Although most of the Spring campus job fairs have ended, due to a special accident, Kerry, who is approaching graduation, can only look for a new job and prepare his thesis defense at the same time. Near 2 a.m., Kerry is still looking for opportunities to submit his resume on various job search websites. It was another year of college graduation season. The young man who should have held an offer and said goodbye to college life calmly did not expect that a sudden wave of termination had brought sudden storms to his career that had not yet started.
"Dear students, due to the recent adjustment of the business structure of ideal automobile, a small number of enrollment partners who have not yet joined the school may face job transfer interview or termination... At present, we have reached the relevant students through email, and we will complete the job transfer interview or termination compensation communication as soon as possible this week." On May 11, some college graduates who had passed the interview in the recruitment last autumn and signed the national employment agreement for graduates of ordinary colleges and universities (hereinafter referred to as the "tripartite agreement") with ideal automobile received an email signed as "ideal automobile Campus Recruitment". They were told that the positions they were going to enter had been cancelled. At present, they provide two solutions - job transfer option or termination compensation.
"At last year's campus job fair, ideal car's HR told us that this is the first year of ideal car's school recruitment and will seriously train every successful candidate." Facing the cruel reality of being terminated, Kerui, a graduate of Nanjing University, still couldn't figure out how the promise that was still in his ears became a foam that was punctured at will.
In the first quarter of this year, ideal car sales increased by 152.1% year-on-year, and total revenue increased by 167.5% year-on-year, reaching 9.56 billion yuan. With the halo of "head new car manufacturing enterprise", ideal car was originally popular among job seekers. Out of longing for future work, Kerry replaced his wechat avatar with the ideal new car to be released after signing a tripartite agreement last autumn. If all goes well, he should have become a R & D engineer specializing in intelligent driving hardware.
"In the past two years, the new energy vehicle track has been hot. At the same time, it is also an emerging industry strongly supported by the state. As young people, of course, they hope to actively integrate into it and realize their life value." Recalling the reason why he gave up other offers and chose to join the ideal car last autumn, Kerry said with a bitter smile: "at this time, the fresh students will be very passive, and there is no way to choose as calmly as in autumn and spring."
At present, many people are facing the same dilemma as Kerry. This also highlights a practical problem: in the context of China's efforts to maintain stable economic growth, whether based on the overall situation of stabilizing employment or the legal requirements of safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of college graduates, the employment market is required to be more standardized.
In May, "breaking the contract", fresh graduates suffered a blow in the head
"Recently, ideal automobile has made business adjustment and some posts have been closed, which involves some school enrollment partners who have not joined this year. In view of the inconvenience that may be caused to these students to find jobs again, we have provided job transfer options and termination compensation schemes, and are currently communicating with relevant students." On May 17, the reporter contacted ideal automobile. The relevant person of the company said that on the basis of comprehensively considering the information of various majors and job direction, relevant students have been recommended to other business posts for job transfer interview again; For students without suitable positions, one month's salary will be provided as compensation.
"This termination compensation scheme has exceeded the amount of liquidated damages stipulated in the tripartite agreement." The source said that it was not convenient to disclose the number of people involved in the termination.
However, Chen Feng, a fresh graduate from Harbin, recalled that ideal Auto's HR did not provide job transfer opportunities when he informed himself of "job cancellation and cancellation of the tripartite agreement". Like Kerry, he applied for the intelligent Hardware Department of automatic driving, which is responsible for the research and development of vehicle sensors.
"The interview for recruiting ideal car last autumn was very normal. I got the offer after three rounds of interviews and signed a tripartite agreement at that time. Unexpectedly, I was suddenly informed last week that due to the Department adjustment, the tripartite agreement should be cancelled and I could be compensated for one month's salary." Chen Feng told reporters that when he chose the ideal car, on the one hand, he was optimistic about the domestic new energy vehicle industry, on the other hand, he was moved by the company's treatment.
