‘The workers are lazy’: why a company in China fines staff for toilet breaks
- The company in Guangdong province started fining workers 20 yuan (US$3) for using the lavatory more than once a day, claiming it was to counter laziness at work
- While some internet users supported the company’s decision, many more lambasted it for exploiting staff. The local government said the fines were illegal
A company in southern China is fining workers for taking too many toilet breaks.
In an effort to improve work efficiency, Anpu Electric Science and Technology in Dongguan, Guangdong province, started imposing 20 yuan (US$3) penalties on employees who use the lavatory more than once a day, claiming it violates the company’s rule of a once-a-day toilet break.
Seven workers were penalised on December 20 and 21, according to notices issued by the company and released on the internet by disgruntled staff.
The rule has been likened to the factory in Charlie Chaplin’s comic film Modern Times. It also includes a requirement for employees to register with their boss when they are going to the toilet.
The toilet-break penalty caught the attention of the Dongguan Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, which has begun an investigation.
In an interview with news outlet The Paper last week, officials from the authority said the rule was illegal. They told the company to rectify the order and refund the penalty it imposed on employees.
