Got fired 3 times! Cleaning team driver sued "employment relationship exists" Huatan Township Office lost all three trials

A cleaning team driver surnamed Zheng sued the Huatan Township Office, stating that "an employment relationship exists." The lawsuit went to the third instance, and the Supreme Court ruled in Zheng's favor and the entire case was settled. (File photo)

A man surnamed Zheng from Changhua County was employed as a driver for the cleaning team of Huatan Township Office more than 20 years ago, but was fired three times from 2019 to 2024. Regarding the third dismissal in September 2024, Zheng filed a lawsuit against Huatan Township Office. The first-instance verdict found that the company and Zheng The man's "employment relationship exists", Zheng Nan should be reinstated, and the office should pay him his salary during the period of dismissal. The Huatan Township Office's second appeal was rejected, and it appealed to the third instance. The Civil Division of the Supreme Court rejected the appeal at the end of last month (October). It was confirmed that Zheng Nan won the case and the entire case was decided.

During the litigation between the two parties, the Supervisory Yuan corrected the Huatan Township Office in February 2025. The reason was that after the township head Gu Shengmin took office, the township office disciplined and dismissed Zheng Nan three times. In the first two times, the court recognized that an employment relationship existed between the two parties (Zheng Nan won both cases), but Zheng Nan was dismissed for the first time. After being reinstated, he was not reinstated to his original position and was instead improperly transferred and reassigned to clerical work. In addition, the township office continued to punish Zheng Nan intensively and frequently launched disciplinary dismissals, etc., which showed that management measures were improper, inconsistent with the principle of proportionality and procedural legitimacy, and undermined Zheng Nan's labor rights.

In response to the township office's continuous and intensive punishment of Zheng Nan, "frequent disciplinary and dismissal actions", the Changhua District Court had a similar opinion in the first instance. The judge believed that the Huatan Township Office claimed that "there was no vacancy for cleaning team members" and transferred Zheng Nan to a clerkship. However, before and after Zheng Nan's reinstatement, the office posted a "Recruitment Announcement for Cleaning Team Members" on the Internet, which showed that what the office said was untrue. Moreover, the office frequently punished Zheng Nan without giving him a proper opportunity to reply or appeal. "The punishments are obviously arbitrary and violate the principles of fairness and proportionality, and should be revoked."

After the company lost the first and second instance, it appealed to the third instance. The company alleged that the main reason for the dismissal (the third time) was that Zheng Nan accepted a fruit gift box. The third instance of the Supreme Court found that the woman surnamed Hong wanted to give a fruit gift box to the cleaning team for their hard work on July 26, 2024, but was rejected by Zheng. Hong then put the gift box in the car driven by Zheng. This was not actively requested by Zheng due to his position, nor did it constitute a "serious obstruction to the work order and reputation of the cleaning team." Accordingly, the Huatan Township Office lost the case.