This section describes the process of receiving the arbitration award and service certificate after arbitration, reflections on the award, considering whether to appeal, and learning that things aren't over—they've just begun.
In previous sections, I introduced that I filed my case on March 2, 2021, submitted evidence on May 21, had the hearing on May 24, and then began the long wait for the arbitration award.
Inquiring About the Arbitration Result
On June 28, 2021, a month had passed—surely there should be a result by now. So I called the arbitration court (010-87983310) to ask. I called four times over about 15 minutes before someone finally answered. After explaining my purpose, they told me: "You need to call the arbitrator who heard your case." Fortunately, I remembered the arbitrator's name (the previous email notice had stated the hearing date and arbitrator's name). I asked them to look up the phone number for arbitrator ZM. They quickly found it and told me.
When I called arbitrator ZM, they were very impatient. They wouldn't say anything except: "Call the service group at 87933217," then hung up. But when I called that number, it just rang and rang. I thought it might be a wrong number and asked the arbitrator again. Still impatient, they gave me a new number: 87983210. However, that number wasn't for the service group. Fortunately, the staff member there was very nice! She said she could check for me. After finding no information, she still said: "You need to ask your arbitrator whether they submitted the materials to the service group, then consult the service group about the award." So I started calling the service group again. On the third try, someone finally answered. A lazy male voice. Then I experienced a scene identical to the "Sun Yue Buys Scallions" sketch—exactly the same, no fake. After being bounced around several people and stating my name multiple times, finally someone said: "Just wait for a text message." (You can search for the "Sun Yue Buys Scallions" video on Bilibili.)
Receiving the Text Notification to "Collect the Award"
On July 7, 2021, at 9:26 AM, I was on the subway when I received a text telling me to collect the award. The message read:
"Zhang San v. Beijing xxx Information Technology Co., Ltd. You must bring your original ID between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM on July 13, 2021 (or during working hours any day if you need to collect it earlier, no appointment needed) to our committee, Chaoyang Arbitration Court, Building B & C, 1st Floor, Window 17, No. 15 Yard, No.5 Jiangtai Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, to collect the 'Award Decision'. Please first go to the main service desk to get a window number and wait to be called. If an agent comes, please bring the power of attorney and original plus copy of the agent's ID (both sides). If you submitted authorization documents during the hearing, bring your original ID or lawyer's license to collect. If you cannot make the scheduled time and need to change it, please call: 87983217 (not the arbitrator's number). Failure to collect on time will result in adverse consequences. Arbitrator: ZM [Chaoyang District Labor Arbitration Commission]"
Collecting the Award
On the morning of July 12, 2021, it was raining heavily. I planned to go to the arbitration court to collect the award and then head to work. Just as I got on the subway, my new company notified everyone that due to the heavy rain, they could work from home. Since I had to collect the notice anyway, I braved the rain and went to the arbitration court.
After taking a number and waiting, my window was still unmanned. So I asked the plump staff member at the next window. He shouted inside, and a young man came out, asking for my ID and the text message. Then he pulled my award from a cabinet behind him and had me sign.
I looked at the award:
- Unlawful dismissal compensation: 2N (double the statutory severance).
- Overtime pay: Not supported.
- Unused annual leave converted to wages: Supported.
- Year-end bonus: Not supported.
Considering Whether to Appeal
"The award takes effect in 15 days. If either party is dissatisfied, they can appeal within 15 days" (i.e., file an appeal with the Chaoyang District People's Court of Beijing).
I wasn't very satisfied with the result—overtime pay and year-end bonus were not supported. I searched online and found many people saying: "Overtime pay is difficult to get supported." It was only three days of overtime, not much, and I only had chat screenshots, no overtime applications or time records. So being unsupported due to "insufficient evidence" was somewhat acceptable. (The company's employee handbook stated that overtime requires an application approved by management; in practice, they never let you apply, and if you did, they wouldn't approve it—they only kept verbal records.)
The offer letter stated: "Year-end bonus is three months' salary, subject to performance and company operating conditions." The award explained why the bonus was not supported, roughly: "In the contract signed by both parties, the salary section states 'see salary confirmation form.' The offer letter indicates that the year-end bonus is based on performance and company operating conditions, and the bonus is of a reward nature, giving the company discretion. The performance documents provided by the party have no marks of company confirmation, and the party did not provide evidence of the identity of the person who provided the performance documents. This panel does not recognize their authenticity."
Why did the arbitrator not support the year-end bonus even though it was in my offer letter? Based on the reasons above: 1. The bonus has a reward nature. 2. The contract's salary section says "see salary confirmation form," which I didn't provide—in fact, I didn't have this form. (I looked up cases online; some say the offer letter's salary terms can be considered as a supplement to the labor contract's salary terms.) 3. I provided performance documents but failed to provide evidence of the identity of the person who provided them, rendering them invalid. Why? At my previous company, performance reviews were done in Excel: I'd self-rate, send it to my supervisor, and they'd verbally tell me their rating—that was it. The process was not formal, with no signatures or confirmations. It was indeed hard to explain clearly.
