- Source: Young Observer
- Author: Yang Xinyu
- Time: 2024-04-23
- Visits: 350
What would you do if you suddenly receive a call from your supervisor asking you to work overtime during your weekend rest time? Previously, when faced with such a situation, Ms. Liu from Chongqing chose to stand up for her right to rest. Unexpectedly, just because of a WeChat Moments post that said, "I'm off on Saturdays and Sundays. Don't call me," she was directly dismissed by the company. The company involved claimed that the remarks Ms. Liu posted on WeChat Moments "violated the company's rules and regulations, affected the team atmosphere, damaged the company's image, and had a serious negative impact on the company," and based on this, refused to pay the compensation for the termination of the labor contract. After hearing the case, the People's Court of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing City, held that Ms. Liu's actions did not reach the extent of being negligent in work, derelict of duty, or disobedient to management and work arrangements. The company's termination of the labor contract was illegal, and it should compensate Ms. Liu with more than 49,000 yuan.
In this case in Chongqing, when faced with the sudden arrangement of weekend overtime work, it was inevitable for Ms. Liu to feel resentful. The words she wrote in her WeChat Moments were just an attempt to safeguard her weekend, and there was nothing extreme about them. In fact, they could even be said to be the common sentiment of many "office workers." In such a situation, it is unreasonable and has no legal basis for the employer to put a series of serious labels on Ms. Liu and claim that her remarks had a serious negative impact on the company.
The court legally determined that the reasons for terminating the contract put forward by the company involved were not tenable, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the laborer. At the same time, through this individual case, it further upheld the laborer's right to rest during non-working hours.
To be fair, many "office workers" represented by Ms. Liu don't expect some extraordinary "fairy-like treatment" at work. Not being disturbed after work and having normal rest during holidays are just the basic rights that every laborer on a fixed working hour system should enjoy. However, in practice, there are many employers who try every means to squeeze the labor force of their employees in order to save costs. If these employees are in a vulnerable position of being "selected" in the employment environment, they often have to succumb under pressure. The result of trying to resist is likely to be the same as that of Ms. Liu. In this regard, society must not turn a blind eye to it with the attitude of "existence proves rationality". Instead, it should recognize that such practices of the company are not only unreasonable and illogical but also illegal and must be changed as soon as possible. Essentially, with the progress of the times, putting an end to arbitrary overtime work and effectively protecting the laborers' right to rest is also an inevitable requirement for the public to fully enjoy the benefits brought about by social progress.
In recent years, news related to employers' illegal dismissal of employees has frequently topped the online hot search lists. Although Ms. Liu's experience sounds outrageous, it is no longer an isolated case in the workplace and even has a considerable degree of representativeness. Although the practices of these employers are completely untenable in the arbitration, court trial and other links and will inevitably be corrected and ordered to pay compensation, the career and life of the laborers will be more or less negatively affected and it is difficult to get 100% compensation. In this regard, on the one hand, society should start from the concept and promote employers and their managers to establish a correct view of labor, so that the unhealthy workplace atmosphere such as excessive overtime work, confusion between public and private affairs, and neglect of employees' personal rights and interests can be gradually reversed. On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen law enforcement efforts, so that the Labor Law can have sharper "teeth", and then make employers scrupulous, gradually transitioning from "daring not to infringe rights" to "being unable to infringe rights" and "not wanting to infringe rights".
Written by Yang Xinyu