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Representative AI image (Credit: Lexica)

A court in China ruled that a company must compensate a former employee after firing him sleeping at work. The man, identified as Zhang, worked at a chemical company in Taixing, Jiangsu province. He was fired after being caught napping at his desk the night before after working late.
Zhang had worked at the company for 20 years and achieved good performance. He was fired after the company said he violated their policies after security footage showed him sleeping at his workplace after a work-related trip that lasted until midnight the previous evening. .
A fortnight later, the HR department issued documentation stating that Zhang “was caught asleep at work due to exhaustion,” which he acknowledged with his signature. In a documented WeChat exchange, when asked about the length of his rest, Zhang confirmed that it was “about an hour or so.”
The organization, after consultation with the union, moved to formally terminate, citing serious policy violations.
The dismissal notice read: “Comrade Zhang, you joined the company in 2004 and signed an indefinite employment contract. However, your behavior of sleeping on the job is a serious violation of the company’s zero-tolerance policy. With the union’s approval, the company has decided to terminate your employment, which will terminate all employment relationships between you and the company.”
Zhang sued the company, arguing that the punishment was too harsh. The court agreed, stating that sleeping on the job did not harm the company. The court ordered the company to pay Zhang 350,000 yuan (Rs 40.78 lakh), as reported by the South China Morning Post. The court recognized the right of employers to terminate contracts for violating the rules, but emphasized the need for significant harm to justify such actions. Judge Ju Qi of the Taixing People’s Court said: “Sleeping on the job was a first offense and did not cause serious harm to the company.”
This case has sparked debate on social media in China. Some people believe the company was too harsh in firing Zhang, while others think it was wrong for him to fall asleep on the job. “Taking a nap at work is indeed wrong, but the company’s actions were too harsh. When small mistakes can lead to dismissal, it makes firing employees far too easy,” said one user. Others jealously replied, “What kind of luck is this? When you wake up, you will see that 350,000 yuan has been deposited into your bank account!”