In Shanghai, a woman was fired from her job because her husband was in a rival company. The court ruled it illegal and ordered the company to pay compensation of 6,90,000 yuan due to lack of evidence.
Shanghai: Working in her husband’s rival company cost a woman so much that she lost her job. But when the matter reached the court, the company realized its mistake. The court has ordered a Shanghai company to pay a compensation of 6,90,000 yuan (about Rs 83 lakh) for illegally firing its female employee. The case was heard in Shanghai’s Shuhui District People’s Court.
What did the company say?
This woman named Liu was working in a property management company since 2006. But in late 2023, the company fired her, saying that her husband being the general manager of a rival company could be “disadvantageous” for the company. The company feared that Liu might give confidential company information to her husband. Liu complained against this decision of the company to the Labor Arbitration Committee in February 2024. After investigation, the committee ordered the company to compensate Liu for salary and leave money.
The matter reached the court
But the company was not happy with this decision and took the matter to court. The company argued that as operations manager, Liu knew many of the company’s secrets, which posed a threat to the company. At the same time, Liu rejected all these allegations. She told the court that she was only in a supporting role and had no access to the secrets of the company.
Court announced its decision
The court rejected the company’s arguments outright. The court said that the company could not provide any concrete evidence to prove that Liu had caused any loss to the company’s interests. According to Chinese law, the condition of ‘non-compete’ i.e. not working in the same company applies only to senior executives or technical experts.
The court made it clear that Liu neither held any such position nor had she signed any such agreement. The court also said that it is a common practice for husband and wife to work in different companies of the same industry. After this, the court ordered the company to pay compensation of 6,90,000 yuan to Liu.
This news went viral on Chinese social media. While some people justified the company’s concerns, most people believed that it was completely wrong to fire someone without any evidence.