employee engaged in a professional and technical position and can retire at the cadre age of 55. 

After negotiations between Company A and Ms. Ou, she returned to her position on September 1, 2022. After returning to her position, Ms. Ou applied for labor arbitration with Company A as the respondent, requesting confirmation that the labor relationship between the two parties still existed from May 2019 to August 2022, and requesting the payment of 310,000 yuan in wages from May 2019 to August 2022. 

On November 6, 2022, the Labor Arbitration Commission made a ruling in accordance with the law; Ms. Ou was dissatisfied with the arbitration ruling regarding the payment of wages and appealed to the court.

2.Handling Results

On November 6, 2022, the Labor Arbitration Commission made a ruling: confirming that the labor relationship between the two parties still existed from May 2019 to August 2022, and reimbursing the wages for that period amounting to 70,000 yuan due to the fact that no labor was provided during that time. 

Ms. Ou appealed to the court because she was not satisfied with the determination of the amount of wages to be reimbursed in the ruling. 

On June 2, 2023, the court made a judgment: confirming that the labor relationship between the two parties still existed from May 2019 to August 2022, and reimbursing the wages for that period amounting to 70,000 yuan due to the fact that no labor was provided during that time. 

The court’s judgment was consistent with the arbitration commission’s ruling: given that Ms. Ou did not provide any labor from May 2019 to August 2022, it was determined that her wages for that period should be calculated based on the minimum wage standard of Foshan City. Company A reduced the amount of wages to be reimbursed by 240,000 yuan.

3.Case Insights

In this case, Company A actively and legally responded to the handling of the case. After the dispute arose, Company A sent several letters to relevant departments to determine Ms. Ou’s retirement age but was unable to confirm her retirement age only because it did not receive a clear response; at the same time, given its active and legal response, it provided some factual basis for the arbitration commission and the court to discretionarily order Company A to calculate Ms. Ou’s wages from May 2019 to August 2022 based on the minimum wage standard of Foshan City. 

Therefore, in the process of handling the issue of workers’ retirement age, in addition to clearly stipulating in the labor contract that the worker’s position belongs to a “management position,” it is also necessary to comprehensively determine whether the worker’s position belongs to a “professional technical position.” In cases similar to Company A in this case, it is advisable to follow procedures to notify workers of retirement, consult with relevant departments, and retain relevant evidence to prove that the employer actively handles related issues during the worker’s status being undetermined, in order to obtain discretionary handling by the court and actively communicate with workers after receiving a response, properly handle the relationship between the employer and the worker, and standardize management.

4.Research insights

As the aging of our population deepens, labor disputes arising from employee retirement are increasing. This case suggests that before handling employee retirement matters, enterprises should communicate and negotiate fully with employees, respect their right to choose their retirement age, ensure that both parties have a clear understanding and consensus on retirement matters, and avoid unilateral decision-making. Additionally, in the daily personnel management process, enterprises can conduct legal risk assessments in advance regarding the issue of employee retirement age, take corresponding legal measures to prevent and resolve legal issues related to retirement age.

5.Relevant laws and regulations

• Notice of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on Preventing and Rectifying the Problem of Early Retirement of Enterprise Employees in Violation of National Regulations (Labor and Social Security Department Issue (1999) No. 8) The national legal retirement age for enterprise employees is 60 for men, 50 for female workers, and 55 for female cadres.

• Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Internal Personnel, Labor, and Distribution Systems in State-owned Enterprises (National Economic and Trade Commission, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Labor and Social Security (2001) No. 230) Cancel the administrative level of enterprises. Enterprises will no longer apply the administrative levels of national organs, and managers will no longer enjoy the administrative level treatment of national organ cadres. Break down the traditional boundaries between “cadres” and “workers,” shifting from identity management to post management. Those working in management positions are managers. After a change of position, their income and other benefits should be adjusted accordingly to the new position.

• Guangdong Provincial Department of Labor and Guangdong Provincial Social Insurance Management Bureau Forwarding the Original Notice of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on Preventing and Rectifying the Problem of Early Retirement of Enterprise Employees in Violation of National Regulations (Guangdong Labor Wage (1999) No. 114) The determination of the current position of female employees should be based on the labor contract signed between the employer and the employee. That is, regardless of whether the original identity is a worker or cadre, their current position should be based on the position determined in the labor contract. Anyone who has worked in the current position for more than one year should be identified by the current position.