Two employees in China were fired from their jobs because they were caught having an extramarital affair and kissing each other openly while at work. The employees have now filed a lawsuit against their former employer alleging wrongful termination. South China Morning Post, The man, named Liu, and the woman, named Chen, both worked in the same department of a pharmaceutical company in southwestern China’s Sichuan province. Their relationship became public in March 2020 after Liu’s wife shared their chat records with the company’s chat group and management.
The records included messages such as “I love you” and “I want to see you all the time”. Subsequently, Liu asked for leave to address personal matters, and Chen’s husband argued with the couple at work. Despite the warnings, the romantic relationship between Liu and Chen continued, and they were again seen kissing at work.
In October 2020, a coworker asked Chen about this behavior, leading to a disagreement. The incident prompted seven coworkers to submit a joint letter to the general manager expressing concern about the situation. As a result, the company terminated Liu and Chen’s jobs, citing violations of the employee handbook and company rules.
Liu and Chen have filed separate lawsuits against their former employer. Chen is seeking compensation of 26,000 yuan (about Rs 3 lakh), while Liu, who held a more senior position, is seeking damages of more than 230,000 yuan (about Rs 27 lakh).
The company defended its decision to terminate their employment by citing its employee handbook, which allows for dismissal for unethical behavior. The handbook clearly states that it has the right to “sever labor relations with employees who are morally corrupt, tarnish the company’s reputation and reflect negatively on the company.”
The court eventually ruled in favor of the company and dismissed the lawsuits filed by Liu and Chen.
The incident was widely discussed on social media and many users criticized the behavior of the employees. One user wrote, “If he had the energy to charm his colleagues, then he obviously did not work hard enough.”
“He should be ashamed he even sued the company,” another commented.
