The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday is approaching! Yet some have lost their jobs due to "splicing holidays"...
Compiled from: China Legal Popularization, FindLaw, Jufa
Tomorrow is the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Many people are planning to combine leave to travel, but a trending topic 'losing your job for taking sick leave to travel' has made many people hesitate.
Case review
On May 20, 2019, Ms. Li submitted a diagnosis certificate, medical records, and medical expense receipts to the company, stating that she had an unbearable headache and went to the hospital for treatment. After examination, the doctor believed her cervical spine problem was severe and required a full two-week bed rest. The company approved Ms. Li's sick leave request. However, after the leave period, the company dismissed Ms. Li, citing reasons of providing false information to maliciously deceive the company and traveling during the sick leave.
Ms. Li was dissatisfied and filed a labor dispute arbitration and lawsuit. In court, she presented a diagnosis certificate, medical record book, and medical expense receipts, claiming that the hospital's diagnosis could prove that she was indeed ill. During her sick leave, she had the right to go out for recuperation and to relax her body and mind.
The company stated that, out of trust and care for its employees, it approved Ms. Li's sick leave request during the critical period of project research and testing, and legally paid her sick leave wages. However, in fact, Ms. Li did not stay in bed to rest but went on vacation to Hainan Island.
To this end, the company submitted screenshots of Ms. Li's Moments as evidence, showing that during her 'sick leave,' Ms. Li was vacationing outside and experiencing activities such as skydiving and diving locally. The company stated that the condition Ms. Li described as 'requiring bed rest' would make it impossible to endure long-haul flights or activities such as diving.
Court judgment
In the end, Ms. Li lost the case. The judge held that Ms. Li failed to "fake leave" in the correct manner, and her actions not only violated the employer's rules and regulations but also breached the most basic principle of good faith. Therefore, the employer had the right to terminate the employment relationship without having to pay severance or compensation for unlawful dismissal.
[1] The author's perspective
In fact, cases where this kind of 'fake sick leave' backfires and results in unemployment are not uncommon. The root of the problem actually lies in the worker's dishonesty. Labor law requires workers to adhere to labor discipline and professional ethics. Whether it is reasonable and lawful for a worker to be dismissed for taking sick leave to go on vacation depends on whether the worker's behavior during the leave contradicts their illness and does not violate common sense.
In this case, Ms. Li clearly stated that she needed to stay in bed and rest when requesting sick leave, but in reality, she went on a trip and participated in intense activities such as skydiving and diving. This is obviously self-contradictory and goes against common sense. Under these circumstances, the company can of course suspect that Ms. Li fabricated her illness to obtain sick leave, and this is a dishonest behavior that violates the employee code. It is both reasonable and legal for the company to terminate the contract.
Actually, there are ways to fake being sick that are not entirely impossible. Workers not only have sick leave but also paid annual leave. According to the "Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for Employees," units should arrange employees' annual leave in a coordinated manner based on the specific circumstances of production and work, while also considering the employees' own wishes. Therefore, with the consent of the employer, employees can apply to take their annual leave together with statutory holidays. This way, it neither violates public order and good customs nor prevents having a short long holiday, which can be considered a win-win situation.
