Category: Uncategorized

最近有朋友问我自己要跟公司签署合作协议了，对方要求持股超过50%，怀疑对方会在绝对控股的情况下掏空公司，我们有哪些预防机制？

让我们来讨论一下《李子柒与微念》的纷争案例，该案涉及股权问题。这个案例中出现了一个现象级的内容创作者被资本方持有了51%的股权，似乎被剥夺了控制权。控股51%意味着什么？资本方就能完全控制李子柒吗？

1、股权架构为什么很重要？

股权设计的终极目的是为企业运营输送源源不断的、最底层、最原生的动力。股权架构更是一个牵一发而动全身的系统：

A、法律方面：控制权设计、经营风险隔离。

B、税务方面：合法节税、防税务风险。

C、 财务方面：融资和上市、资产保值增值、财富家族传承。

D、 管理方面：推动战略落地、激活组织潜能、优化商业模式。

2、公司有哪些分类？

为了便于理解不同持股比例所代表的含义，可以将公司分为 4 类来分别说明：有限公司、非公众股份公司、新三板公司（属于非上市公众公司）、上市公司。这些公司各有特点：

A、有限公司：兼具人合和资合两种属性。

B、非公众股份公司：是纯粹的资合公司，资本起着决定性作用，公司的资本越雄厚，其信用越好。

C、新三板公司：新三板，即全国中小企业股份转让系统，是经国务院批准设立的全国性证券交易场所。

D、上市公司：是指股票在证券交易所上市交易的股份有限公司。

3、不同类型公司中持股比例意味着什么？

1）有限公司需要重点注意的持股比例有如下几种：

A、完美控股线 67%：对股东会所有决策，均有一票通过权。

B、绝对控股线 51%：除 7 类事项外，拥有决策权。

C、股东捣蛋线 34%：对股东会的 7 类事项决策拥有一票否决权。

D、外资待遇线 25%：外国投资者比例高于 25%，方可享受外商投资企业待遇。

E、重大影响线 20%：股东需要用权益法对该投资进行会计核算。

F、申请解散线 10%：拥有申请法院解散公司和召开临时股东会的权利。

2）非公众股份公司需要重点注意的持股比例有如下几种：

A、申请公司解散线、股东大会召集线 10%：拥有申请法院解散公司和召集临时股东会的权利。

B、股东提案资格线 3%：有提交股东大会议案的资格。

C、股东代表诉讼线 1%：当董事高管侵害公司利益时，有权提起诉讼。

3）新三板公司需要重点注意的持股比例有如下几种：

A、重大重组通过线 67%：重大资产重组须经出席会议的股东所持表决权的 2/3 以上通过。

B、实际控制认定线 30%：实际支配挂牌公司股份表决权超过 30% 被认定为拥有新三板挂牌公司的控制权。

C、权益变动报告线 10%：投资人拥有权益的股份达到已发行股份的 10%，需编制并披露权益变动报告书。

D、重要股东判断线 5%：权益受限要披露；减持披露；拥有权益增减幅达 5% 要披露；自愿要约收购，约定比例不低于 5%；外资比例超过 5% 要备案。

4）上市公司需要重点注意的持股比例有如下几种：

A、重大事项通过线 67%

B、实际控制认定线、要约收购触碰线 30%

C、首发公众股比线 25%

D、权益变动报告线、科创板激励上限 20%

E、激励总量控制线 10%

F、重要股东判断线 5%

G、股东减持限制线 2%

H、独立董事提议线 1%

4、分股不分权有哪些方法？

如何做到分钱不分权？有这 7 种控制权设计工具可以使用：

A、有限合伙架构

B、金字塔架构

C、一致行动人

D、委托投票权

E、公司章程控制

F、优先股

G、AB 股模式

等等…

这里我们回到《李子柒与微念》的案例。微念控股拥有51%的股权，这到底意味着什么呢？难道他们就能完全控制李子柒吗？虽然微念控股拥有51%的股权，但仍有7个事项无法完全由他们决定。尽管如此，拥有51%的股权基本上已经给予了他们对大部分事项的决策权。因此，我们还是不禁对李子柒感到惋惜。

