Man fired for spending 6 hours a shift in toilet: 'It’s like being paid to use the loo'

as per the company records, Wang used the lavatory two to three times a shift and each visit lasted between 47 minutes and a whopping 3 hours. (Representational image)

A man in China has been fired for spending up to six hours a day in the lavatory at work. The errant employee then approached the courts for unfair termination of his job citing medical reasons but even the Chinese courts sided with the employers.

The employee, identified only by his surname Wang, joined the company in April 2006, and in December 2014, he needed medical treatment for an “anal problem” which marked the beginning of his “adventures in the lavatory”, South China Morning Post (SCMP).

But, although the treatment was successful, Wang insisted that he continued to experience continuous pain which meant he was forced to spend between three and six hours a day in the toilet since July 2015.

As per the company records, as stated by SCMP, between September 7 and 17, 2015, Wang used the lavatory two to three times a shift, and that came to a total of 22 toilet visits during that period. Each visit lasted between 47 minutes and a whopping 3 hours.

On September 23 that year, the company terminated his contract citing provisions in the employee handbook regarding tardiness, early departures, and unauthorised absence from work.

Wang then filed for arbitration, requesting his job be reinstated, but after a protracted legal process, Wang lost his bid to get his job back, the publication reported, as the courts ruled that his prolonged daily stays in the toilet went beyond reasonable physiological needs. The judges added that the termination was legal and justified.

Meanwhile, the news created a lot of buzz on Chinese social media with most siding with the employers.

“Spending four hours out of an eight-hour working day in the lavatory? What employer could accept that?” commented one user, as quoted by SCMP, while another said, “It’s like being paid to use the loo."