Recently, I received a question from a netizen: "Hello, I joined a company in February this year and engaged in product sales. Almost a month after I joined the company, the company informed me to sign the labor contract, but I was on a business trip in other places and could not sign it on the spot. The company asked my colleague to sign the labor contract on my behalf. Is this kind of labor contract valid? Does it affect me? "

The labor contract is concluded between the employer and the employee through consultation, which stipulates the rights and obligations of both parties and plays an important role in safeguarding the rights and obligations in labor relations. For workers and employers, the signing of labor contracts has a great influence on their respective rights and interests, and in principle, they should be signed by both parties themselves. In practice, due to various factors, the phenomenon of contract signing will occur, so can the labor contract be signed by others?

Yes, but one of the following conditions must be met:

Prior authorization.

The act of signing on behalf of employees is essentially an agency act, and the agent signs labor contracts on behalf of employees according to their authorization. The labor contract is valid, and its effectiveness directly belongs to the laborer.

Ex post facto approval.

According to the provisions of the Civil Code, if the actor has no power of attorney, exceeds the power of attorney or continues to act as an agent after the termination of the power of attorney, it will not have effect on the principal without ratification by the principal. Therefore, the labor contract signed by others can be effectively recognized if the employee ratifies it without authorization afterwards.

While meeting the above conditions, the signing agent must comply with the law and have full capacity for civil conduct before the signing of the labor contract can be deemed as valid.

The main purpose of requiring employers and workers to sign labor contracts by law is to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and thus reduce unnecessary labor disputes. From this point of view, if the unit has actively fulfilled the obligation of signing the contract, and the employee has fulfilled the main obligations of the contract with practical actions and received remuneration in the actual performance of the labor contract, it can be considered as the employee's approval of the contract, and it is not appropriate to pursue the responsibility of the employer.

As a result, the company informed the netizen to sign the labor contract almost a month after he joined the company, but he could not sign it because of a business trip, so the company asked his colleague to sign it on his behalf. Obviously, this kind of behavior has not been authorized by the netizen himself in advance. Whether the labor contract is valid or not needs to be comprehensively judged by a variety of factors, such as whether it is ratified afterwards, the specific behavior of the company when arranging to sign the labor contract, and the actual work situation of the workers. In order to draw a conclusion.

The signing of a labor contract involves the rights and interests of both parties, which is easy to cause disputes and has certain risks. Therefore, it is best for both parties to sign in person, which embodies the equality and voluntariness of both parties to the labor contract to the maximum extent.