Basic case

    In July 2021, Xiao Chen signed a three-year labor contract with Chongqing Sports Culture Development Co., Ltd. to work as a lifeguard in a swimming pool in Nanan District.

    At the end of 2023, Xiao Chen signed the "Lifeguard Safety Responsibility Letter", which stipulates that "lifeguards are not allowed to leave their posts during duty hours, teach people to swim, and must ask off-duty lifeguards to take care of them when they leave temporarily" "If they violate the norms twice or more in a year, it will be regarded as a serious violation of the company's rules and regulations, and the company will terminate the labor relationship with them without paying economic compensation". Xiao Chen handwritten promise to abide by the above norms and accept the above punishment during the period of work.

    On March 29, 2024, the company issued a notice in the lifeguard wechat group that Xiao Chen and another lifeguard were caught not on duty because they went to the toilet during duty, violated the work system and deducted points once, and stressed that the person in charge of duty, the group leader or the lifeguard on duty should be informed when going to the toilet or under special circumstances. On April 2, the company again reported in the wechat group that Xiao Chen was photographed not at work during the smoking period in the office area after going to the toilet.

    On April 3, the company delivered the Notice of termination of the labor Contract to Xiaochen,   citing his serious violation of the rules and regulations as the reason for the termination of the labor relationship between the two parties.

    Xiao Chen believes that he had to go to the toilet under circumstances, and the company dismissed him on the grounds of violating the company's rules and regulations, which is an illegal termination of labor relations. As Xiao Chen refused to accept the labor arbitration result, he appealed to the South Bank Court and asked the company to pay more than 50,000 yuan in compensation for illegal termination of labor relations.

Court hearing

    In this case, is it legal for the company to terminate the labor contract between the two parties on the grounds of Xiao Chen's serious violation of the company's rules and regulations?

    The court held that the termination of the labor contract is the most serious punishment for the employee by the employer, and the employer should be careful to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of whether the employee has carried out a disciplinary violation, the degree, consequences and faults of the behavior, whether it has reached the penalty standard that can be terminated the labor contract, and whether the applicable rules and regulations are reasonable.

    In this case, as a professional lifeguard, based on the particularity of his position, Xiao Chen should not only have professional first-aid ability, but also should have a high degree of responsibility and professionalism, strictly adhere to work discipline, and ensure the safety of swimmers. Although Xiao Chen left his post because of his basic physical need to go to the toilet, the company should give appropriate tolerance, but according to the statements of both sides in the trial, the report in the responsibility letter is to say in the work group, so that the supervisor can arrange the replacement lifeguard in place, the process is not complicated, which does not conflict with Xiao Chen's physiological needs to go to the toilet.

    As an important safety guarantee force of the swimming pool, Chen's unauthorized departure will not only lead to a gap in the safety supervision of the water area he is responsible for, causing serious safety risks to swimmers, but also may cause irreparable serious consequences and bring great legal and operational risks to the company. The company finds that his behavior constitutes a "serious violation of the company's rules and regulations". Therefore, the termination of the labor relationship between the two parties is legitimate and lawful.

    In the end, the court rejected Xiao Chen's lawsuit request, and the case has now taken effect.

Judge's statement

    According to Article 39 of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, if a worker seriously violates the rules and regulations of the employer, the employer may terminate the labor contract without paying economic compensation.

    Therefore, workers should abide by the company's rules and regulations while protecting their legitimate rights and interests, and establish harmonious labor relations with employers. The employer should also be reasonable, standardized, open and transparent when formulating rules and regulations. If the employer terminates the labor contract on the grounds of serious violation of rules and regulations without informing the worker of the rules and regulations, it may need to pay economic compensation.

    This article is transferred from the "Shandong High Law" wechat public number, thank you!