On 29 December 2023, the Standing Committee of the Nationwide Individuals’s Congress of PRC launched the newest amendments to the Firm Legislation (new Firm Legislation), set to take impact on 1 July 2024. This revision introduces substantial modifications throughout numerous areas, together with company governance and administration duties and liabilities. This replace seems to be at key amendments which doubtlessly impression employment administration.

Worker Consultant Congress and democratic administration

Though the present Firm Legislation has mandated that firms implement democratic administration by means of an Worker Consultant Congress or different strategies, this provision has in observe been missed. Aiming to strengthen the importance of democratic administration, the brand new Firm Legislation introduces a brand new requirement for firms to determine a democratic administration “system” primarily by means of the Worker Consultant Congress.

As well as, the present Firm Legislation has set out particular conditions the place firms are required to seek the advice of with workers by means of the Worker Consultant Congress or different strategies. These conditions embrace deciding on restructuring and main operational points, and establishing vital inside insurance policies. The brand new Firm Legislation expands this scope by including two extra eventualities that necessitate worker consultations: submitting for liquidation and making use of for chapter. This replace brings the Firm Legislation into alignment with the provisions within the Employment Contract Legislation.

Worker consultant on the board of administrators

The brand new Firm Legislation requires that firms with a minimum of 300 workers should embrace worker consultant(s) on the board of administrators, except the corporate’s board of supervisors already contains worker consultant(s). Below the present Firm Legislation, this requirement solely applies to firms with state-owned pursuits.

As well as, the brand new Firm Legislation stipulates that an worker consultant on the board of administrators can function a member of the audit committee, which, constituted by administrators, is a novel mechanism launched by the brand new Firm Legislation as a substitute for the board of supervisors or particular person supervisor(s). This signifies that an worker consultant can train their supervisory and auditing rights by actively taking part in audit processes.

Administration duties

The present Firm Legislation usually stipulates that administrators, supervisors, and senior administration owe the corporate an obligation of loyalty and an obligation of diligence, with out clearly defining the implications and necessities of those duties. The brand new Firm Legislation fills this hole by offering express definitions for the 2 duties:

• the obligation of loyalty requires administrators, supervisors, and senior administration to take measures to forestall conflicts between their private pursuits and people of the corporate. They’re prohibited from leveraging their positions to achieve improper advantages.
• the obligation of diligence mandates that administrators, supervisors, and senior administration carry out their roles with affordable care that’s sometimes anticipated of managers, in the perfect curiosity of the corporate.

Additionally it is value noting that the brand new Firm Legislation extends the applying of those two duties to controlling shareholders and precise controllers of an organization who don’t function administrators however are concerned within the precise execution of firm affairs.

Moreover, the brand new Firm Legislation supplies extra detailed laws for some restrictive provisions underneath the obligation of loyalty, resembling restrictions on self-dealing or related-party transactions, in search of firm enterprise alternatives, and fascinating in competitors. The first enhancements are:

• broadening the topics of those laws from administrators and senior administration to now embrace supervisors;
• introducing the procedural requirement for disclosing and reporting such issues to the board of administrators or shareholders’ assembly;

establishing the board of administrators because the eligible approving physique, a job beforehand reserved just for the shareholders’ assembly or basic assembly of shareholders.

Administration liabilities

The present Firm Legislation solely stipulates that administrators, supervisors, and senior administration are answerable for compensation once they trigger losses to the corporate because of violations of legal guidelines, laws, or the corporate’s article of affiliation.

The brand new Firm Legislation introduces a brand new provision that administrators or senior administration shall be collectively liable with the corporate in the event that they trigger injury to others because of intentional acts or gross negligence within the efficiency of their duties. This suggests that administrators and senior administration at the moment are topic to a heightened degree of private accountability. They aren’t solely chargeable for the corporate’s losses because of their misconduct but additionally for the damages brought on to 3rd events.