所以，我们尽量避免签署这种协议。

其次，如果必须签署这种协议的话，我们有一些预防机制可以参考下：

1、 一致行动协议

2、投票权委托协议

3、签署代持协议

4、设立持股平台

了解更多请电邮 info@asgard.fi

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一、相关概念

标准必要专利（Standard-Essential Patents, SEPs）：为实施某一项标准技术不可回避、必须使用的专利，因此在权利人与实施人最终达成许可之前，侵权具有必然性。本案中OPPO要发展5G技术必须使用某些NOKIA享有的专利（标准必要专利）。

FRAND费率：“公平、合理、无歧视”的许可义务，对于愿意支付合理使用费的善意的标准使用者，标准必要专利权人不得径直拒绝许可，既要保证专利权人能够从技术创新中获得足够的回报，同时也避免标准必要专利权利人借助标准所形成的强势地位索取高额许可费率或附加不合理条件。

NPE（Non-practicing Entity）：非专利实施主体，指拥有大量专利但并不进行实体生产销售的主体。

PAE（Patent Assertion Entity）：专利主张主体，通过收购、许可等方式积累大量专利，未寻求任何许可谈判直接对目标公司发起专利侵权诉讼，最后通过和解或法院判决赔偿等方式获取高额利益，而这些专利往往质量低下。

二、案例简述：

NOKIA：SEPs权利人。掌握多项标准必要专利，包括重要5G专利。在手机业务衰落后，专利许可费用已经成为NOKIA的主要收入来源，2020年达14.02亿欧元。

OPPO：SEPs实施者。中国著名通讯品牌之一，近年来发展5G业务，具有一定的专利积累。

OPPO与NOKIA曾就4G有关专利授权达成合作，但5G时代来临，NOKIA掌握多项SEPs，OPPO发展5G业务需要使用该SEPs。双方对5G SEP的许可合同进行了长时间的谈判，但一直对许可费不能达成一致意见。OPPO认为NOKIA主张的许可费极为不合理，在此情况下，NOKIA在多个国家起诉OPPO侵犯其专利权，并获得胜诉。

三、案例分析

双方争议的焦点在于专利许可费用，依据标准必要专利需要使用FRAND费率标准的规定，许可费需要公平、合理、无歧视。但这三个词在实际案例中是非常模糊的，许可费定价并没有绝对的公平，最终价格的确定主要依靠双方的协商一致。

公平、合理、无歧视的价格参考是:

1. 特定主体过去几年对外许可费率
2. 与该主体专利体量相当的公司，对外提供的许可费率
3. 被许可方的专利积累，比如双方是否存在交叉许可的状况

根据此前资料显示，几家海外通信巨头在2018年分别公布了其5G专利的授权费用。

NOKIA5G专利收费标准：每台5G手机最高收取3欧元的专利费。

爱立信：每台收取5美元的许可费，对于售价较低的设备每台收取2.5美元的许可费用（不包括2G、3G、4G的专利许可费）

高通：按设备的终端售价来收取一定比例的费用，单模5G手机费率为2.275％，多模5G手机(3G/4G/5G) 的费率为3.25％。

华为：设备的终端售价收取一定比例的费用，其收费上限为每台2.5美元。

由此可见，与同行业相比NOKIA的收费标准并非最高的，是属于行业平均范围内。当然收费标准只供参考，并不一定是NOKIA向OPPO的实际要价，有消息称NOKIA的要价大约每部手机270元人民币。

而德国分析机构IPlytics的报告显示，截止到2021年2月份，全球5G标准必要专利声明排行榜中，NOKIA以9.01%的专利占比位居第六位，OPPO以3.47%的份额位居榜单的第九位。只不过OPPO的专利更多集中在产品端。依据专利积累情况，虽然OPPO也有很多专利，但NOKIA可能并不需要用到，而NOKIA的专利则是OPPO的必需品，所以实际交叉许可的情况可能并不普遍存在。

虽然争议的焦点在于专利许可费用，但NOKIA起诉OPPO，法院也要考虑实际的侵权状况。对于标准必要专利诉讼，实施者在主张自身行为并非构成侵权是非常困难的，其诉讼策略是通过主张FRAND费率和反垄断诉讼对冲侵权指控，并期望法院判决获得一个更符合自身期待的许可费用。而权利人则也可能想通过诉讼向实施者施加压力，使其接受许可费用。实际参与诉讼的可能并非仅有上述两方，一些NPE公司或者PAE公司也会参与其中，它们以收取专利授权费用为主业，以大量侵权诉讼谋取利益。

