A woman in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province was dismissed by her company for refusing to stay after work to practice dancing. The news made headlines on Baidu’s hot search on January 9, sparking discussions among netizens.
According to multiple media reports on January 8, Ms. Wang (alias) worked as a beautician in a health management company in Hangzhou. One day, after working for 12 hours straight, Ms. Wang was getting ready to leave at 9 p.m. However, the company’s management insisted that she stay back to practice dancing for an upcoming company meeting.
Having already worked a long and tiring 12-hour shift, and with no prior notification about the dancing practice after work, Ms. Wang decided to go straight home.
Shortly after, Ms. Wang’s supervisor in the work WeChat group asked, “How is the dance practice at the store going?” Ms. Wang promptly responded, suggesting that the company’s management should schedule work more reasonably and not inform employees last minute, as it could be physically exhausting for them. She warned that if this continued, someone might end up sick.
The next day when Ms. Wang went to work at the store, the manager called her for a conversation. The manager presented her with an ultimatum – she could stay at the current store or be transferred to another one, but in either case, she had to obey the management’s orders without expressing any grievances or opinions.
Facing this demand from the management, Ms. Wang chose to resign.
However, the company later issued a public notice of dismissal, citing three reasons: 1. Being irresponsible to customers by leaving work at the end of her shift even when serving a client. 2. Complaining about the rehearsal for the annual meeting, disobeying the company’s orders, and arguing with the store manager in the group. 3. Not meeting the company’s behavioral standards in her daily work attitude.
The incident has sparked heated discussions among netizens.
Some netizens questioned the legality and fairness of the company’s decision to dismiss an employee for refusing to dance. Is dancing after work a part of the job or an extra requirement for the employees? The company where Ms. Wang worked is a beauty institution, and dancing clearly isn’t a primary duty. It should be considered as an extracurricular activity organized by the company outside of their regular duties.
One netizen, “LuluDreamMe好”, stated, “No matter how powerful the boss is, they cannot act arbitrarily. The dismissal should be done according to the rules, Ms. Wang had every right to refuse to rehearse, the company’s actions were really overboard.”
China Daiwei and lawyer “梁律說法” commented that according to labor laws, an employee’s daily working hours should not exceed 8 hours. Ms. Wang had already worked for 12 hours that day, far beyond the national standard. Requesting her to “overtime for dancing” after work is considered an additional requirement and unlawful; moreover, the current law stipulates that the termination of a labor contract by an employer must meet certain conditions, such as serious violations of rules by the employee. Ms. Wang’s refusal to rehearse dancing did not constitute a serious violation, and the company’s decision to dismiss her on the grounds of “defying leadership” lacked legal basis and was unlawful.
“梁律說法” suggested that Ms. Wang could apply for labor arbitration with the Labor Dispute Arbitration Committee in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Contract Law, demanding the company to pay compensation for the illegal termination of the labor contract.