Man Sues Chinese Company for Firing Him Over Sleeping at Desk, Receives ₹40 Lakh as Compensation

A Chinese man named Zhang was fired after surveillance footage caught him napping at his desk during working hours. Zhang had been employed for over 20 years as a department manager at a chemical company in Taixing, Jiangsu province.

Two weeks after the incident, the company’s human resources (HR) department released a report, stating that Zhang had been “caught sleeping at work due to exhaustion.” A viral conversation between Zhang and an HR staff member revealed that he had slept for nearly an hour in the office. Following consultations with the labour union, the company issued a formal dismissal notice, citing Zhang’s actions as a violation of the company’s strict zero-tolerance discipline policy.

The notice stated, “Comrade Zhang, you joined the company in 2004 and signed an open-ended employment contract. However, your behaviour of sleeping on the job is a serious breach of the company's zero-tolerance discipline policy," SCMP reported. The notice further mentioned that the company decided to terminate Zhang's employment with the union's approval.

It added, “The company has decided to terminate your employment, ending all labour relations between you and the company.”

Considering the dismissal to be unjust, Zhang decided to take legal action against the company. Notably, the employee had been involved in a work-related project that lasted until midnight the night before he was found sleeping at his desk the following day.

The court observed that employers' right to terminate contracts must meet certain conditions, such as causing significant loss to the company. It decreed that sleeping on the job was a "first-time offence and did not result in serious harm to the company." It acknowledged the employee's outstanding service as indicated by promotions and salary increases.

The court ruled that a single incident of infraction was excessive and not a valid reason to terminate him. Thus, the company was made to pay its former employee 350,000 yuan ( ₹41.6 lakh) in compensation.