Chinese man fired for refusing to perform at company party, leader felt refusal was 'disrespectful'

A court in China has ordered a company to pay one of its employees a lump sum compensation for illegally terminating the employee who refused to perform at the company's annual banquet.

The Shenzhen Trade Union recently published the case where the employee cited being too busy with work as the reason for refusing to perform, Sin Chew Daily reported, adding that the company leader who asked him to perform felt his refusal was "disrespectful".

As a result, the company issued the employee a termination notice the day after he declined to perform.

This is because his behaviour, which the company viewed as disobedience to company arrangements and absenteeism, was seen as a serious violation of discipline.

Court ruling

However, the employee disagreed with the company's decision to terminate him, news.southcn.com reported, adding that he sought to protect his rights through labour arbitration.

According to Labour Rights Law, this refers to a dispute resolution mechanism that involves the union, the employer and a neutral, third-party decision maker agreed to by the parties or appointed by a Labour Relations Board known as the Arbitrator.

Following arbitration, a first-instance judgment and second-instance mediation, the court ultimately ruled that the company had illegally terminated the employee's labour contract.

As such, they were required to pay the employee a lump sum compensation.

Scope of work

In light of this incident, the Shenzhen Trade Union noted that one thing to consider is whether such annual meetings or banquets are voluntary for employees, Chinese media reported.

On the contrary, activities with no attendance requirement or penalty for non-participation are closer to the nature of employee benefits provided by the company.

The Shenzhen Trade Union thus emphasised that employers should not use annual meetings as a pretext to abuse their management and disciplinary powers.

Employees have the right to refuse non-mandatory company activities, the union noted, adding that employers cannot use this as a reason to terminate employment contracts or deduct wages.

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