四、对企业的法律建议

（一）SEPs实施者

1、做好事前风险评估。许多企业在获得SEPs许可之前就会进行相关产品的研发和推广，此时便要考虑SEPs许可费的预期，以及在不能谈妥条件下面临的诉讼风险。若败诉，企业就要面临相关产品强制退出市场、金钱赔偿等禁令，在多数情况下是较严重的损失。此时就需要衡量延期开发风险和后期败诉风险，争取损失最小化。

2、善于谈判。由于权利人收到SEP许可申请时，实施者可能已经推出了符合标准的产品，所以SEP许可谈判不是对未来商业合作的先期协商。而SEP相关的诉讼往往在多个国家进行平行诉讼，耗费大量时间和金钱成本，同时相关产品可能受到诉讼禁令而停滞，所以在谈判阶段解决纠纷，是降低诉讼风险的重要方式。此外。诉讼和谈判并非完全冲突，谈判可以贯穿诉讼的过程，如果能在判决之前双方达成和解，也是理想的情况。

3、制定科学的诉讼策略。在诉讼阶段，SEPs的实施者在主张自身不构成侵权方面并不占优势。所以就需要更佳巧妙、灵活的诉讼策略，比如利用反垄断发诉讼，主张FRAND费率不合理等方式。任何应对策略都需要充分的准备工作，包括对司法环境和类似案例的准确研判，对律师团队的合理选择等。

（二）SEPs权利人

1、避免滥用市场支配地位和恶意诉讼。由于FRAND规定了善意、公平合理的许可费率，因此权利人不可将许可费设置畸高。过高定价加上大量标准必要专利使得权利人容易被判定为滥用市场支配地位，违反反垄断法的规定，可能遭到行政处罚。

2、衡量诉讼成本和风险。相较于谈判和解而言，诉讼的成本和风险都是较高的。当然不排除权利人将诉讼视为一种谈判手段，令实施者接受其目标许可费用。但这一过程权利人需要谨慎考量，争取利益最大化。

参考文献：

王昭林、潘俊林，《IoT时代来临，如何有效开展SEP的许可谈判》，2022年6月
贾明顺，《标准必要专利的权利属性及其法律限制》，《甘肃社会科学》2020年第5期

在中国“一带一路”政策的支持下，中国和北欧的经济贸易合作愈发紧密，许多中国和北欧的科技型企业进行技术交流与商业合作。但由于两地的法律、政策、文化观念以及双方的技术水平、经济实力存在差异，在合作过程中就不可避免地会产生一些法律问题或纠纷。对科技型企业而言，知识产权保护就是一个极为重要的问题。此篇文章旨在介绍中国和北欧知识产权法的差异，帮助企业树立知识产权保护意识，识别当前企业知识产权保护存在的问题，以避免商业合作与发展中的知识产权风险。

一、中国—北欧知识产权法的比较

中国和北欧有基本相同的知识产权保护体系，但在具体条文和司法模式等方面又存在显著不同。相较于民法、刑法等传统法律部门而言，知识产权法是比较新的部门法，它的地区差异性较低，全球化程度较高。所以在世界范围内，主要国家都有着大致类似的知识产权法律体系。但是受一个国家法治发展程度、法律体制和知识产权保护意识的不同，各个国家在知识产权认定、保护惩罚力度等方面又存在差异。

• 立法方面：

北欧国家作为欧盟的一部分，适用欧盟的系列知识产权法律，但国内法又存在细微差异。欧洲专利局可以代表成员国授予专利，即取得欧洲专利就能成为成员国的专利，但专利也要受指定的成员国的国内法规则管辖。虽然北欧与欧盟其他国家以及北欧各个国家之间的法律都不尽相同，但均通过地区性公约、指令和条例的形式存在。总体而言北欧知识产权法体系完备、有明确的技术标准且保护力度大。

中国的知识产权法律建设起步较晚，与北欧相比完善程度较低。比如存在由于成文法典的滞后性，法律的修改完善跟不上技术发展的速度，也没有比较明确清晰的产品技术标准。但中国近年来越发重视知识产权保护，新修订的著作权法以及外商投资法中知识产权部分都体现出知识产权法的发展与进步，为外资企业在中国的知识产权保护提供了保障。

