Court in China rules in favor of Employees found Hugging and Kissing in Office, Orders Company to Pay Compensation

A senior manager from eastern China, known as Lin, was fired in 2015 after he was caught on CCTV hugging and kissing a female colleague on an office staircase. His company claimed that this was a case of sexual harassment and misuse of power, and used the video as evidence to terminate his job.

Manager Denies Charges and Takes Legal Action

Lin denied any wrongdoing. He took the company to court, arguing that he was wrongfully dismissed. At first, the lower court agreed with the company and said Lin had violated the company’s code of conduct. But Lin decided to appeal the judgment, and the case continued.

Although the incident happened several years ago, in 2017, the case summary was only recently released by the Shanghai General Trade Union as part of a labour law awareness campaign. The reason for the delay in releasing the information is not clear.

Female Colleague Says It Was Not Harassment

What surprised many was that the woman involved, identified as Shi, spoke in Lin’s defence. She told the court that she and Lin had a friendly and respectful working relationship, and that he never abused his position of authority. Her statement played a key role in the court’s final decision.

A higher court overturned the earlier ruling and ordered the company to rehire Lin and pay him compensation for the salary he lost. His annual salary was around ₹1.34 crore (1.13 million yuan).

The court stated that the company had no evidence that Lin used his power for personal gain. It also pointed out that the company’s moral expectations were not part of any official rule or policy, and therefore could not be used as a valid reason for dismissal.

The name of the company has not been revealed in the released case summary. The marital status of Lin and Shi also remains unknown.

What If This Happened in India?

If a similar case took place in India, it would be handled differently under the POSH Act, 2013 (Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace). According to this law:

• Every company must set up an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).
• The ICC is responsible for conducting a fair investigation before any action is taken.
• An employer cannot fire an employee directly without following due process.

If the woman involved clearly says it was not harassment or misuse of power, the ICC may decide to close the case without punishment. However, even friendly physical contact like hugging or kissing can still be seen as unprofessional in India’s conservative work culture.

A wrongfully dismissed employee in India has the right to challenge the decision in court, but such cases can take years to resolve. Compensation or reinstatement is possible through legal proceedings.

Although trade unions may support employees in such cases, their role is generally weaker in the private sector compared to government or public sector jobs.