How to Deal with the Employees’ Complaints on the Internet?

Lau did not get the year-end bonus, because his year-end assessment was poor. He complained about the poor welfare in the company’s WeChat group, and encouraged other employees to strike. The company dissolved the labor contract by the reason that Lau had made mischief. But the company lost in the labor arbitration.

Withe the popularity of the Internet, some employees would express their opinions or vent emotions on the internet, such as via WeChat, Weibo, BBS and so on. Some of those words might be a statement of truth, while others might be fabricated contents, and even some are only emotional statements. From the perspective of a company, how to deal with those complaints on the Internet?

We suggest that a company shall take different actions in the consideration of the position of an employee, the truthfulness of the complaint, and the severity of the consequence.

Firstly, the company could manage some employees with the “Company Law”. Article 147 of the “Company Law” stipulates, directors, supervisors and senior officers shall abide by laws, administrative regulations and the articles of association of the company, and have a fiduciary obligation and obligation of diligence to the company. Although this article has not clearly prescribed that those employees shall not release untrue or improper statements, if we interpret this article with the 8th item of Article 148 of the “Company Law”, then such statements shall be deemed as a violation of the “Company Law”. However, for the sake of caution, it is recommended to add the loyalty responsibilities of the employees, such as it is forbidden to release the untrue or improper statements of the company, in the company’s internal rules and regulations.

Secondly, from the perspective of the published content, if it involves false content, then the company could ask the employee to undertake the infringement liabilities in accordance with the “Tort Liability Law”; if the content is true, but it involves the company’s trade secrets, the company could discipline the employee by the confidentiality regulations, and/or ask the employee to undertake the liabilities in accordance with the “Unfair Competition Law”, “Criminal Law” and so on.

Finally, from the perspective of the severity of the consequence, if an employee spreads rumors, such as dangerous, epidemics, warnings, or other methods which are used to intentional disrupt the public order, or insults others in the public or slanders others by fabricating content, which does not constitute a crime, the employee might be imposed an administrative punishment, such as detention, fine, etc., in accordance with the “Public Security Administration Punishment Law”. If an employee spreads the fabricating information of a company, which infringes the company’s business reputation, then the employee might have constituted the crime of the infringement of business reputation, product’s reputation. Under such circumstance, the company could report to the relevant public security authorities.