On November 19, a court in Jiangsu Province released a case concerning a labor dispute involving a foreign employee who left China without notice.

2023年11月19日，江苏省一家法院发布了一起涉及外籍员工不辞而别引发的劳动纠纷案件。

1. Case Overview

1.案件概述

A Canadian national, identified as R, signed a “Foreign Teacher Employment Contract” with an international school (School A), agreeing to work from September 1, 2016, to June 30, 2018. The school arranged R’s work permit and residence permit in China and set out terms covering job duties, salary, housing, visa applications, and liability for breach of contract. The contract also specified that during the winter break in February—when no teaching duties were assigned—foreign teachers on long-term contracts would continue to receive their monthly salary to ensure teaching stability.

加拿大公民R与一所国际学校（A学校）签订了一份“外籍教师雇佣合同”，约定从2016年9月1日工作至2018年6月30日。学校为R办理了在中国的工作许可证和居留许可证，并明确了工作职责、薪资、住房、签证申请以及违约责任等条款。合同还规定，在2月寒假期间（没有教学任务），长期合同的外籍教师将继续领取月薪，以确保教学的稳定性。

On March 4, 2018, School A received an email from R stating their unilateral resignation. The school attempted to reach R by phone, text, and email, but all efforts failed. Other foreign teachers reported that R had already returned to Canada on March 5. The school argued that R’s unauthorized termination of the contract severely disrupted normal teaching operations and constituted a breach. It filed a lawsuit seeking:

2018年3月4日，A学校收到R的电子邮件，声明其单方面辞职。学校试图通过电话、短信和电子邮件联系R，但均未成功。其他外籍教师报告称，R已于3月5日返回加拿大。学校认为，R未经授权终止合同严重扰乱了正常的教学运营，构成违约。学校因此提起诉讼，要求：

CAD 2,000 in contractual liquidated damages;

赔偿合同约定的违约金2000加元；

Return of the February 2018 salary (CAD 4,200) as R did not work during that month;

返还2018年2月的工资（4200加元），因为R在该月没有工作；

RMB 6,050 in direct financial losses (RMB 3,500 for early termination of a rental agreement, RMB 1,750 in agency fees, and RMB 800 for residence-permit processing).

赔偿直接经济损失6050元人民币（包括因提前终止租赁协议的3500元人民币、代理费1750元人民币以及居留许可办理费用800元人民币）。

The total claimed amount was RMB 37,050.

索赔总额为37050元人民币。

2. Court Ruling

2.法院裁决

The court found that a valid labor relationship existed, as the contract was signed and the school had secured R’s work and residence permits. However, the contractual liquidated damages clause was deemed invalid because Chinese labor law strictly limits situations in which an employer may impose such penalties on employees. Since this clause did not fall within the legally permitted exceptions, the school’s request for CAD 2,000 was rejected.

法院认定，双方存在有效的劳动关系，因为合同已经签订，且学校为R办理了工作和居留许可证。然而，合同中的违约金条款被认定无效，因为中国劳动法严格限制雇主可以对员工施加此类罚款的情况。由于该条款不属于法律允许的例外情况，学校要求的2000加元被驳回。

Regarding the February 2018 salary, the court held that although February was a winter-break period during which R did not perform actual work, payment of that month’s salary was conditional on R’s continued performance of the contract after the new semester began. As R resigned before the start of the semester and did not return, the school was entitled to reclaim the salary. The court calculated the amount to be returned as RMB 20,790.

关于2018年2月的工资，法院认为，尽管2月是寒假期间，R没有实际工作，但该月工资的支付是以R在新学期开始后继续履行合同为条件的。由于R在学期开始前辞职且未返回，学校有权收回工资。法院计算出应返还的金额为20790元人民币。

On the claim for economic losses, the court determined that R’s sudden departure—without proper reason and without prior notice—did adversely affect the school’s teaching arrangements. R was therefore liable for losses directly caused by the unilateral breach. The early termination penalty for the rental property (RMB 3,500) was deemed a direct, foreseeable loss and was granted. However, the agency fee and residence-permit costs were considered normal expenses arising in the course of contract performance rather than losses caused by R’s departure; thus, these claims were rejected.

对于经济损失的索赔，法院认定，R的突然离开——没有任何正当理由且未提前通知——确实对学校的教学安排产生了不利影响。因此，R应对因单方面违约直接造成的损失承担责任。租赁房屋的提前终止罚款（3500元人民币）被视为直接且可预见的损失，因此被批准。然而，代理费和居留许可费用被认为是合同履行过程中产生的正常费用，而不是由R的离开造成的损失，因此这些索赔被驳回。

In summary, the court ordered R to return the winter-break salary of RMB 20,790 and compensate the school RMB 3,500 for housing-related losses. All other claims were dismissed. Neither party appealed the first-instance judgment.

总之，法院判决R返还寒假工资20790元人民币，并赔偿学校3500元人民币的住房相关损失。其他所有索赔均被驳回。双方均未对一审判决提出上诉。

The court emphasized that the invalidity of the liquidated damages clause does not exempt an employee from liability for losses caused by an unlawful termination. Employees must still compensate employers for direct, objective economic damage resulting from such conduct. In this case, R’s abrupt departure directly caused the rental-contract penalty and thus required compensation.

法院强调，违约金条款无效并不免除员工因非法终止合同造成的损失责任。员工仍需赔偿雇主因此类行为造成的直接、客观的经济损失。在本案中，R的突然离开直接导致了租赁合同的罚款，因此需要赔偿。

3. Judge’s Reminder

3.法官提醒

The judge noted that labor relationships must be maintained in good faith. Employees exercising their right to resign must follow legally required notice procedures to avoid liability for wrongful termination. Employers, in turn, should manage labor relations lawfully and rely on legitimate mechanisms to prevent or remedy losses—rather than depending on invalid penalty clauses.

法官指出，劳动关系必须基于诚信来维护。员工行使辞职权时，必须遵循法律要求的通知程序，以避免因非法终止合同而承担责任。反过来，雇主也应依法管理劳动关系，依靠合法机制来防止或弥补损失，而不是依赖无效的罚款条款。

4. Relevant Legal Provisions

4.相关法律规定

Labor Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China

《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》

Article 22: Employers may agree on a service period with an employee who receives specialized training funded by the employer. Violations of such service-period agreements may result in the employee paying liquidated damages, limited to the employer’s actual training costs.

第二十二条：用人单位为劳动者提供专项培训费用，对其进行专业技术培训的，可以与该劳动者订立协议，约定服务期。劳动者违反服务期约定的，应当按照约定向用人单位支付违约金。违约金的数额不得超过用人单位提供的培训费用。

Article 23: Employers may agree with employees on confidentiality and non-competition clauses. Employees violating non-competition obligations must pay liquidated damages as agreed.

第二十三条：用人单位与劳动者可以在劳动合同中约定保守用人单位的商业秘密和与知识产权相关的保密事项。对负有保密义务的劳动者，用人单位可以在劳动合同或者保密协议中与劳动者约定竞业限制条款。劳动者违反竞业限制约定的，应当按照约定向用人单位支付违约金。

Article 90: Employees who unlawfully terminate a labor contract or violate confidentiality or non-competition agreements and cause losses to the employer must bear liability for compensation.

第九十条：劳动者违反本法规定解除劳动合同，或者违反劳动合同中约定的保密义务或者竞业限制，给用人单位造成损失的，应当承担赔偿责任。