Who would have thought a lie could cost you Rs 73 lakh? A man from China loses job and Rs 73 lakh, after he was caught holidaying during his sick leave.
The man named, Xu Moumou, was fired after a colleague spotted him holidaying on a tropical island when he was on sick leave and was supposed to be on bed rest.
He contested the company's action at Beijing's Third Intermediate People's Court, but it was rejected in mid-April 2023, according to China's National Business Daily (NBD) report. He also lost a 620,000-yuan (nearly Rs 73 lakh) compensation, that was awarded to him earlier.
Paid leave rejected
In 2019, Xu applied for two weeks of paid leave, but the request was rejected by his manager due to pressure at work, as per the report. Xu told his manager that he had already bought tickets for the trip to China's southern island of Hainan with his kid, but was still not granted the leave.
Applied for sick leave
Following that, Xu Moumou requested a 14-day sick leave. Additionally, Xu presented a medical certificate stating that his inability to move was caused by "dizziness and cervical spondylosis." The medical certificate states that a physician advised bed rest and neck exercises. This time, the sick leave was approved, NBD reported.
But later, he was spotted by a colleague, at the Hainan Airport with his son, who alerted his manager.
Fired from the company
On the basis that he had compromised his integrity by travelling outside of the country while on medical leave, Xu was sacked from the company. Xu retaliated, saying that he was actually travelling to heal rather than for enjoyment.
He also applied for arbitration by the Beijing Chaoyang Arbitration Commission, which ruled in his favour and ordered the tech company to pay Xu a compensation of Rs 73 lakh for illegally terminating his job, as per the report.
But later, Beijing's Third Intermediate People's Court found that Xu had lied to his employers and had no reason to travel given his medical condition. The court further upheld the termination and ordered the company not to give the mammoth amount of compensation to Xu.
