A security guard in Shanghai, surnamed Wang, asked for leave from January 6 to 13 to go home to his critically ill father. The leave was not approved. He went home, and on January 31 he was dismissed.
In a judgment of December 15, 2020, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court held the dismissal unlawful. “The limits of an employer’s management power, and the way it is exercised, should also be kind, tolerant and reasonable,” the court said. “Respecting folk custom and sympathizing with employees’ concrete difficulties and misfortunes is also what an employer ought to do.”
In July 2025, the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court upheld a similar ruling for a care-home employee, surnamed Qiao, who had left his post for his brother’s funeral. His reason, it found, was “urgent and reasonable, and in line with ordinary human feeling and good custom.”