"Now think about it, it's a bit like painting cakes to satisfy your hunger." He said with a wry smile that because the spring recruitment has ended, he was worried that it was impossible to find a job again. "Fortunately, I contacted an enterprise I interviewed before. Now the original tripartite agreement has been invalidated, so I have to hurry up and go through the formalities again in the school."
The reporter learned that the tripartite agreement is a written form to clarify the rights and obligations of graduates, employers and schools in the employment of graduates. It is used to solve a series of related problems such as the registered residence, archives, insurance and provident fund of fresh graduates.
"Tripartite agreement is a written agreement signed between colleges and universities, graduates and employers based on the relationship of rights and obligations. It cannot be equivalent to a formal labor contract." Lawyer Zhu Shirui said that in judicial practice, the tripartite agreement on employment applies the relevant provisions of the legal norms of the civil code, while the labor contract applies the labor law and the labor contract law.
He stressed that the employment agreement signed between graduates and employers must be an agreement based on the principles of equality, voluntariness and consensus, which is legally binding.
"In the tripartite employment agreement, the amount of liquidated damages is optional, and the two sides can reach an agreement. At present, the law does not specify the upper limit of the amount." Zhu Shirui analyzed that the event was a breach of contract by the enterprise. If the defaulted graduates think the compensation scheme is unreasonable, they can first unite to negotiate with the enterprise. If the negotiation fails, they can also take the form of litigation.
He said that the dispute caused by the tripartite agreement did not belong to labor and personnel disputes, so it was a civil lawsuit. "Judging from the current situation, individuals do not recommend litigation".
Shi Kai, who is about to graduate from a "211" university with a master's degree, is also one of the graduating army who intend to "admit bad luck".
"At that time, HR's words made me cry and laugh. She said, 'generally, the compensation amount for breaking the tripartite agreement is 5000 yuan. We compensate one month's salary, also considering the inconvenience to the students, which is much higher than the regular compensation'." Shi Kai said reluctantly that in mid May, the best time for spring recruitment had been missed, and there were few good job opportunities. "It's too much for me to notice the termination of the contract at this time."
Previously, Shi Kai, who stood on the "tuyere" of intelligent driving hardware research and development, was not worried about finding a job. In his mailbox, there were several job opportunities with an annual salary of more than 200000 yuan. However, after receiving the termination notice of ideal car, Shi Kai searched the current school recruitment enterprises again and found that most of them were jobs with an annual salary of 130000-150000 yuan. "This is a very obvious gap from the previous one."
The cost of breach of tripartite agreement is low. Who will protect their legitimate rights and interests
On May 17, some graduates who were terminated by ideal car received compensation. However, in a wechat group of terminated graduates, roast increased instead of decreased.
"HR said it could be transferred before, but it turned out that those who studied Java were transferred to C + +, and then transferred to Java in other directions..." "so many double first-class college graduates, from undergraduate to master to doctor, were brought up in one pot..."
"At that time, HR said on the phone that the enrollment of the school that did the self-study camera part was terminated." Shi Kai said that he passed all levels of interviews in December last year, positioned P4 and signed a tripartite agreement. Although there are rumors that P4 graduates can be transferred and P3 graduates can be laid off uniformly, Shi Kai said that he has not received any notice of job transfer.
Receiving the notice of job transfer does not mean that the "ideal road" of relevant graduates has turned into a smooth road.
"A classmate passed the job transfer interview. The interviewer directly told him that the job matching degree was very poor and advised him not to come. If he came, he might also be persuaded to quit. Moreover, the interview time was tight. He received the notice in the morning and had an interview in the afternoon." A graduate roast on the social media platform that the interview process is a process, which is actually a disguised termination or layoff.
Among the many roast of the graduates about the termination of the ideal car, the "termination time" and "termination reasons" are the two most powerful points of criticism.
Kerry said that for most companies, the fresh student status of 2022 graduates can only be maintained until June. "After June this year, when recruiting fresh students, enterprises probably only recruit 2023 graduates."
