Court Upholds Unfair Dismissal and Unpaid Leave Claim Yields CNY 22,284 Award
A labor dispute between a former employee and his employer in Eastern China City resulted in a court ruling that affirmed an arbitration award of CNY 22,283.45 in total, covering unfair dismissal compensation, unpaid annual leave wages, and a withheld technical subsidy. The employee, Mr. Zang, had worked for the company from 2006 until his dismissal in October 2011. Both parties challenged the arbitration decision, leading to a consolidated court hearing. The court ultimately found that the employer failed to prove a lawful basis for termination and had not provided required annual leave.
Mr. Zang began working for the company in 2006 as a cutting operator. His last fixed-term contract covered May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2016. He claimed the company did not pay overtime properly, failed to grant paid annual leave or compensate for it, paid wages below the local minimum, and unlawfully deducted part of his September 2011 salary. On October 14, 2011, the company issued a termination letter, alleging that Mr. Zang repeatedly drank alcohol during work hours, ignored disciplinary notices and a job transfer order, and caused serious product quality defects that threatened user safety. Mr. Zang sought compensation for unfair dismissal (CNY 30,000), overtime (CNY 20,000), unpaid leave (CNY 4,587), wage deduction (CNY 200), and minimum wage shortfall (CNY 10,000). The company denied all claims and asked the court to set aside the arbitration ruling ordering it to pay.
During the hearing, the company submitted wage records from 2010 and 2011 showing overtime pay entries labeled as “overtime wages” or “special duty wages.” Mr. Zang had no detailed records of his working hours before 2010. The company also produced a disciplinary notice dated August 29, 2011, a job transfer order of October 12, 2011, and the termination letter. Mr. Zang testified he had never seen the company’s internal rules, which the company said were posted on a bulletin board. The company did not provide any evidence that Mr. Zang’s alleged drinking caused actual product defects. No records of annual leave being taken were presented.
The court found that the company’s termination was unlawful. It noted that the employer bore the burden of proving a fair reason for dismissal and that it had followed proper procedures. The company failed to submit any evidence of serious quality issues caused by Mr. Zang’s conduct, nor did it prove that its disciplinary regulations had been properly adopted or communicated to employees. The court therefore upheld the arbitration award of CNY