• 司法方面

北欧非常注重知识产权案件审判的效率问题，司法旨在节约时间和金钱成本。同时对知识产权的保护力度较强，相应的打击知识产权侵权力度也较大。在北欧知识产权犯罪是属于刑事犯罪，在受到财产惩罚如赔偿损失和罚款外还可能遭到人身惩罚。

中国的知识产权司法更重视结果的正确性，审理周期较长效率较低。同时知识产权侵权行为被划分为经济领域的犯罪，即使是严重的知识产权侵权也只会受到财产惩罚。

• 行政执法方面

北欧作为欧盟的一部分，知识产权案件可以适用欧盟专利管理机构，案件办理简便有效。欧盟主要以司法手段为主导，国际贸易中主要依靠海关行政执法，且知识产权的海关保护在全球都是较为先进和完善的。

中国主要依靠行政执法为主导，司法审判与行政执法并行的执法模式。中国设置了国家知识产权局、商标局、版权局等多个知识产权管理部门，管理体系和程序是比较复杂和繁琐的。知识产权海关保护制度还有待完善。但近年来各地成立了知识产权法院，为知识产权诉讼提供了便利。

当前中国和北欧并没有专门的知识产权条约，但是双方都加入了主要的知识产权国际公约，因此可以通过PCT程序进行国际专利申请，或者进行国际商标注册等进行知识产权的国际保护。

主要知识产权国际公约

专利：《保护工业产权巴黎公约》《专利合作条约》

著作权：《保护文学和艺术作品伯尔尼公约》

商标：《商标国际注册马德里协定》

二、知识产权对企业的重要性

技术是第一生产力，知识产权对企业的竞争与发展而言是非常重要的。从产生一个创新想法到将其转化为有形的物质载体比如设计图纸或者程序代码，再到最后的制造成果与技术应用，这是无形财产变为有形财产的过程。技术就是无形财产，尤其对于中小企业和科创型企业而言，技术就是其在市场竞争的核心与关键。因此保护知识产权就是保护企业的财产，就是提高企业的市场竞争力。

在过去的几年间，尤其是中国的知识产权建设不完善，企业和国民的知识产权意识淡薄的时候，国际贸易中中国企业时常遇到知识产权诉讼，并遭到相关部门的罚款，这对企业的发展是沉重的打击。近年来，中国打击知识产权侵权力度加大，国民观念提高，并且科技技术进步，许多中国企业又转变成为被侵权方。而且国际贸易形势紧张，知识产权侵权与反不当竞争法、反垄断紧密结合，知识产权也会变为一种企业抢占市场和国家贸易保护的手段。因此企业应当更加注重知识产权的保护与建设。

国际贸易中常见的知识产权风险

展会活动：在展会活动中，侵权产品会受到相关部门的禁令或者撤展。

商标抢注：商标被抢先注册，会降低原有品牌的影响力和价值，甚至导致原本产品在抢注地变为侵权产品。

专利诉讼：一些竞争者利用专利诉讼的手段进行不正当牟利，即“专利流氓”行为。

进口限制：如果产品或者技术被判定侵权则可能受到国家相关部门的进口限制，企业便失去该国市场。

三、企业知识产权保护的问题与不足

随着国家知识产权保护工作的进步，国民知识产权保护意识逐渐加强，较多企业已经意识到知识产权保护的重要性。但是对于一些初创企业和中小型企业，其知识产权保护工作仍待加强。

企业对侵权行为和被侵权行为都不知情。很多企业由于缺乏员工培训和管理工作，对员工在工作中的侵权行为并不了解，直到被被侵权方起诉才知晓自身侵权的行为。也有部分企业并不重视自身产权保护，对自己的技术被侵权并不在意或者根本不知情，导致无形的损失。

企业仅有侵权行为的事后应对，并无事前预防措施。很多企业在被侵权之后才会采取相应的措施，但此时自身的权益已经遭到损害，市场份额已经被抢占，品牌影响力已经下降。即使进行侵权诉讼，诉讼的时间和金钱成本都是巨大的，且得到的损害赔偿很大概率也不足以弥补企业遭受到的损害。

