In a rather peculiar case, a man in China was dismissed from his job for spending an excessive amount of time in the restroom during his regular eight-hour work shift. Reports suggest that he would spend up to six hours per day in the toilet.
Despite the man, whose surname is Wang, claiming health-related reasons for his prolonged breaks, a Chinese court recently ruled that his extended toilet breaks were not deemed reasonable or within the bounds of normal physiological needs.
From The Philippine Star:
The local media outlet reported that the employee had surgery due to an anorectal problem in December 2014 but the pain persisted months later. He said his health condition forced his need to stay in the toilet from three to six hours every day starting in July 2015.
Official records of the unnamed company in Tianjin state that Wang, for instance, used the loo over 20 times from Sept. 7 to Sept. 15, 2015 alone.
The man got dismissed from the firm in September 2015 as the latter cited their rules in line with tardiness, absences, and leaving work earlier than expected.
Wang appealed his termination a month later and asked to get his judge back.
The labor dispute eventually reached the high court, but the judge did not rule in favor of him as authorities found the company’s decision “legal and justified.”
I mean, if you're so ill that you need to spend six hours on the toilet, then perhaps working is not in the cards for you.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions here, like how long ago was his surgery and did he have medical leave, but regardless, expecting to be paid for sitting in a bathroom isn't exactly reasonable.