Thinking about this, I suddenly felt: The company's tricks started from the moment I signed the contract. Regarding the salary confirmation form, I vaguely remember there was such a thing. I recall the lady who had me sign it said: "Your salary is XX, your housing fund base is the Beijing maximum Y yuan, daily meal allowance Z yuan, salary paid on the 15th of each month..." She didn't mention the year-end bonus. Even if I appealed and requested the company to provide the salary confirmation form, it might not include the year-end bonus terms. Even if it did, the company could still argue it's a reward subject to their discretion, and I had no signed proof of performance.
As for overtime, I had no clock-in records because there was no punching. I had no overtime applications because they wouldn't let you apply. I didn't have chat logs or code commit records for the overtime either. Fortunately, it was only three days.
With that in mind, it seemed there was no point in appealing. I had lost a lot of evidence. I thought the arbitrator probably tried to "balance" things. If they had ruled purely according to law and awarded me 2N, overtime pay, annual leave pay, and the year-end bonus, I'd be satisfied, but the company would appeal. By denying my year-end bonus and overtime pay but upholding my 2N and annual leave, maybe that was a kind of balance.
Collecting the Service Certificate
When I collected the award, the staff gave some instructions. Actually, these instructions were printed on a piece of paper at the window. I took a photo; it had a phone number.
If the company did not appeal, I needed to go to the arbitration court to collect the "Service Certificate," and then I could go to court to apply for enforcement. After calling to ask, they told me to come on July 30 to collect the certificate. On the morning of July 30, 2021, since it was a regular workday and I didn't want to take time off, I arrived early at the arbitration court, planning to finish and go to work. It took about 20 minutes to get the certificate. While waiting, I met another guy also collecting his service certificate. From chatting, I learned he had filed his arbitration in October 2019, got the award in January 2020, had delays, and only now in 2021 came to collect the certificate. But the award had been effective for a long time, and his company still hadn't paid him, so he planned to go to Chaoyang Court that same day to apply for enforcement. At 9:25 AM, we left the Chaoyang District Labor Arbitration Court together. Learning he was going to apply for enforcement, I asked if I could add him on WeChat so he could update me on the "application for enforcement" process. He readily agreed. As we walked towards the subway, we chatted about our experiences. It turned out the company only owed him a few thousand yuan in wages. I said: "That's so little! Why didn't the company just pay you?" He said: "Maybe because it involves a lot of people?"
At 11:45 AM that day, this guy messaged me with the method for applying for enforcement: Fill out two copies of the "Individual Application for Enforcement Against Company," then bring copies of your ID, the award, and the service certificate. That's it.
The Company Appealed!
I wasn't planning to appeal, but would the company? If they didn't, I could go apply for enforcement. However, knowing this company's nature, it was unlikely they wouldn't appeal. How could I find out if they had appealed?
The simplest way was to ask the company directly, but what kind of attitude would they have? They'd probably be smug: "We told you not to go to arbitration, didn't we, kid? Now you're in trouble! We'll just drag this out!"
So I called 12348 for consultation. The public lawyer said: "If the company appealed, you don't need to spend money to apply for enforcement." I asked: "Do I need to pay to apply for enforcement? How much?" They said: "1%," then added: "Labor arbitration might not charge a fee. Just wait. Since 15 days have passed, you can't appeal now, and you'll have to go along with the company's lawsuit. They're just stalling." I asked: "How can I check if the company actually filed the case?" They replied: "Call 12368." Later, I confirmed that the company had appealed.
What to Do After the Company Appeals
Learning the company appealed, I was a bit disappointed, but it was expected. However, by September I still hadn't received any notification. I didn't know what was happening or what I could do. So I called 12368 again, but no one answered. On September 7, 2021, at 8:20 AM, I received a reply from 12368 asking what I had inquired about the day before. I explained: "There was a labor arbitration, an award was issued, the company disagreed and appealed, but I haven't received any follow-up notice." They asked for the company name and my name to check. They said: "The case has been filed, but there's no case number yet and no judge assigned." I asked: "How long will it take to get a case number and a judge?" They said: "About two months." I asked: "Is it possible that the company filled in my contact information incorrectly when filing, causing me not to receive notifications?" They said: "No, because they would have checked the award when filing." Finally, I asked: "If I want to check the case progress, how can I look it up?" They kindly gave me two numbers: 85998232 and 85998653. I tried calling them later, but never got through.
After that, I still had to wait... Preview of the next section: Receiving the subpoena & first-instance hearing.