A Chinese engineer who was dismissed for allegedly opening his computer eight minutes late and chatting with colleagues has won a legal battle after a court ruled that his termination was unlawful.
According to reports, the employee, identified only as Lin, had worked for a technology company for more than four years before returning to the firm’s Nanjing branch in January 2025 after completing an overseas project.
Just one month later, the company abruptly fired him for what it described as “serious disciplinary violations” and reportedly demanded that he complete all resignation procedures within an hour.
The company later presented several silent CCTV recordings as evidence, claiming Lin had repeatedly neglected his duties.
Among the alleged violations were leaving his desk for several minutes, speaking with colleagues, checking his mobile phone, turning on his computer eight minutes after arriving at work and leaving his workstation a few minutes before the end of the workday.
The employer cited multiple incidents, including leaving his seat for between nine and 15 minutes, engaging in short conversations with colleagues and allowing his computer screen to remain inactive for nearly half an hour on one occasion.
Lin strongly disputed the allegations in court. He argued that leaving his desk was necessary for basic needs such as using the toilet and getting drinking water, while conversations with colleagues were related to normal work discussions.
He also explained that checking his mobile phone was part of his job, as he used it to communicate with colleagues and monitor competitor products.
Regarding accusations that he left work early, Lin said the office was located on the fourth floor while the attendance clock was on the ground floor, meaning he needed several minutes to wait for the lift and reach the clocking station before officially signing out.
The engineer further argued that during his four years with the company, he had never received any disciplinary warnings or complaints. He claimed the company relied solely on selected CCTV footage to justify the dismissal without conducting any proper investigation.
In its final ruling, the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court found that the behaviours shown in the recordings were brief, infrequent and did not amount to serious misconduct.
The court ruled that the company’s decision to summarily dismiss the employee based on the CCTV footage was unlawful and ordered the employer to pay compensation of 108,000 yuan (approximately RM64,000).
The case sparked widespread discussion online, with many social media users criticising the company’s management style and describing the workplace rules as excessively harsh.
