A surprising case has come to light from China, where a private company fired its engineer for going to the bathroom repeatedly and for a long time during working hours. The matter came into limelight when the engineer approached the court regarding his dismissal and the entire story became public. Now this matter is becoming increasingly viral on social media and internet users are talking about it.
Employee used to take frequent bathroom breaks, company took away his job
According to the information, this person surnamed Li was working as an engineer in a company in Jiangsu province for more than 10 years. The company alleged that Lee repeatedly went to the bathroom during working hours and sometimes did not return for hours. For this reason the company terminated his services.
The case reached the court
After being fired from the job, Lee approached the court against his former employer. He claimed that his dismissal was wrong and unfair. During the hearing of this case, the company presented footage of surveillance cameras in its defense. According to the footage, Lee took 14 extremely long bathroom breaks over a 30-day period between April and May 2024. The longest break among these was about four hours.
The employee said that he had piles so he used to take frequent breaks.
The company also said that when Lee was missing from his seat for a long time, the management tried to contact him through the chat app, but did not get any response. The company said that Lee’s responsibilities were such that it was necessary for him to be always available during work hours. At the same time, Lee said in his clarification that he was suffering from health problems. He presented evidence in the court of medicines related to piles, which his partner had purchased online in May and June 2024. Apart from this, he also showed the medical records related to his surgery which took place in January 2025. Lee said that due to illness it was a compulsion for him to go to the bathroom again and again.
The court ruled in favor of the company
Li and his lawyers demanded from the court that they should be given a compensation of 3 lakh 20 thousand yuan (about 45 thousand dollars) in return for the contract that the company has terminated. However, in this case the court ruled in favor of the company. The court believed that Lee’s time spent in the bathroom during work exceeded normal physical requirements. The court also said that Lee had not informed the company in advance about his health problem nor had he taken medical leave. Apart from this, the company had also taken permission from the labor union before removing him, which was correct as per the rules.
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Users gave their reactions
As soon as this matter came to light, a heated debate broke out on social media. Many users described the company’s decision as inhumane and harsh, while some people justified the court’s decision. One user wrote, “Illness is not anyone’s choice, so it is wrong to fire an employee for going to the bathroom.” While another user said, wow, “If someone remains missing for hours and does not give information to the company, then action is necessary.”
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