A social media post from a Shanghai employee has sparked debate after she was heavily fined for requesting a one-hour leave during a typhoon-induced storm.
On August 10, as Typhoon Dolphin brought heavy rain and flooding, causing multiple subway lines to suspend service, the employee worried about being late due to her 1.5-hour commute. She promptly submitted a one-hour leave request on the company system, which was approved by HR but not by the boss. Upon arriving at work, she faced criticism from the boss, and later, the company issued a disciplinary notice penalizing two employees for improper leave and one HR staff for improper approval.
The company's notice acknowledged the extreme weather but stated that most employees maintained good attendance and professionalism. It cited three violations: one employee used personal leave to mask tardiness, another submitted a full-day leave without following procedure (considered unauthorized absence), and a third, the administrative manager, failed to lead by example by approving non-compliant leave requests. All three faced performance-based deductions, with the two who took leave losing 20% of their performance bonus and the HR staff losing 50%. The affected employee, who will lose nearly 1,500 yuan, argued that the penalty was excessive compared to the usual 200-yuan fine for lateness, and criticized the company for being unreasonable given the unexpected heavy rain.
On August 12, a staff member from the Shanghai Qingpu District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau stated that the company's penalty violated government regulations encouraging remote work during severe weather, and employees can file a complaint with labor inspection authorities. The bureau noted that an official notice on August 9 explicitly prohibited companies from deducting wages or imposing penalties for typhoon-related delays. The Qingpu District Federation of Trade Unions, which has not yet received a complaint but is aware of the incident, criticized the company's lack of human consideration and offered to provide legal aid if needed. The Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission, Public Security Bureau, and other departments issued a joint reminder with four prohibitions, emphasizing that enterprise rules cannot override government emergency directives and labor laws, and that safety should take precedence over attendance.
Lawyer Ma Yikun from Shanghai Qifang Law Firm explained that typhoons and heavy rain constitute force majeure, and the government's joint notice prohibits salary deductions or disciplinary action for weather-related delays. The company's requirement for advance leave applications should be considered in context, and the employee's short-term leave due to subway suspensions and road flooding was not a deliberate fault, making the company's accusation of falsification unfounded. The significant salary deduction lacks legal basis, as the wage payment regulations only allow deductions for actual economic losses caused by the employee, not for commuting difficulties. Even if tardiness occurred, the penalty of 20% performance deduction and nearly 1,000 yuan is excessive, and the joint penalty for the approving HR staff is also unsupported. Laborers have the right to refuse hazardous commuting under the Labor Contract Law, and the employee can file a complaint with labor authorities or seek arbitration to recover wages.