China’s top court has ruled that if an employer fires an employee for sexual harassment it should not have to pay compensation to the dismissed worker – a move lawyers said would make it easier for victims to take action.
The ruling was among five cases highlighted by the Supreme People’s Court on Tuesday as examples of “promoting core socialist values” in family relations, the workplace and transport.
According to a document released by the court, a man surnamed Wu in the southern province of Guangdong had sued a restaurant that sacked him for sexually harassing a colleague.
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The restaurant’s employee handbook states that such behaviour is prohibited and it also carries a warning that staff can be fired for sexual harassment. The restaurant said other staff had testified that Wu had behaved inappropriately towards his colleague, so he was dismissed, the court said.
But Wu later sued his former employer, alleging he had been illegally fired and demanding compensation.
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The court ruled that Wu had repeatedly harassed his colleague and violated the company’s regulations so it did not have to pay compensation.