I am an only child and my father is seriously ill. What can I do? "Mr. Wang, a man from Wuhan, asked the company manager for a 7-day leave through WeChat to accompany his cancer stricken father for surgery. The company manager did not respond. The company claimed that it did not approve his leave, calling him "absent from work" and dismissed Mr. Wang, and sued him in court, arguing that the company should not pay compensation. On October 14th, Jimu News reporters learned from the court that after trial, the court ruled that the company lost the lawsuit and compensated Mr. Wang for various economic losses totaling more than 33000 yuan.
In October 2021, Mr. Wang joined a construction company as a procurement specialist. In early 2024, his father was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer and required hospitalization for treatment. On the evening of March 15th, Mr. Wang requested leave from Mr. Li, the general manager of the company, through WeChat, stating that due to his father's serious illness and no other relatives at home to assist in taking care of him, he is the only child and needs to accompany his father for the final surgery on Sunday. He is expected to take a leave of about 7 days. He reported in detail the work arrangement and progress in the information. Mr. Li did not reply to WeChat, and Mr. Wang called him again to ask for leave.
On March 28th, Mr. Wang received a notice in the company's work group stating that he had not been on duty since March 16th and would no longer be responsible for procurement work from that day on. The related work would be handled by someone else. Subsequently, Mr. Wang was removed from the company's related project WeChat group. In April of the same year, the company issued a notice of termination of employment to Mr. Wang on the grounds of "absenteeism without leave", stating that his absence without reason from March 16th to March 28th seriously violated labor discipline and constituted grounds for dismissal. The company emphasized that as their leave was not approved, they were not notified to return to work separately.
The company is dissatisfied with the arbitration decision. In October 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Mr. Wang in the Hongshan District Court of Wuhan, requesting refusal to pay compensation and the difference in annual leave wages.
In court, the company argued that Mr. Wang's request for leave solely through WeChat without approval constituted continuous absenteeism, and the company had the right to terminate the contract. In addition, the construction industry has a long Spring Festival holiday, and annual leave has been uniformly arranged during the Spring Festival period. Mr. Wang has already taken his annual leave for 2023 and 2024.
Mr. Wang pointed out that his 7-day leave actually refers to 7 working days, while the actual working days from March 16th to 28th were 8 days. He also emphasized that the Spring Festival holiday cannot be equated with annual leave, and the company has arranged work before the 15th day of the first lunar month.
The court ruled that Mr. Wang, due to his father's hospitalization for cancer, sent a WeChat message to Mr. Li, the general manager, requesting personal leave. The reason, time, and deadline for the leave have been explained, and it is necessary, urgent, and reasonable. Employers should not only arrange work reasonably, but also show empathy for employees' special difficulties.
In addition, Mr. Li did not refuse the leave request, and the company did not provide evidence to prove that he had informed Mr. Wang of the leave approval process or reminded him to return to work during the leave period. The court ultimately determined that the company's termination was illegal and should pay compensation for the illegal termination of the labor contract. After calculation, the company was ordered to compensate Mr. Wang for various economic losses totaling over 33000 yuan.
