What is the connection and difference between a collective contract and an employment contract?

The difference between a collective contract and an employment contract.

Collective contracts and labor contracts are both important forms and legal systems for adjusting labor relations, and the two are closely related and have common points in terms of the purpose and content of their conclusion, but there are obvious differences between collective contracts and labor contracts, and they cannot be equated or substituted for each other. The main differences between the two are:

First, the parties to a collective contract are different from those of an employment contract. The parties to a collective contract are trade unions representing employees on one side and enterprises on the other. One of the parties to the labor contract is the individual employee, and the other party is an enterprise, institution or employer.

This means that individual workers, as the party who sells their labour, cannot enter into collective agreements, and trade unions cannot enter into labor contracts for individual workers.

Second, the content of a collective contract is different from that of an employment contract. Both collective contracts and labor contracts are based on work tasks, working conditions, labor remuneration, insurance benefits, etc., but there are differences when the specific agreement is concluded. Collective contracts regulate collective labor relations, and are comprehensive, complex, and holistic.

If the content of the labor relationship is not stipulated in the laws and regulations or only the basic standards are stipulated, and certain issues in the individual labor contract are not stipulated by the laws and regulations, the collective contract may stipulate. The content of the labor contract is relatively simple, and it is generally directly stipulated in the laws and regulations, and if the laws and regulations do not provide for it, it can be stipulated by the labor contract, which is single.

Third, the time at which a collective contract arises is different from that of an employment contract. Collective contracts arise in the course of labor relations and do not depend on the participation of individual workers in labor. However, the labor contract arises before the employee of one of the parties participates in the labor, and is the legal evidence for the establishment of the labor relationship by the employee on the premise of the employee's employment.

Fourth, the role of a collective contract is different from that of an employment contract. The role of the collective contract system is to improve labor relations and safeguard the group interests of employees. The role of the labor contract is to establish labor relations and safeguard the rights and interests of individual workers and employers.

Fifth, the validity of collective contracts is different from that of labor contracts. As far as the employee is concerned, the collective contract is valid for all employees of a unit, while the labor contract is only valid for individual employees, and the standard of working conditions and labor remuneration in the labor contract shall not be lower than that stipulated in the collective contract.

Collective contracts have formed a basic standard for labor remuneration, working hours, overtime leave, insurance benefits, employee training, labor safety, special protection for female employees, etc. Where the standard of treatment agreed in the individual labor contract is higher than the standard agreed in the collective contract, the agreement in the individual labor contract shall prevail.

1.The purpose is different. The purpose of implementing a collective contract is to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of workers as a whole, adjust and improve labor relations, and promote the common development of enterprises and workers A labor contract is an agreement between an individual worker and an employer to establish a labor relationship and clarify the rights and obligations of both parties.

2.The main body is different. The subject of the collective contract is the employer or employer's group and all the employees represented by the trade union, in China it is the enterprise and the enterprise trade union (in the case of enterprises without a trade union, the representative elected by the employees) The main body of the labor contract is the employer and the individual employee, and in China it is the employer and the individual worker.

3.The content is different. The collective contract not only stipulates the general working and living conditions of the enterprise, but also involves all aspects of labor relations, and the content has the characteristics of being extensive and integral.

The labor contract stipulates the rights and obligations of the individual employee and the employer, and the content is mostly about the working conditions. 4.The legal effect is different.

The collective contract is more effective than the labor contract, and the collective contract applies to all employees of the enterprise, and the labor contract is only binding on the individual workers. The collective contract stipulates the minimum labor standards of the enterprise, and the labor standards stipulated in the labor contract shall not be lower than the provisions of the collective contract, otherwise it will be invalid, and the invalid part shall be replaced by the standard stipulated in the collective contract. 5.

Responsibilities are different. If a party to a collective contract violates the provisions of the collective contract, infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of the trade union and all employees and causes losses, the trade union shall bear the material liability for compensation, and the trade union shall generally only bear moral responsibility for the superior trade union and all members, and the superior trade union shall give criticism and education, correct the breach of contract, and make up for the losses caused to the enterprise by the breach of contract in an appropriate manner, but generally does not bear the material liability for compensation.

Article 51 of the Labor Contract Law Article 51 An employee of an enterprise and an employer may, through consultation on an equal footing, conclude a collective contract on matters such as labor remuneration, working hours, rest and vacation, labor safety and health, insurance and benefits, etc. The draft of the collective contract shall be submitted to the workers' congress or all employees for discussion and approval. The collective contract shall be concluded between the trade union and the employer on behalf of the employees of the enterprise; For employers that have not yet established a trade union, the higher-level trade union shall guide the representatives nominated by the workers to enter into a contract with the employer.

