If the company voluntarily absorbs employee deposits, it does not constitute illegal fund-raising and is not illegal. However, if the company forces employees to deposit money for financing, it is illegal and may constitute illegal fund-raising. Under normal circumstances, it is not illegal for a company to absorb employee deposits and raise funds. From the point of view of company law and labor law, this kind of absorption can only be a shareholding or collective investment of equity, and it is not mandatory. If the company forces employees to raise funds by subordination, that is another matter.

According to the relevant provisions of the Interpretation of the Supreme Court on the Applicable Law for Handling Cases of Illegal Fund-raising, the act of absorbing funds from the public (including units and individuals) in violation of national financial management laws shall be deemed as "illegally absorbing public deposits or absorbing public deposits in disguise" as stipulated in Article 176 of the Criminal Law, unless otherwise stipulated in the Criminal Law.