In a surprising turn of events, a department manager in Jiangsu province, China was fired for sleeping on the job. However, he has been awarded 350,000 yuan (around Rs 41 lakh) in compensation by the court. The employee dedicated over 20 years of service to a chemical company in Taixing. He was dismissed after surveillance footage captured him napping for an hour at work earlier this year.
As reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the case emerged after Zhang signed a report from the company’s HR department. This explained that he was “caught sleeping at work due to exhaustion.” In a WeChat group that leaked, Zhang also stated that he once slept at work for “an hour or so”, when asked by some HR staff.
In a leaked WeChat group, Zhang also mentioned that he had once napped for “an hour or so” during work when asked by HR staff. The company issued a dismissal notice to Zhang, stating that his actions were a serious violation of company discipline and conduct, justifying his termination.
The notice recognised Zhang’s long service, stating, “Comrade Zhang, you joined the company in 2004 and signed an open-ended employment contract. However, your behavior of sleeping on the job is a serious breach of the company’s zero-tolerance discipline policy. As a result, with the union’s approval, the company has decided to terminate your employment, ending all labor relations between you and the company,” according to SCMP.
Zhang challenged his dismissal and claimed that it was unfair. He argued that the night before he was caught sleeping at work as he has been involved in a work-related task that lasted until midnight.
The court noted that employers can only terminate contracts under specific conditions such as causing substantial harm to the company. It ruled that sleeping on the job was a “first-time offence” and had not caused significant damage to the company. The court also took into account the employee’s long service, promotions and salary increases.
The court determined that firing the employee for a single incident was too harsh and not justified. As a result, the company was ordered to pay him a compensation of 350,000 yuan (Rs 41.6 lakh).
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