Chinese man fired for spending up to six hours in toilet during office hours

A Chinese man — surnamed Wang — was fired from his company for spending up to six hours in a restroom during work, South China Morning Post reported. 

The employee joined the company in April 2006. But later, Wang started working on a non-fixed-term contract since April 2013.

Wang had been treated for an illness back in December 2014, after which, he started having "adventures in the lavatory”. 

His surgery was successful, however, he said that he was still experiencing persistent pain which forced him to spend between three to six hours daily in the restroom since July 2015. 

The records by the company show that Wang would visit the lavatory two to three times a day between September 7 and 17, 2015. This means that he visited the restroom 22 times during that time. 

He would stay in the toilet from 47 minutes to 196 minutes — which makes it over three hours. Following this, his contract got terminated on September 23, 2015, due to "tardiness, early departures and unauthorised absence from work."

After that, the errant employee requested the company to continue the non-fixed-term labour contract and to reinstate him. However, he couldn't get the job back after a legal process. 

The courts decided against Wang, saying that his restroom stays went "beyond reasonable physiological needs" and that his termination was legal and justified. 

This case stunned the social media users who also spoke against the employee. 

“Spending four hours out of an eight-hour working day in the lavatory? What employer could accept that?” said one person. 

“It’s like being paid to use the loo,” another said.

“Being sick deserves sympathy, but one should not use it as an excuse. If such employees were to win, restrooms would be overwhelmed,” said another.