"Even if there is a business adjustment, it doesn't have to wait until this time to notify the termination of the contract? This is tantamount to a disaster for fresh graduates like us." He questioned that at the first quarter financial report meeting a few days ago, ideal automobile also announced that it had a cash reserve of 51.1 billion yuan, but proposed to terminate the contract at the juncture of their graduation and entry. "It's an act without a moral bottom line to break the contract for fresh school enrollment in may.".
"If the enterprise has encountered great difficulties in operation and needs to lay off staff to reduce costs, we can't understand it." Shi Kai sighed that the 2022 school recruitment of many large companies has ended. Even if the ideal car is terminated one month in advance, he will not be so passive as he is now.
He disclosed that his tripartite agreement did not stipulate under what conditions the enterprise could propose to terminate the contract.
According to Feng Huawen, a counselor at the school of Journalism and communication of Beijing Sport University, college graduates are vulnerable groups in the job market. Schools and enterprises should consciously safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of students and maintain the normal order of the job market.
He told reporters that in his many years of working experience as a counselor of the graduation class, it is indeed rare for enterprises to put forward cases of breaking the tripartite agreement. "From a certain point of view, the tripartite agreement is the endorsement of the University for the graduating college students, so it should protect the legitimate rights and interests of the students."
Feng Huawen analyzed that if an enterprise breaches the contract, it will not only affect the vital interests of relevant students, but also affect the reputation and reputation of the enterprise in Colleges and universities and students. In the long run, once enterprises follow this behavior and terminate the tripartite agreement at will, it may have an adverse impact on students' career planning and psychology, disrupt the order of the employment market, and even lead to a vicious circle of "widespread default".
He admitted that, according to the current situation, colleges and universities have limited methods for enterprises to breach the tripartite agreement. The most serious punishment is to pull the enterprise into the blacklist and prohibit the enterprise from participating in campus job fairs in the future.
"Considering the need of stabilizing employment and responding to the national requirements for the employment of college graduates, there is some room for improvement in the tripartite agreement on campus recruitment." Pan Helin, CO director and researcher of the Research Center for digital economy and financial innovation of the International United Business School of Zhejiang University, believes that those excellent graduates with outstanding abilities who are about to embark on the starting line of their career are hit by a breach of contract by the enterprise and may even delay the most critical year. The enterprises involved should make reasonable compensation to these graduates.
Stabilizing employment requires enterprises to "do what they can and do what they say"
Affected by adverse factors such as the rebound of the COVID-19 and the changing international situation, the downward pressure on the domestic economy has increased recently. This year's graduation season, on the one hand, the employment of college graduates is facing great challenges, on the other hand, enterprise management has encountered more new topics.
"In the current environment, it is entirely understandable for enterprises to make business adjustments due to strategic needs, cut down R & D departments or reduce R & D teams, and stop losses in time. However, it is obviously not reasonable to sign a tripartite employment agreement with college graduates and renege on the contract when they are about to enter the job." Yang Xiaolin, a senior automotive media person and automotive industry analyst, believes that the ideal car has terminated a large number of graduates who have signed tripartite agreements on the grounds of business adjustment. In essence, it is to transfer the uncertainty of enterprise operation to innocent fresh graduates. "This approach is obviously too hasty.".
In his view, the default fully exposed the loopholes in the decision-making mechanism and recruitment process of ideal automobile. "As far as the automotive industry is concerned, mature and responsible auto companies will either 'nip in the bud' and reduce their jobs in time after they are aware of the risks; or they will 'lose their teeth and swallow them in their stomach' and digest the contracted graduates through job transfer, rather than 'stand up' on the eve of students' graduation."
Yang Xiaolin said that although the termination of ideal automobile this time meets the business needs of the enterprise itself and does not violate the relevant provisions of the labor law, it is undoubtedly debatable from the perspective of social responsibility and morality.