缺乏资金和人才。中小型企业和初创企业本身规模小，启动资金较少，面临融资困难的问题。而且企业人员相对较少，没有专门的法律部门也无聘请知识产权专业人士的指导。在企业发展中更加注重实质技术的开发和市场拓展，也忽视了相应的知识产权建设与保护，都是日后埋下了知识产权安全隐患。

缺乏知识产权战略管理规划。知识产权是企业的无形财产，企业不仅需要申请专利和注册商标、保护知识产权不被侵权，更需要充分发挥知识产权的商业价值，使无形财产变为有形资产。这就需要企业建设科学的知识产权管理战略规划，从知识产权合规入手，重视知识产权的质量，规划知识产权的利用方案，做好侵权预警等工作。

IPR protection is crucial to the enterprise’s development. Building a sound IPR system can protect an enterprise’s technological achievements from the R&D stage, prevent IPR legal risks and give full play to the commercial value of technology, thereby improving the market competitiveness. This article will answer the question of “how to build an IP system for enterprises” from three aspects: IPR compliance, risk assessment and dispute resolution.

1. Intellectual Property Right Compliance System

The IPR compliance system aims to make all things related to IPRs in business comply with the laws and regulations, so as to prevent IPR legal risks and improve IPR utilization. According to the process of technology development to implementation, the IPR compliance system can be subdivided into R&D legal compliance system, achievement management system, trade secret risk control and management system, early warning system and rights safeguard system. Depending on the different business sectors, IPR compliance needs to be carried out from various aspects such as corporate regulations and principles, specific projects, workflow & guidelines, and ledger management.

Enterprise needs to consider IPR protection issue from the R&D stage. The most important thing at this stage is to apply for patents, trademarks and other IPR protection as early as possible to avoid being infringed. “The IPRs highland, if I don’t occupy it, others will.” The consequence of being occupied by others is that the enterprise may lose its market advantage, and even its own products will become infringing products and be restricted from use. On the other hand, early application to occupy the highland will become an advantage in deterring the infringement allegations and seizing business opportunities. IP laws also show the significance of timing in many aspects, such as the priority principle in patent law, the first-to-file principle in trademark law and the confidentiality measures system in trade secrets. The law protects the know-how that has priority of application and use.

2. Intellectual Property Risk Assessment

Applying for IPR as soon as possible is only small part of the IPR protection in the business, which is not enough. IP legal risks exist at all stages of a project and in all aspects of an enterprise’s business. Therefore, enterprises need to accurately identify and assess the risks in order to avoid losses to the greatest extent.

• Risk identification

At the technology development stage, enterprises need to conduct a detailed and thorough IPR background investigation. For example, it is necessary to know the patent situation and legal status of the industry : if the technology has already been developed; if it may use the existing IPRs of others; and if some areas of technology are often subject to infringement lawsuits. There are many ways to do this, such as checking patent and trademark registrations on official websites, learning the latest developments and trends through industry reports, or entrusting the professionals to conduct surveys. Only by fully understanding the industry situation can enterprises avoid risks and save costs.

• Risk assessment

Enterprises should assess the risks identified during the R&D and implementation stages to make scientific decisions. Before launching and developing of a technology, if the patent pre-search  reveals that other companies are developing or have already done the relevant technology, the company will need to decide whether to continue the development or not based on the level of exploitation and commercial value of the technology.

During the development, various tangible and intangible documentary vehicles are generated. For example, design drawings, plans, software programs, etc. On the one hand, enterprises should protect the documents, which contain important technical information and trade secrets, from theft. On the other hand, it should be wary of conscious or unconscious leakage by staff. When releasing technical information and important documents, and even when designing marketing promotional materials, companies should be cautious to check the content to avoid revealing too much technical information that can be used by competitors and thus lose their competitive edge.

Recruitment and staff training is also an important aspect of preventing IP risks. Before recruitment, companies should do a proper IP background check, for example, whether the person has ever committed any IP infringement. After the employees have joined the company, they should be trained to protect IPRs and trade secrets in work and informed to avoid infringing on the others’ IPRs.