The connection between the contract and the labor contract: both are signed between the employee and the employer; All have the function of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers; are used to adjust labor relations; The provisions of the labor contract on the rights and interests of workers shall not be lower than the standard of the collective contract; For matters that are not specified in the labor contract or are not specified, the collective contract has a supplementary function; Other.

Article 18 of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China If the labor contract is not clear on the standards of labor remuneration and working conditions, and a dispute arises, the employer and the employee may renegotiate; If the negotiation fails, the provisions of the collective contract shall apply; If there is no collective contract or the collective contract does not stipulate labor remuneration, equal pay for equal work shall be implemented; Where there is no collective contract or the collective contract does not stipulate standards such as working conditions, the relevant provisions of the state shall apply.

1. Both are contracts, both of which have the function of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the workers, and are signed between the workers and the employer, and both are used to adjust the labor relationship. Generally speaking, the provisions of the labor contract on the rights and interests of the workers shall not be lower than the standards of the collective contract The standards of the collective contract are the minimum standards for the rights and interests of the workers. For matters that are not specified in the labor contract or are not specified, the collective contract has a supplementary function;

2. Collective contracts are created and developed on the basis of labor contracts There are obvious differences between the two:

The parties to the contract are different: one party to the collective contract is the employer, and the other party must be a trade union formed by the voluntary union of employees or a representative elected by the employees, and individual workers generally cannot sign a collective contract with the employer alone; One of the parties to an employment contract is the employer, while the other party is usually the individual employee.

The content of the contract is different: the collective contract stipulates the working conditions, working hours, labor remuneration, welfare benefits, etc. of the collective labor of the employees, and clarifies the overall measures of the relevant employers; The employment contract is limited to stipulating the rights and obligations between the individual employee and the employer.

The scope of application is different: the collective contract applies to all employees of the employer, that is, a collective contract applies to every employee of the employer; The employment contract is only applicable to the individual employee and is not binding on other employees of the employer.

Different legal effect: the legal effect of the collective contract is higher than the legal effect of the labor contract, it is an important basis for the enterprise to conclude the labor contract, and the standard of the terms of the labor contract concluded between the individual worker and the enterprise shall not be lower than the provisions of the collective contract, and the terms stipulated in the collective contract shall prevail when the two are inconsistent. At the same time, the collective contract is effective for both the employer and all the employees who sign the collective contract, while the labor contract can only be effective for the employer and individual employees.

The liability for breach of contract is different: as far as the termination of the collective contract is concerned, when the employee violates the collective contract, the employer cannot terminate the collective contract, and the employer in the collective contract shall be liable for material compensation if it violates the provisions of the collective contract and infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of the trade union and all employees and causes losses; Trade unions that do not fulfill the provisions of the collective contract are generally not liable for material compensation. The labor contract is different as long as the conditions for breach of contract are met, it constitutes a breach of contract, and compensation may be given according to the consequences and the size of the loss, and the contract may be terminated because of the breach of contract.

Legal Analysis: Both the collective contract and the labor contract are contracts, both of which have the function of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the workers, and are signed between the workers and the employer, and both are used to adjust the labor relationship. The provisions of the labor contract on the rights and interests of workers shall not be lower than the standard of the collective contract, which is the minimum standard for the rights and interests of the workers.

Legal basis: Provisions on Collective Contracts

Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the "Labor Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Merger of Trade Unions" so as to regulate collective bargaining and the signing of collective contracts, and to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of workers and employers in accordance with the law.

Article 3 The term "collective contract" as used in these Provisions refers to a written agreement signed through collective negotiation between an employer and its employees in accordance with the provisions of laws, regulations, and rules on matters such as labor remuneration, working hours, rest and vacation, labor safety and health, vocational training, insurance and benefits, etc.; The term "special collective contract" refers to a special written agreement signed between an employer and its employees on a certain content of collective negotiation in accordance with the provisions of laws, regulations, and rules.

Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purpose of improving the labor contract system, clarifying the rights and obligations of both parties to the labor contract, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers, and building and developing a harmonious and stable labor relationship.

Article 8 When an employer recruits a worker, it shall truthfully inform the worker of the work content, working conditions, work location, occupational hazards, production safety status, labor remuneration, and other information that the worker requires to know; The employer has the right to know the basic information of the employee directly related to the labor contract, and the employee shall truthfully explain it.