He believes that as a new car manufacturing enterprise, the advantage of ideal car lies in the flexible system and mechanism and the fast decision-making speed of the company, but there are shortcomings in the scientificity and rationality of the decision-making mechanism. He reminded that in the face of complex market environment, enterprises should not only have risk awareness, but also make decisions at will. Only the "ambition" of expansion and the "conscience" of no social responsibility will cause great frustration to the reputation of new vehicle manufacturing enterprises and even the new energy vehicle industry.
At the first quarter financial report meeting held on May 10, Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of ideal automobile, expressed satisfaction with the sales report card and "achieved strong financial performance in the first quarter". According to the data, ideal automobile achieved a total revenue of 9.56 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 167.5%; At the same time, the gross profit margin of vehicles remained stable, reaching 22.4%, and realized the net cash inflow from operating activities for the eighth consecutive quarter, reaching RMB 1.83 billion.
Along with the rise in sales and revenue, there is the operating cost of ideal cars after large-scale expansion.
The reporter learned that as of March 31 this year, ideal has 217 retail centers nationwide, covering 102 cities, and has operated 287 after-sales maintenance centers and ideal automobile authorized plate and spray centers in 211 cities. Before going public in Hong Kong last year, ideal automobile had 109 retail centers nationwide, covering 67 cities, and operated 176 after-sales maintenance centers and ideal automobile authorized plate and spray centers in 134 cities. This means that in less than a year, the national retail network and channels of ideal cars have basically doubled.
According to the financial report data, the expenditure on ideal automobile sales, general and administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2022 was 1.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 135.9%, an increase of 6.8% compared with the fourth quarter of 2021.
"Some enterprises seem to be doing well, but in fact they have not achieved positive business flow. Once the market situation changes in the short term, their business operation will face great pressure. At this time, some enterprises will take fresh graduates with insufficient social experience." Pan Helin admonished that this lack of long-term vision will bring a lot of negative social evaluation to the enterprise. The corporate culture eager for quick success and instant benefit and too reckless default may increase the difficulty of financing in the future, amplify the uncertainty in the hearts of employees, and even form a vicious circle in the market.
"I suggest that when recruiting employees, enterprises should 'do what they can and do what they say'. Only when enterprises achieve sustainable development can they truly stabilize the job market. At the same time, by improving the stability of jobs, their employees can establish stable expectations for the future and life, which is also conducive to improving team cohesion and promoting the long-term development of enterprises." Pan Helin concluded.
The reporter learned that the employment office of some students' colleges and universities contacted other car enterprises to provide a green channel for the dismissed students.
Zhu Shirui reminded college graduates to be cautious in the process of looking for a job and applying for a job. "For example, before applying for a job, you can collect and pay attention to the negative news of the enterprise as much as possible, and fully understand the job opportunities and risks. Before signing the tripartite agreement and labor contract, you should understand all the terms and specific provisions one by one. Once you find that your rights and interests have been infringed, you should protect your rights and claim them in time."
"Stabilizing employment is the first of the 'six stabilities'. In recent years, due to the expansion of the army of postgraduate entrance examination and other reasons, the challenges of college graduates' employment market have increased significantly." Fenghuawen admitted that in order to solve the problems of employment information asymmetry, help students alleviate anxiety and promote employment, all parties, including college counselors, should do more work. "The post-95 generation is a generation with responsibility, vitality and knowledge. We should better help them pursue their dreams."
As emphasized in the notice on further improving the employment and Entrepreneurship of college graduates and other young people issued by the general office of the State Council, the employment of college graduates and other young people is related to the well-being of people's livelihood, economic development and the future of the country. To escort their dream is to escort the sustainable development of our economy and society.
(at the request of the interviewee, Kerry, Chen Feng and Shi Kai are pseudonyms.)
China Youth Daily · China Youth Network reporter Xu Yajie source: China Youth Daily
Version 12 on May 19, 2022