• Risk response

Companies need to take appropriate risk response measures to prevent and cope with the risks. Firstly, the company has to develop a plan to deal with the risk before it arises. Because time is tight after a risk has arisen, sometimes managers are unable to come up with prefect solutions quickly. Secondly, enterprises should design compliance evaluation and accountability mechanisms to assess the compliance levels of various work; develop perfect accountability mechanisms and reward & punishment standards to ensure that there are rules to follow and responsibilities to pursue when risks arise. Finally, in the process of business cooperation and results application, attention should be paid to the formulation and signing of contracts, such as the formulating exemption clauses and liability sharing clauses, so as to avoid taking unnecessary risks and adverse consequences caused by partners or third parties.

3. Intellectual Property Litigation Strategy

Having a comprehensive risk identification, assessment and response compliance systems in the early and mid stages can avoid IP risks as far as possible. However, there is always the possibility of commercial conflicts or IPR disputes during the companies development, even for well-known and large enterprises. This requires companies to have a scientific and effective dispute resolution strategy.

Holistic assessment. 

Firstly, after a dispute has arisen, companies need to make a throughout assessment of it. For example, the reason for the dispute, whether it is companies’ own responsibility, where the key points of the dispute are, and the possible impact of the dispute on the business, including but not limited to actual economic loss and brand influence.

Negotiation and settlement. 

Secondly, negotiation and settlement are the preferred options for dispute resolution as litigation is more costly in terms of time, money and manpower. It is the most efficient method if it can be resolved through amicable negotiation. To achieve this, both parties to the conflict may need to make certain compromise, like giving a certain amount of compensation to salvage the bigger picture through smaller losses.

Referral to professionals. 

When a dispute is irreconcilable and must be resolved by litigation or arbitration. The company then needs to refer it to a legal professional. Even if the company has a legal department, which may lack practical experience in litigation, so it is recommended to work with a specialist law firm or team to win the case.

During the epidemic, Chinese enterprises’ producticity have been affected, the workload of employees has decreased, and many people have worked from home. Because the profits declined, some companies chose to reduce employees’ salaries to tide over the difficult time, resulting in a number of labor disputes. This article will analyze the labor law issues in following cases.

Case 1:

Due to the Covid, an apartment company in Shanghai started to work from home in April 2022. In May, the company notified their employees of shut-down, but it still had operating income.   Although the finance and some departments could not continue to working, other departments could worked form home as usual and their workload was not reduced. In May, HR notified in the wechat group that all employees’ wages would be reduced by 50% in April, then it would be reduced to the minimum wage standard of Shanghai after May. And then, company requested workers to reply for approval or confirmation about this reduction within a certain period. After seeing the notice, most of employees were angry but reluctantly agree, beacuse they were afraid of being dismissed.

In labor law aspect, reducing the salary is essentially an act of amending the labor contract. According to the Chinese Labor Law and the Chinese Labor Contract Law, the enterprise needs to negotiate with the employee in advance and both sides reach an agreement. But in this case, the company only notified the employee in the wechat group, and the reply option was agree or confirm, which is doubtful whether this is a negotiation. What’s more, the company did not reply to the employee who disagreed.

Besides, according to the notification about properly handling  the labor relations during the epidemic prevention and control issued by ministry of human resources and social security of china in 2020 and Notification on the Implementation of Support measures in response to the Covid issued by bureau of human resources and social security of shanghai in 2020, if an enterprise requires its employees to delay their return to work  within one wage payment cycle, it should pay the employees wages according to the standard in original labor contract; If the delay period exceeds one wage payment period, the wage paid shall not be lower than the minimum wage standard of the Municipality. Therefore, in this case the salary of April can not be cut and it shall be paid as before. If the company has real difficulties in production and operation after May, it can adjust the salary after negotiating with laborers. 

What’s more, according to the Chinese Labor Contract Law and 12 Questions and Answers from Shanghai High Court and Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security on handling labor Disputes related to the epidemic，if an enterprise arranges workers to provide normal work by working from home or telecommute, the employee should be regarded as normal attendance and the enterprise should pay normal wages as usual. If the workload of the staff at home is significantly reduced, the enterprise could adjust the amount of salary through consultation with the staff. In this regard, if the employees were still working at home and the workloads were not reduced after May, it is illegal to reduce the salary to the minimum wage, and the employee can file a labor arbitration.

Case 2:

In March 2020, a medium-sized enterprise in Shandong province was slightly affected, with a little decrease in profit, and some employers changed to work from home. After one month of working from home, the leader of the company issued a notice in the wechat group, which preliminarily decided to lower the basic salary during this period to the local minimum wage standard, and solicited the employees’ opinions. If worker has any objection, he/she can submit it to the human resources department. 

