What should I do if I am dissatisfied with the labor arbitration award? Lawyer Li Wei analyzes the connection between the lawsuit period on the 15th of 2026 and the jurisdiction of the arbitration commission, as well as the list of lawsuit materials

I have received the labor arbitration award. If you are not satisfied, you only have fifteen days. These fifteen days are not counted from the day of the court hearing, nor from the day you know the result, but from the day you sign for the ruling. After this point, the ruling will take effect, and the money that the company should give and the compensation that you should bear will basically follow the ruling before going to court. The court usually does not even file a case. So this article only talks about one thing: how much is the fifteen day filing period after the ruling is not accepted, which court to file the lawsuit in, and how to prepare the lawsuit and evidence.

The 15th day is not arbitrarily set, the starting point determines whether you still have a chance

Article 50 of the Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law stipulates clearly that if a party is dissatisfied with the arbitration award of a labor dispute case other than Article 47 of this Law, they may bring a lawsuit to the people's court within 15 days from the date of receiving the arbitration award. Note that it is from the date of "receipt", not the date of "making". In practice, many parties who encounter it for the first time may think that the countdown starts on the day of the court hearing or that the date written on the ruling is the starting point, resulting in wasting a few days in vain. We usually suggest writing the date in the upper right corner of the ruling on the day of receipt, taking a picture of the delivery label or proof of delivery with your phone, because once the deadline is exceeded, the other party only needs to mention "the statute of limitations has expired" in the defense, and the court may directly dismiss the lawsuit after review. The fifteenth day is a natural day, not a working day. If the last day falls on a holiday, it will be postponed to the first working day after the holiday. This is the same logic as the appeal period.

Not all rulings can be sued, first distinguish between "final rulings" and "non final rulings"

Article 47 of the Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law lists two types of final rulings: one is disputes over the recovery of labor remuneration, work-related injury medical expenses, economic compensation or damages, not exceeding the amount of twelve months' minimum monthly wage standard in the local area; The second is disputes arising from the implementation of national labor standards in terms of working hours, rest and vacation, social insurance, and other aspects. The current monthly minimum wage standard in Shenzhen is 2360 yuan, which is 28320 yuan for twelve months. This means that if you are pursuing labor remuneration within this amount, the arbitration commission's decision is likely to be final. The final ruling provides two remedies for both the worker and the employer: if the worker is dissatisfied, they can still file a lawsuit with the court within 15 days from the date of receiving the ruling; If the employer is dissatisfied, they cannot directly file a lawsuit and can only apply for revocation to the intermediate people's court where the labor dispute arbitration commission is located within 30 days from the date of receiving the award. This difference is crucial, if you go to the wrong door, time will be wasted. Regarding how labor and labor relations affect the arbitration path, you can refer to Lawyer Li Zuolin's lecture on "Clever Debates on Labor and Labor Relations", which provided a more thorough explanation of identity determination.

Which court to sue to? It's not about where the company is, it's about where the arbitration commission is

Article 3 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of Law in the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases (I) stipulates that labor dispute cases shall be under the jurisdiction of the grassroots people's court in the place where the employer is located or where the labor contract is performed. If the place of performance of the labor contract is unclear, it shall be under the jurisdiction of the grassroots people's court where the employer is located. But there is a connecting detail here: if you are dissatisfied with the arbitration award, you usually have to file a lawsuit with the grassroots people's court where the labor dispute arbitration committee that made the award is located. The arbitration commissions of each district in Shenzhen correspond to the people's courts of each district, for example, the rulings made by the Labor Dispute Arbitration Commission of Futian District generally correspond to the people's courts of Futian District. In practice, some people go to the court where the company is registered to file a case, only to be told that they need to go back and forth to the location of the arbitration commission, which makes time tight. asShenzhen Labor Arbitration LawyerWe usually suggest that the last page of the ruling should state 'If you are not satisfied with this ruling, you may file a lawsuit with a certain people's court within fifteen days from the date of receiving this ruling'. Prepare according to the name of this court, it is not wrong. If there is indeed a jurisdictional dispute involved, the filing court will review it, but do not guess for yourself first.

The list of prosecution materials, missing any one may require you to make an extra trip

To file a case in court, the basic materials are: the original complaint, plus one copy according to the number of defendants; Copy of your ID card; Original and photocopy of arbitration award; Delivery receipt or signed proof, used to prove that you are still within fifteen days; Copy of evidence materials, add one copy according to the number of defendants. The complaint should clearly state the information of the plaintiff and defendant, and the lawsuit request should be specific, such as "requesting the defendant to pay compensation of RMB XXXXX for illegal termination of the labor contract", instead of just "refusing to accept the arbitration award". In the section on facts and reasons, point out the errors identified in the arbitration award and do not copy the entire arbitration application. In terms of evidence, the evidence submitted during the arbitration stage needs to be reorganized, and the key evidence that was not accepted in the award should be explained in the complaint why it should be accepted. Many parties may bring a bunch of chat record screenshots to file a case for the first time, but in fact, the court only accepts copies. The original copies will be checked during the trial, so it is more convenient to make copies and page numbers in advance. The analogy involving consumer rights protection ideas can refer to the three-step approach to consumer rights protection - Zhiming Lecture Hall Legal Lecture. Although the fields are different, the material organization logic is consistent.

