新业态下主播经纪合同的性质认定与法律适用

Definition of the Nature and Legal Application of Anchor Brokerage Contracts under New Business Formats

主播与经纪公司一般通过签订主播经纪合同开展网络直播工作。与民事关系中的平等合作模式不同,公司孵化模式下的主播经纪合同在性质认定上通常面临民事与劳动关系之抉择。一方面,孵化模式决定了主播对公司在人身、经济、组织层面具有一定的从属性;另一方面,在数字经济推动下,主播开展直播工作可不受时空限制、收入可不完全依赖公司,致使其劳动从属性有所降低,民事关系掺杂其中。主播经纪合同作为一种无名合同,在司法实践中面临合同性质认定难题,对此当前学理上存在两种观点。一是劳动关系说,即认为主播与公司是劳动关系,倾向于对从属性进行扩大解释、将劳动权利具体化或者构建类雇员制度。二是民事关系说,即认为主播与公司是民事关系,倾向于将主播经纪合同认定为服务合同或合伙合同。但这两种观点均受困于单一法律关系,难解利益平衡之困局。主播经纪合同在本质上属于混合合同,既涉及完全劳动合同与民事合同的混合,也涉及不完全劳动合同与民事合同的混合。对于完全劳动合同与民事合同的混合,应采用吸收说适用《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》(简称《劳动合同法》)。对于不完全劳动合同与民事合同的混合,应采用类推适用说分层适用《中华人民共和国民法典》(简称《民法典》)第四百六十七条。具体而言,涉及人格、健康、自由等底线保障,如竞业限制条款及最低工资、工时保障的,应参照适用《劳动合同法》及《中华人民共和国劳动法》;未触及底线保障的,应按事项性质分别适用《民法典》合同编规则,如对违约金争议适用其合同编通则,对账号归属权争议参照适用其技术合同规则。采取上述以民事关系为本体加码劳动基准权益的路径,有助于缓和部门法之间的冲突,平衡各方利益。

Anchors and brokerage companies often engage in live-streaming by signing anchor brokerage contracts.Different from the equal cooperation model in civil relations,the definition of the nature of anchor brokerage contracts in incubation model encounters a dilemma in determining whether they fall under civil relations or labor relations.On one hand,the incubation model means that anchors exhibit certain personal,economic,and organizational dependencies;on the other hand,driven by the digital economy,anchors can conduct their live-streaming work without restrictions of time and space,and their income is not entirely dependent on the brokerage company,which in turn reduces their labor dependency,while there are some civil relations being involved.As an innominate contract,in juridical practice,anchor brokerage contracts are facing the dilemma of nature definition,and there are two different views on that in terms of scientific principle.The first is the theory of labor relations,and it believes that the relation between anchors and the brokerage company is labor relation,and prefers broadening the interpretation of dependency,concretizing labor rights,and establishing a quasi-employee system;and the second is the theory of civil relations,and it believes that the relation between anchors and the brokerage company is civil relation,and recognizes it as a service contract or partnership contract.The flaws of these perspectives lie in their confinement to a single legal relationship,failing to resolve the dilemma of balancing interests.Streamer brokerage contracts are essentially mixed contracts,including both fully labor contracts combined with civil contracts,and partially labor contracts combined with civil contracts.When a fully labor contract is mixed with a civil contract,the absorption theory should be adopted to apply The Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China;and when a partially labor contract is mixed with a civil contract,the analogy theory should be adopted to apply the provisions of the unnamed contract under Article 467 of The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China in layers.Specifically speaking,issues involving the protection of dignity,health,and freedom,such as non-compete clauses and minimum wage and working hours protection,should be analogously applied to The Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China and The Labor Law of the People's Republic of China;and beyond these baseline protections,the rules of the contract chapter of The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China should be applied according to the nature of the matters,such as applying the general principles of the contract chapter to disputes over liquidated damages,and applying technology contracts to disputes over account ownership.Adopting a mixed contract model that fundamentally considers civil relations while enhancing labor basic rights and interests helps to mitigate conflicts between different areas of law and balance the interests of all parties.