Employee fired for napping at desk after a late night shift wins lawsuit

A Chinese man, who came from a late night shift, sued his former employer after being dismissed for napping at his desk. He was awarded 350,000 yuan (P2.8 million).

Zhang, a department manager at a chemical company in Taixing, Jiangsu province in southeastern China, has been with the company for more than two decades. However, he was fired for sleeping while on the job, the South China Morning Post reported.

Zhang, who came from a work-related drive that extended until midnight the night before, was caught on surveillance camera sleeping at his desk. The HR department then issued a memo, signed by Zhang, saying that he had been “caught sleeping at work due to exhaustion.”

In a WeChat conversation that has since circulated online, Zhang was asked by an HR officer how long he napped that day. He responded: “About an hour or so.”

This prompted the company to consult with the labor union and later dismiss Zhang for violating company rules.

“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. Consequently, with the union’s approval, the company has decided to terminate your employment, ending all labor relations between you and the company,” the notice stated.

Following this, Zhang filed a lawsuit against the company.

The court, in its ruling, affirmed that while employers have the right to terminate contracts for breaches of regulations, such terminations must be justified and not result in significant loss to the employee.

Judge Qi noted that it was Zhang's first offense and what he did “did not result in serious harm to the company.”

The court sided with Zhang, awarding him 350,000 yuan (P2.8 million) in compensation from the company.