In an attempt to force an employee to quit, a company in China put him in a "small dark room" for four days over a labour dispute.
Later, the company led Liu to a room on a floor different from his regular workplace and informed him that he had to participate in "training."
Guangzhou Duoyi Network claimed Liu had broken company rules for the layoff to avoid having to pay compensation.
It decided that Liu's confinement to the "dark room" violated the Labour Contract Law, which requires employers to give workers a safe and healthy workplace.
The court ruled in favour of Liu, granting him 380,000 yuan (US$52,200) as compensation for the company's actions during the labour dispute.
In an attempt to force an employee to quit, a company in China put him in a "small dark room" for four days over a labour dispute. What's more shocking is that the incident came to light when the organisation Guangzhou Duoyi Network Co. Ltd. made it public after they challenged a court ruling on the case, as per reports. The room where the employee was "locked" was devoid of any computers and coworkers, and its only furniture was a table and chair,(Unsplash)
It all began in December 2022 when the employee names Liu discovered he was unable to utilise his admission pass or log into the company's computer system. This transpired after lengthy discussions over his resignation. Later, the company led Liu to a room on a floor different from his regular workplace and informed him that he had to participate in "training." There was no power supply, so the room was pitch-black. It was devoid of any computers and coworkers, and its only furniture was a table and chair, reported the South China Morning Post. (Also Read: Annoyed of your boss? Viral workplace trend sees employees 'selling' managers on e-commerce site)
What happened with Liu?
The outlet also shared that for four days, Liu was not given any assignments, and his phone was seized, although he was permitted to leave the room "freely" and go home after "work." Only on day five, following Liu's wife's police report about the company's abuse towards her husband, an official notice of termination was given.
Guangzhou Duoyi Network claimed Liu had broken company rules for the layoff to avoid having to pay compensation. He was charged with looking at pictures of nude people and visiting irrelevant websites while at work. However, according to Liu, who works as a game art editor, the pictures he saw were necessary for his job. (Also Read: 'Got my boss to admit to wage theft': Redditor's plight is viral on social media)
The lower court ruled in favour of Liu. It decided that Liu's confinement to the "dark room" violated the Labour Contract Law, which requires employers to give workers a safe and healthy workplace.
According to the South China Morning Post, the company posted the entire court record on its official Weibo account and openly disagreed with a May 2024 verdict by a district-level court in Sichuan province, southwest China. The court ruled in favour of Liu, granting him 380,000 yuan (US$52,200) as compensation for the company's actions during the labour dispute.
However, the company responded by saying: "We believe that there are many problems with the labour laws which severely hinder economic development and are arbitrarily enforced by judges who distort the facts."
