Submitted a resignation letter but want to withdraw it? No way!
Compiled from: Labor Law Library
Case review
In October 2011, Deng Xiaoqiang joined the company and signed a labor contract; the company paid social insurance for him.
On March 27, 2019, Deng Xiaoqiang submitted a resignation letter to the company, after which he no longer provided labor. Later, Deng Xiaoqiang retrieved the resignation letter without authorization.
On April 1, 2019, the company notified Deng Xiaoqiang that he did not need to continue performing the labor contract, citing his submission of the resignation letter and related materials.
On April 4, 2019, Deng Xiaoqiang applied for arbitration, demanding compensation of 59,000 yuan for the company's illegal termination of the labor contract.
On June 13, 2019, the arbitration commission ruled that the company should pay Deng Xiaoqiang compensation of 59,000 yuan in a lump sum.
The company refused to accept this and filed a lawsuit, with the following reasons: On March 27, 2019, Deng Xiaoqiang submitted a written resignation letter and then stopped coming to work without completing any leave procedures. By April 1, Deng Xiaoqiang privately retrieved the resignation letter. According to Article 37 of the Labor Contract Law, which stipulates the worker's right to resign at will, a worker can submit a resignation at any time, and the company is not required to pay any compensation.
Deng Xiaoqiang argued that although he submitted a resignation report on March 27, 2019, he did not follow the company's resignation procedures, no leader signed off, the resignation report did not take effect, and he retrieved and destroyed the resignation report. Therefore, the company should pay compensation for terminating the contract.
Relevant legal provisions
Article 37 of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China: Worker's Advance Notice for Termination of Labor Contract
A worker may terminate the labor contract by giving written notice to the employer 30 days in advance. A worker during the probation period may terminate the labor contract by giving notice to the employer three days in advance.
[1] Court Opinion
The court held that a worker may terminate the labor contract by giving written notice to the employer 30 days in advance. When the worker's advance notice of termination reaches the employer, the labor relationship between the two parties is terminated. The worker's obligation to provide labor until the end of the notice period is a unilateral legal obligation, and the employer, as the holder of the right, may waive this right to terminate the labor relationship early without paying economic compensation.
Giving written notice to the employer 30 days in advance is the procedure a worker must follow when exercising the right to resign. The legal consequence of violating this procedure is to compensate the employer for losses incurred as a result, but it cannot negate the validity of the termination of the labor contract.
In this case, Deng Xiaoqiang notified the company of the termination of the labor relationship by submitting a resignation letter on March 27, 2019. Therefore, the labor relationship between Deng Xiaoqiang and the company was terminated on March 27, 2019. The termination was not an illegal dismissal by the company. The company's notification to Deng Xiaoqiang on April 1, 2019, stating that it did not agree to his continued performance of the labor contract based on his submission of the resignation letter and related materials on March 27, 2019, was not improper. Consequently, Deng Xiaoqiang's claim for compensation of 59,000 yuan for illegal termination of the labor contract lacks factual and legal basis and is not supported. The company's claim that it does not need to pay Deng Xiaoqiang compensation of 59,000 yuan complies with the law and is upheld.
In summary, the court ruled that the company does not need to pay Deng Xiaoqiang compensation of 59,000 yuan.
[1] The author's perspective
The so-called right to unilaterally terminate a labor contract means that the employer's consent is not required; only the expression of intent to terminate the contract needs to reach the other party. Therefore, Deng Xiaoqiang's filling out and submitting the resignation letter indicates that he clearly expressed his intention to resign to the company. Deng Xiaoqiang's subsequent retrieval of the resignation letter and his statement to the supervisor that he did not want to resign cannot revoke or invalidate the previously clearly expressed intention to terminate the contract. Thus, the termination of the labor relationship was not an illegal dismissal by the company, and Deng Xiaoqiang's claim for compensation of 59,000 yuan for illegal termination lacks factual and legal basis.
The author reminds that workers should engage in thorough, proper, and rational thinking before exercising the right to terminate, and should not act impulsively to avoid regret.
