China: Employee’s Taking of Sick Leave without Providing Sick Leave Certificate from Hospital is Found as Serious Violation of Labor Discipline

The Employee entered into an open-ended employment contract with the Employer.  The Employee Handbook specifies that employees shall apply for sick leave through OA system and submit sick leave certificates issued by hospitals.  The Employee applied for sick leave in the OA system and took the leave without providing sick leave certificate.  Afterwards, the Employer sent 4 warning letters to the Employee to request provision of  sick leave certificates.  Upon receipt of the warning letters, the Employee provided sick leave certificates but with discontinuous periods unbale to cover all the leaves he had taken.  The Employer then terminated the Employee and the Employee filed a lawsuit against the Employer.  The Shanghai High Court eventually dismissed the case with the decisions that: (1) it is basic labor discipline for employees to promptly provide sick leave certificate when applying for sick leave; (2) employers are allowed to terminate employees in medical treatment period for violation of labor discipline; and (3) the Employee’s failure to provide sick leave certificates for all leave periods taken constitue as serious violation of labor discipline and the Employer’s termination of employment on such basis is legal.

Zhong Lun attorneys are available to assist you with these and other workplace issues. For more information, visit www.zhonglun.com.

For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.