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Labor relations and labor service relations are two important and often mentioned legal concepts, but they are often easily confused. There is only one word difference between "labor relations" and "labor service relations", but they are very different. We often see some people who have reached retirement age still working. So if they continue to work after retirement, is it a labor relationship or a labor service relationship with the company?

In 2021, 59-year-old Ma joined a hotel to work as a cleaner. The two parties did not sign a relevant contract, but only verbally agreed that the working period would be two years.

In September 2023, Ma heard that his colleague Li (37 years old) had sued a hotel in court after leaving the company, demanding compensation for double wages for not signing a written labor contract and economic compensation during the period of labor relations, and the court supported it. Ma then sued the hotel in the People's Court of Chenggu County, Shaanxi Province when he left the company, demanding that the defendant hotel compensate him for double wages for not signing a written labor contract and economic compensation during the period of labor relations.

After the court accepted the case, the judge patiently explained the law to Ma, who eventually understood the difference between himself and Li and applied to the court to withdraw the lawsuit.

According to Article 21 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, the labor contract shall be terminated when the worker reaches the statutory retirement age. According to the relevant provisions of the Interim Measures of the State Council on the Retirement and Resignation of Workers, the retirement age for female workers is 50 years old. Article 44 (2) of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 21 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Labor Contract Law respectively stipulate the circumstances under which the labor contract between the worker who "enjoys basic pension benefits according to law" and the worker who "reaches the statutory retirement age" and the employer shall be terminated.

In this case, when Ma joined the defendant hotel, he had reached the statutory retirement age and had already enjoyed basic pension insurance benefits. Therefore, there was no labor relationship between Ma and the defendant hotel, only a service relationship.

Li, the colleague mentioned by Ma, had not reached retirement age when he joined the company, so it should be recognized that there was a labor relationship between Li and the hotel. When he joined the company, the hotel did not sign a labor contract with Li, but later took the initiative to negotiate with Li and proposed to terminate the labor contract. Therefore, Li's claim for economic compensation during the period of the labor contract should be supported.

In this case, the plaintiff Ma and the defendant hotel established a labor relationship, which does not fall within the scope of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China. Therefore, the plaintiff's claim for economic compensation cannot be supported.

Xiaoxiang Morning News, China Court Network, Shandong High Court

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