China News Service, Beijing, November 10 (Reporter Liu Yue) The phrase "drawing the ground as a prison" actually became the trigger for being fired?
Recently, a netizen posted a post saying that he posted a self-deprecating sentence on WeChat, "I will draw the ground as a prison, it's Monday." Later, he was interviewed by his boss, and was told that he was "not active at work" and was fired. This topic has sparked heated debate.
According to Lizhi News on November 8, the reporter contacted the netizen and confirmed that he had resigned and received corresponding compensation. Since the relevant company has not publicly spoken out or accepted interviews, more information needs to be confirmed as to whether the incident actually happened and whether the so-called "playing tricks" are directly related to the dismissal. But this incident also caused many people to question: In the real workplace, can such a WeChat status really be a legal reason for dismissal by the company?
"I was fired because I was a prisoner" sparked heated discussion, source of the picture on social media
This turmoil originated from a recently popular internet meme.
Singer Xu Fei choked up and said, "I draw the ground as a prison, Li Na" when facing his long-lost friend Li Na in the variety show "The Friendship Period". This scene was widely circulated on social platforms, and "drawing the ground as a prison" became a buzzword used by many netizens to ridicule their own situation.
According to the description of the above-mentioned netizen, he followed this meme and posted a self-deprecating WeChat status at noon on Monday. Unexpectedly, he was interviewed by his boss in the afternoon and said that he was "not active at work" and was subsequently listed on the company's layoff list. The netizen wrote in the post: "This is really a trap."
Netizens said that they were fired because of "playing tricks and drawing the ground into prison." Image source social media
According to his statement, being fired was expected, and "not having a positive work attitude" was just an opportunity. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the real reason is not this joke. The netizen revealed that the resignation procedures were completed in the morning of the day of resignation, and new people were already in place at the work station.
The netizen later responded on the social platform, "I was very embarrassed that day, but I am not ashamed." He also reminded other netizens in the comment area: the compensation amount, payment time, and social security suspension time must be stated in writing and stamped by the company.
Although some netizens ridiculed that "the first victim of 'painting the ground as a prison' has appeared," so far, the full picture of the incident is still difficult to fully restore, and more evidence is needed to explain the causal relationship between the joke content and the decision to dismiss. However, the core legal issues arising from this can be discussed first.
Park Yidan, a lawyer at Beijing Xingquan Law Firm, said in an interview with China News Service that WeChat status is usually only visible to friends, and the phrase "drawing the ground as a prison" is more likely to be regarded as a joke and self-deprecating, and it is difficult to become a legal basis for terminating labor relations. If the company dismisses you for this reason, it may be suspected of illegally terminating the labor contract.
"An Internet meme generally does not fall within the statutory grounds for termination stipulated in Articles 39 and 40 of the Labor Contract Law. Workers may consider claiming for continued performance of the contract or claiming compensation for illegal termination."
In response to the party's statement that "the dismissal was expected, and the funny content was just an opportunity," she analyzed that based on the above situation, if true, this dismissal is closer to the company's "using the topic to play". The essential motivation does not rule out performance issues or established layoff plans, and social dynamics may just be used as a reason. From a legal perspective, if the reasons stated in the termination notice are not valid, the termination may be deemed to lack a legal basis, and there is a risk of illegal termination.
"Legal dismissal usually depends on whether the reason for dismissal actually exists, whether it is supported by objective evidence, whether it meets the termination circumstances stipulated in the Labor Contract Law or the company's system, and whether the intensity of the punishment is proportional to the degree of fault and should not be obviously excessive. The use of excuses often manifests itself in the inconsistency between the real motivation and the apparent reason, insufficient dismissal evidence, the punishment is clearly disproportionate to the alleged fault, or the company's rules and regulations themselves are illegal, etc."
If "drawing the ground as a prison" is only the trigger, and the real reason cited by the company for dismissal is "not having a positive work attitude," then can this evaluation become the basis for legally terminating the labor contract?
Park Ye-dam further pointed out that "unpositive work attitude" is usually just a subjective evaluation and is generally not considered a statutory reason for termination. If it is classified as "incompetent for work", it usually needs to be proved that the employee is indeed incompetent and is still incompetent after training or reassignment; if it is classified as "serious violation of discipline", it usually needs to be clearly defined in the rules and regulations, the facts are clear, and it reaches a serious level. It is difficult to meet the requirements of the above two types of lifting situations with just one WeChat status.
She said that from the perspective of workplace risk prevention, when speaking on social platforms such as Moments and WeChat status, you should try to avoid publishing the following types of content: content involving internal company information, customer information, undisclosed data, etc. that may touch commercial secrets; content that insults and attacks colleagues or creates public conflicts; content that fabricates and spreads false information to harm the company's reputation; and content that is obviously easily interpreted literally as expressions of resistance to work and inability to do the job.
In response to such labor disputes, Park Ye-dan also reminded netizens that working people should first try to fix the evidence, such as the content of the company's termination notice, conversation recordings, etc.; secondly, they should preserve the original updates, visible scope and specific context of their releases; at the same time, it must be clear that the burden of proof for dismissal disputes usually lies with the employer rather than the employee himself; finally, be careful when signing an agreement, clarify the nature and content of the agreement, and distinguish important concepts such as economic compensation and illegal termination compensation. (over)
