Chinese man sues company after getting fired for long bathroom breaks

A court in the city’s Tongzhou District this week conducted the first instance trial of the labor contract dispute case between the man, identified by his first name as Liu, and his former company.

According to an article on the website of Jiangsu Provincial High People’s Court, Liu had worked at an electrical circuit company in Nantong since June 2015, earning a monthly income of 10,000 yuan (US$1,380).

Last year, Liu was frequently found spending extended periods in the company's restroom.

As stated by the company, his behavior seriously violated labor discipline and internal regulations, thus it notified him of the termination of his labor contract on Feb. 24, 2023.

In August 2023, Liu filed for labor arbitration, demanding the company compensate him with more than 200,000 yuan. After being denied compensation, he filed a lawsuit with the Tongzhou District Court.

In court, the plaintiff argued that his restroom breaks were due to personal needs as he had suffered a physical condition and did not violate the company's regulations. He claimed the company’s dismissal was baseless.

The court reviewed the company's internal video records, which showed that Liu had spent extended periods in the restroom 11 times in February 2023, with each visit lasting from 31 minutes to three hours and 5 minutes. On the longest day, he spent a total of six hours and 21 minutes in the restroom.

The court ultimately determined that the company terminated the labor contract in accordance with the law and did not support the plaintiff's lawsuit.

The company's regulations state that if an employee leaves their position without permission for more than one hour but less than two hours, it will be considered a half-day absence from work.

If they leave for more than two hours, it is considered a full day's absence. These absences are accumulated monthly, and if an employee is absent for three consecutive days in a month or four days within three months, it constitutes a serious labor discipline violation.

For such violations, the employee's contract will be terminated. These management systems were posted on the company's internal website and read by Liu. They were also attached to the labor contract signed and confirmed by Liu.

His accumulated absence time amounted to six days, and the company had the right to terminate his employment according to its regulations.

The court found that Liu's prolonged bathroom breaks "exceeded the reasonable scope of physiological needs and clearly exceeded the scope of work responsibilities." Furthermore, Liu could not prove what he was doing during this time.

The court ruled that the company's termination of Liu's employment was lawful and that Liu's compensation claim was unfounded.

Liu did not appeal, and the judgment is now in effect.