After receiving the notice, the employees collectively expressed dissatisfaction and unanimously decided to negotiate with the company leadership. According to a staff: if the wage is reduced to the minimum wage, it is equivalent to about 25% of the original wage. But the workload done at home is not significantly reduced, which is incompatible to that wage. After seeking lawyer’s advice, the employees kept the work records and the notification of salary adjustment. In the negotiation with the company leaders, the employees proposed that if the company insisted on reducing their salary to the minimum wage, they would complain to the relevant supervision department and apply for labor arbitration. After explaining to employees that the company was experiencing difficulties, the two sides agreed to reduce the basic salary by 15% in working from home period.

Different from the first case, although the final salary was still reduced, the range was small and not lower than the minimum wage standard, which was in accordance with the law and also benefited from the consensus and strong attitude of the employees. From the leagl aspect, according to a series of documents issued by goverment, enterprises affected by the epidemic can adjust their employees’ salaries after reaching a consensus with their employees. Negotiation with workers is the premise of salary reduction, and the scale of salary reduction should be determined by the actual situation of the enterprise. If the workload during home working period does not decrease significantly, the original salary should be paid in principle. But, considering the company’s turnover did suffer during the epidemic, the policy allows the company to reduce wages or delay the payment of wages. In this case, the enterprise was not seriously affected and the staff also did not largely reduce the workload, so it is not reasonable to cut the salary to the minimum wage standard. If staff labor arbitration is put forward, the employees have sufficient evidence of workload, in the same time the company has no evidence its operating condition was severely affected, the company will be forced to compensate even be punished. Therefore, after explaining the situation and negotiating, the two parties reached a consensus decision with mutual understanding.

To sum up the above cases, we can draw the following conclusions:

1. Due to the epidemic, enterprises with production and operation difficulties can reduce wages on the premise of consensus with employees.

According to the following provisions:

If the enterprise shuts down and stops production within a wage payment cycle, the enterprise shall pay workers’ wages according to the standard stipulated in the labor contract.

If the shut-down exceeds one wage payment period, the wages shall not be lower than the local minimum wage standards if the employees provide normal work. If the staff and workers fail to provide normal work, the enterprise shall distribute living expenses. The standards for living expenses shall be implemented according to the measures prescribed by all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

The specific salary reduction standard shall be determined based on the actual working conditions of employees and the actual operation of the company.

2. If there is no agreement between the parties, the enterprise may terminate the labor contract with the employee and pay economic compensation in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Contract Law due to the epidemic.If the enterprise is to remove labor contract to reduce wages forcibly, the laborer can complain to the relevant department and put forward labor arbitration or litigation.

Legal Basis:

Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China

Labor Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China

the notification about properly handling  the labor relations during the epidemic prevention and control issued by ministry of human resources and social security of china in 2020

the Notification on the Implementation of Support measures in response to the Covid issued by bureau of human resources and social security of shanghai in 2020,

疫情期间，中国许多企业的生产经营活动受到影响，企业员工的工作量随之减少，工作模式也可能转为居家办公。企业营业额和利润下降，许多企业选择以减少职工薪酬的方式度过疫情难关，因此产生了许多劳动纠纷。本篇文章将就几个案例分析其中的劳动法律问题。

案例一：

上海某品牌公寓公司因疫情影响从2022年4月起调整为居家办公，5月公司通知停工，但实际仍有运营收入，虽有财政等部门工作受影响，但其余部门仍正常居家办公，工作量并未减少。2022年5月HR在微信群通知4月份工资按照50%发放，5月后降薪至上海市最低工资标准，并请求员工在指定期限内回复同意或者确认。在看到通知后，员工虽然愤怒，但害怕提出异议会被辞退，大都无奈同意。

此案中，降低薪酬实质上是修改劳动合同的行为，依据《劳动法》和《劳动合同法》规定，企业需要提前和劳动者协商，双方达成一致。而公司只是在微信群通知，且回复选项为同意或者确认，在某位员工提出不同意后公司也并未回复其意见，因此这是否属于协商是存疑的。