Key Takeaways

On one hand, the brand new Firm Legislation strengthens the safety of worker rights by making certain their illustration within the firm’s governance and democratic administration system. Alternatively, it amplifies the duties and liabilities of administration, presenting new challenges within the appointment and finishing up of duties of administrators, supervisors, and senior executives. Employers ought to make vital changes according to the brand new Firm Legislation’s necessities. This might embrace establishing an Worker Consultant Congress, incorporating worker representatives into the board of administrators, and making certain that each one administration personnel are totally conscious of their duties and obligations.

中国：《公司法》修订及其对员工的潜在影响

2023年12月29日，全国人大常委会通过了最新修订的《公司法》（“新《公司法》”），于2024年7月1日起施行。此次修订在公司治理、管理人员的义务与责任等多个方面做出了重大新增或修改。本期更新聚焦于可能会对雇佣管理造成影响的条款内容。

职工代表大会与民主管理

虽然现行《公司法》中就有规定，要求公司通过职工代表大会或者其他形式实行民主管理。但该规定在实践中很难说得到了重视。新《公司法》新增了公司应建立健全以职工代表大会为基本形式的民主管理“制度”的要求，旨在强化民主管理的重要性。

此外，现行《公司法》规定了公司应当通过职工代表大会或者其他形式听取职工的意见和建议的特定情形，包括决定改制以及经营方面的重大问题、制定重要的规章制度。新《公司法》在前述应当征询职工意见的事项范围中新增了两项情形：解散和申请破产。这使《公司法》与《劳动合同法》中的规定相衔接。

董事会中的职工代表

新《公司法》要求职工人数三百人以上的公司应当在董事会中包含职工代表，依法设监事会并有公司职工代表的除外。在现行《公司法》下，该要求只适用于部分国资公司。

此外，新《公司法》还规定公司董事会成员中的职工代表可以成为审计委员会成员。审计委员会是新《公司法》中引入的一个新机制，由董事组成，可以替代监事会或监事的职权。这意味着职工代表可以通过参与审计来行使监督与审计的权利。

管理者义务

现行《公司法》仅仅笼统地规定董事、监事、高级管理人员对公司负有忠实义务和勤勉义务，没有对这两类义务的内涵与要求作出明确界定。新《公司法》弥补了这个空白，对这两类义务作出的明确定义：

• 忠实义务要求董事、监事、高级管理人员应当采取措施避免自身利益与公司利益冲突，不得利用职权牟取不正当利益。
• 勤勉义务要求董事、监事、高级管理人员执行职务应当为公司的最大利益尽到管理者通常应有的合理注意。

还值得注意的是，新公司法将这两项义务的适用范围延伸到了不担任公司董事但实际执行公司事务的控股股东和实际控制人。

此外，对于忠实义务项下的一些限制性规定，例如限制自我交易或关联交易、谋取公司商业机会、同业竞争等，新公司法做出了更为细致的规定，主要体现在：

• 将适用主体从董事和高级管理人员扩大到了包含监事；
• 明确了应当向董事会或者股东会报告的程序性要求；

新增董事会为批准机关（原先只有股东会或股东大会）。

管理者责任

现行《公司法》仅规定了董事、监事、高级管理人员在违反法律、行政法规或者公司章程的规定等情形下给公司造成损失时，应当对公司承担赔偿责任。

新《公司法》增加了一条规定，董事、高级管理人员执行职务时存在故意或者重大过失，给他人造成损害的，董事、高级管理人员应当与公司一同承担赔偿责任。这意味着董事和高级管理人员将承担更高水平的个人责任。他们不仅要对因其不当行为造成的公司损失负责，还要对给第三方造成的损害负责。

要点总结

一方面，新《公司法》通过保障职工代表在公司治理与民主管理体系中的参与，强化了对员工权益的保障。另一方面，新《公司法》也加重了管理者的义务与责任，对于以后董事、监事、高管的任命与履职增添了挑战。我们建议各雇主根据新《公司法》的要求及时作出必要调整，例如设立职工代表大会，在董事会中新增职工代表，并确保管理人员充分知晓其义务与责任。

Key Contacts