[Case Review]

On December 26, 2022, Wang joined a cultural company as the director of human resources administration. The two parties signed a three-year employment contract, of which the probationary period is from December 26, 2022 to March 26, 2023. During the performance of the labor contract, Wang worked normally until March 12, 2023, and took paternity leave for 15 days from March 13. During the vacation, a cultural company called Wang to terminate the labor contract between the two parties. After Wang returned to work on April 1, 2023, a cultural company served a Notice of Termination of Employment Relationship to Wang, stating that the two parties would terminate the probationary labor relationship on March 12, 2023, and that according to the national labor law, Wang was entitled to 15 days of paternity leave, and the salary deadline was March 27, 2023.

Wang believed that a cultural company had illegally terminated a labor contract, so he applied for labor arbitration and demanded that the cultural company pay compensation and other expenses for the illegal termination of the labor contract. The labor arbitration commission ruled that a cultural company should pay Wang more than 18,000 yuan in compensation for illegally terminating the labor contract and more than 17,000 yuan in compensation for the difference in wages from February 26, 2023 to March 27, 2023. A cultural company was dissatisfied and sued the court.

During the trial, a cultural company claimed that Wang was absent from work, and the attendance sheet provided by it recorded that Wang's attendance was abnormal for the first 5 days of March 13, 2023, and that from March 13 to March 31, Wang left his post and went home for paternity leave without asking for leave, all of which were absenteeism. Wang did not recognize the authenticity of the attendance sheet, denied that he was absent from work, and said that on March 13, due to the sudden birth of his wife, he applied to the legal representative of a cultural company to take paternity leave by telephone, and obtained the permission of the legal representative;

【Court Decision】

After trial, the court held that in a labor dispute case, the party claiming the modification, rescission, termination or revocation of the labor contract bears the burden of proof for the facts that caused the modification of the labor contract. In this case, both parties acknowledged that the employment relationship had been terminated, but they disagreed on the reasons for the termination. Although it claimed that the reason for the dismissal was Wang's absenteeism, it did not provide sufficient evidence to prove the fact of Wang's absenteeism, the authenticity of the attendance sheet provided by it could not be confirmed, and it did not contain the content of the termination of the labor relationship due to absenteeism, so the cultural company should bear the adverse consequences of failing to provide evidence. The court rejected the grounds for termination asserted by a cultural company. Because a cultural company unilaterally terminated the labor contract without reason, it constituted illegal termination, and Wang should be paid economic compensation for the termination of the labor contract in accordance with the law. Because a cultural company did not provide evidence to prove that Wang was absent from work in March 2023, and Wang's salary during paternity leave could not be reduced, the court ordered the cultural company to pay Wang the difference in wages from February 26, 2023 to March 27, 2023.

[Judge's Statement]

The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Optimizing the Fertility Policy and Promoting the Long-term Balanced Development of the Population proposes to make childbirth-friendly an important aspect of employers' social responsibilities, encourage employers to formulate measures conducive to balancing work and family relations between employees, and negotiate and determine flexible leave and flexible working methods that are conducive to taking care of infants and young children in accordance with the law.

Article 19 of the Beijing Municipal Regulations on Population and Family Planning stipulates that female employees of government agencies, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations and other organizations who give birth in accordance with the regulations shall enjoy 30 days of maternity incentive leave and 15 days of paternity leave for their spouses in addition to the maternity leave prescribed by the state. During the period of leave for female employees and their spouses, government organs, enterprises, public institutions, social groups, and other organizations must not reduce their wages, dismiss them, or terminate their labor or employment contracts. During the probationary period, a cultural company terminated the labor contract on the grounds that Wang's paternity leave constituted absenteeism, which lacked factual and legal basis, so it should pay compensation for the illegal termination of the labor contract and the difference in wages.

Population development is a major matter that has a bearing on the development of the Chinese nation. Many places in China are actively exploring the cost-sharing mechanism of maternity leave with the participation of the state, enterprises and families, using a variety of measures to reduce the pressure on employers and employees' families, creating a childbirth-friendly working environment, and supporting male and female employees to jointly fulfill their family responsibilities.

【Judge's Tips】

Build a childbirth-friendly environment and demonstrate the progress of social civilization. Employers should assume social responsibilities, care for their employees, ensure that employees are entitled to paternity leave in accordance with the law, and shall not reduce their wages during this period, and shall not terminate their labor contracts for such reasons. It is recommended that employers improve the rules for paternity leave in the rules and regulations, and shall not refuse the approval of the employee's leave without reason, and if the employee cannot take a one-time leave due to objective circumstances such as important positions and phased work, it should actively negotiate and communicate with the employee to jointly determine the flexible leave and flexible working methods that are conducive to taking care of infants and young children.

During the leave, you should actively assume family responsibilities, share childcare obligations, give your wife life care and spiritual comfort, reduce the burden of female compatriots in the child-rearing stage, and build a harmonious family and a happy life together.

This article is from the "Golden Balance of Beijing Second Intermediate Court", and thanks for it.