同时依据人社部《人力资源社会保障部办公厅关于妥善处理新型冠状病毒感染的肺炎疫情防控期间劳动关系问题的通知》人社厅明电〔2020〕5号、上海市人社局发布的《关于应对新型冠状病毒感染肺炎疫情实施支持保障措施的通知》沪人社办〔2020〕38号，企业因受疫情影响要求职工推迟复工，在一个工资支付周期内的，应按劳动合同规定的标准支付职工工资；超过一个工资支付周期的，支付的工资不得低于本市最低工资标准。因此本案中4月工资应当按照劳动合同标准发放，5月后若公司生产经营确实困难，公司可以协商后调整工资。同时根据《劳动合同法》和《上海高院、市人社局关于处理涉疫情劳动争议纠纷的12个问答》提出若企业安排劳动者以居家办公、远程办公等方式提供正常劳动的，视为员工正常出勤，企业应正常支付工资；员工居家工作量明显减少的，企业可以与员工协商一致调整工资支付金额。就此5月后若员工所在部门仍正常居家办公，工作量并未减少，公司将其降薪至最低工资是不符合规定的，员工可以提出劳动仲裁。

案例二：

2020年3月，因疫情山东某中型企业部分业务受到影响，营业额稍有下降，工作模式改为居家办公。居家办公一个月后，某日公司领导在微信群里发布通知，初步决定下调居家办公期间的员工基本薪酬至当地最低工资标准，就此征集员工意见，若有异议可向人力部门提出。在收到通知后，员工集体表示不满，一致决定同公司领导协商。员工认为：若将工资下调到最低工资标准，相当于将原本工资下调25%左右，但居家办公期间工作量并没有大幅度减少，因此二者是不匹配的。根据专业人士的建议，公司员工都保留了居家办公期间的工作记录以及工资调整通知，在与公司领导协商过程中提出：若坚持降薪至最低工资，员工事后会投诉到相关监管部门并申请劳动仲裁。公司领导在向员工说明了公司经营确实遇到困难后，双方协商决定居家办公期间基本工资下降15%。

与第一个案例不同，虽然最终员工工资仍有下调，但幅度较小且未低于最低工资标准，这是符合法律规定的，也得益于员工集体意见一致且态度较为强硬。从法律政策角度分析，依据疫情期间相关部门发布的一系列文件，受疫情影响企业经营困难的，企业与职工协商一致之后可以调整职工薪酬。与劳动者协商是降薪的前提，而降薪幅度应当按照企业实际受到疫情影响的状况决定，若居家办公期间员工工作量与原来并无明显下降，原则上应按照原有工资发放。但考虑到疫情期间公司营业额确实遭受影响，政策允许公司和员工协商一致后下调工资或者延迟发放工资。案例中企业经营并未受到严重影响，员工工作量也未明显减少，而将工资下调到最低工资标准是不太合理的，若员工后续提出劳动仲裁，其有充分证据证实工作量，以及公司没有证据证明经营状况受到严重影响的条件下，公司也需要对员工进行补偿。因此在说明情况并进行协商后，双方相互体谅达成一致决定。

总结上述案例，我们可以得出以下结论：

1. 企业因受疫情影响导致生产经营困难的，可以在与职工协商一致的前提下降低工资。

按照以下规定：

企业停工停产在一个工资支付周期内的，企业应按劳动合同规定的标准支付职工工资。

超过一个工资支付周期的，若职工提供了正常劳动，企业支付给职工的工资不得低于当地最低工资标准。职工没有提供正常劳动的，企业应当发放生活费，生活费标准按各省、自治区、直辖市规定的办法执行。

具体降薪标准，应当结合企业实际员工工作状况和公司实际运营情况确定。

2、若双方协商不一致，因疫情属于企业可以按照劳动合同法规定与员工解除劳动合同并支付经济补偿。若企业为解除劳动合同强行降低工资，则劳动者可向相关部门投诉并提出劳动仲裁或诉讼。

法律依据：

《中华人民共和国劳动法》

《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》

人力资源社会保障部办公厅《关于妥善处理新型冠状病毒感染的肺炎疫情防控期间劳动人力资源社会保障部办公厅关系问题的通知》人社厅明电〔2020〕5号

上海市人力资源社会保障局《关于应对新型冠状病毒感染肺炎疫情实施支持保障措施的通知》沪人社办〔2020〕38号