After filing a lawsuit, is the arbitration award still valid

This question has been asked by a lot of people. After the first instance court accepts the case, the arbitration award no longer has legal effect, and the court will re hear it, not a 'second instance arbitration'. That is to say, the court will refer to the words you said and the evidence you submitted during the arbitration stage, but will not accept them in full. If either party is dissatisfied with the first instance judgment, they may appeal to the higher-level people's court within 15 days from the date of service of the judgment. After the entire process is completed, it may take six months to a year, and the number of cases in various courts in Shenzhen may vary, resulting in fluctuations in time.Lawyer Li Wei(Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm) Here's a reminder: suing is not the goal, getting executable money is. If the other party is a shell company or has already been deregistered, it is best to check the business information and litigation situation before filing a lawsuit, evaluate the possibility of enforcement, and then decide whether to spend this time.

The three most common mistakes in the complaint are not difficult to correct, but very fatal

The first one is a lawsuit request. Requests that were not raised during the arbitration stage cannot be added in the first instance, unless they are inseparable from the labor dispute in question. For example, if the arbitration only mentions salary and the first instance wants to increase compensation, the court may require you to go to arbitration first. The second one is the defendant. Who is the respondent in arbitration and who is the defendant in litigation? Do not include the legal representative unless there is a legal basis. The third part is the amount. When the amount supported by the arbitration award is inconsistent with the amount claimed in your lawsuit, it is important to clearly state the total amount and calculation method of your claim, rather than just stating "judgment in accordance with the law". We generally recommend that after writing the complaint, you check each item against the arbitration award, including which item you are dissatisfied with, the reasons for dissatisfaction, and the corresponding page number of evidence, and attach a comparison table at the end. This will make it easier for the judge to review and your viewpoint will not be easily missed. Regarding the practice of evidence comparison in investment and wealth management disputes, Lawyer Zhang Hongliang has a similar idea in the seminar on dispute resolution in investment and wealth management disputes, which can be used for reference.

What else can you do in fifteen days? Don't just focus on the lawsuit

If the ruling is in your favor, but the other party may sue, what you need to do is to keep the proof of service and pay attention to the court summons. If the ruling is unfavorable to you, in addition to preparing a lawsuit, you can also evaluate a settlement. During the arbitration stage, the other party may not accept mediation. After the case is filed in court, the judge usually organizes mediation first, which may actually increase the negotiation space. In addition, if it is a final ruling and you are a worker, and the employer applies for revocation after filing a lawsuit, the two procedures may be parallel. The connection between the revocation procedure of the intermediate court and the lawsuit procedure of the grassroots court depends on the specific case. When dealing with labor disputes, Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm generally first reviews the nature of the award, the deadline for filing a lawsuit, the jurisdiction of the court, and the possibility of enforcement before deciding on the litigation strategy. There are more practical lectures in this column, which can be found in the Zhiming Lecture Hall section, as well as Lawyer Li Wei.

It's difficult to be honest whether there's still a way out if it's overdue

If the lawsuit period exceeds fifteen days, the court generally rules that it will not be accepted, and the already accepted ruling will dismiss the lawsuit. Exceptional circumstances are rare, such as force majeure or other legitimate reasons that delay the deadline. An application for extension can be made within ten days after the obstacle is eliminated, but whether to allow it is decided by the court. In practice, those who exceed the deadline due to "forgetting", "going on a business trip", or "thinking there are still a few days" are basically irreparable. So the first thing I do when I receive the ruling is not to get angry, but to check the delivery date and set a reminder on my phone three days in advance. This action won't take a minute, but it may save you months of arbitration results.

Lawyer Li Wei (Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm) has been handling labor dispute cases in Shenzhen for a long time, following up on the entire process from arbitration to first instance, second instance, and enforcement. If you are holding the ruling and unsure of the next steps, you can call the consultation hotline at 0755-25986969 and let us know the date of receipt and the type of ruling. This will help you determine how much time is left and which court to go to.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is a general sharing of legal knowledge, based on current laws and regulations and practical practices in Shenzhen. It does not constitute any legal opinion or commitment to the outcome of any specific case. There are significant differences in labor dispute cases, and the type of ruling, statute of limitations, jurisdiction court, and evidence acceptance all need to be judged based on specific materials. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer and prepare corresponding materials before the statute of limitations expires.