Li Yingfeng
According to reports, after her maternity leave, Xie, a female primary school teacher in Guangzhou, was transferred to the position of campus janitor and campus cleaner. Xie did not accept this, and the school illegally fired her while she was breastfeeding.
The first-instance judgment of the Panyu District People's Court of Guangzhou held that the school involved in the case was illegal when it unilaterally adjusted Xie's job position during the lactation period and failed to extend the labor contract beyond the lactation period. It ordered the school to pay Xie a compensation of 50,000 yuan for illegally terminating the labor contract. Diverse.
The above-mentioned judgment of the court clarified the illegal nature of the relevant behaviors of the school involved in the case, safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of female teachers in individual cases, and also released a legal signal to strengthen the labor protection of female employees, which has a common warning and educational significance for employers.
In order to reduce and solve the special difficulties caused by physiological characteristics of female workers during labor and protect the health and labor rights of female workers, our country's laws implement special protection for female workers.
The "Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests" clarifies: Employers shall, based on women's characteristics, protect women's safety, health and right to rest at work and labor in accordance with the law; women receive special protection during menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and lactation, and employers shall It is not allowed to reduce the wages and welfare benefits of female employees due to marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, breastfeeding, etc., restrict the promotion, promotion, and evaluation of professional and technical titles and positions of female employees, and may not dismiss female employees or unilaterally terminate the labor (employment) contract. or service agreement.
The "Special Provisions on Labor Protection of Female Employees" also has similar provisions.
The "Labor Contract Law" stipulates that if the employee is in one of the circumstances such as "the female employee is in the pregnancy, childbirth, or lactation period," the employer shall not terminate the labor contract in accordance with relevant regulations. The labor contract must be extended at least until the "pregnancy, childbirth, or lactation period." It can be terminated only when the situation such as "lactation period" disappears.
In the above case, the job position was stipulated in the labor contract signed between the school and the female teacher. To change the content stipulated in the labor contract, the employer must reach an agreement with the employee.
During the lactation period of a female teacher, the school can propose to adjust her job position from the perspective of caring for the female teacher and reducing the work intensity of the female teacher. However, this must be based on the agreement of both parties, and the job adjustment cannot reduce the salary and benefits of the female teacher. treatment.
When the female teacher Xie objected to the transfer, the school's insistence on the transfer was a labor breach and an illegal transfer. The school's failure to renew the labor contract with Xie was even more wrong.
Although Xie's labor contract will expire soon, the expiration date is during Xie's lactation period. According to the special protection obligations set by the law, the school should extend Xie's labor contract at least until the expiration of the lactation period.
The school terminated the labor relationship with Xie while she was breastfeeding, which violated the bottom line of the law and the bottom line of labor protection for female employees, and violated the legitimate rights and interests of female teacher Xie.
The court ruled that the school involved in the case illegally terminated the labor contract and supported Xie's request for the school to pay compensation for illegal termination of the labor contract. This was reasonable and well-founded in law.
This case clarifies right and wrong, gives a negative legal evaluation of the practices of the school involved, provides a legal education lesson to female workers and employers, serves as a demonstration and guide for other female workers in safeguarding their rights, and serves as a guide for other employers. Units can play a legal role in publicity and warning.
Special protection for female workers who are married, pregnant, on maternity leave, breastfeeding, etc. is not only related to the health and labor rights of female workers, but also to the creation of a child-friendly environment.
This requires female workers to enhance their awareness of rights protection and be brave enough to use legal weapons to say "no" to infringements. It also requires employers to calculate legal accounts, social responsibility accounts and human resources management accounts, enhance their awareness of self-discipline, and abide by the legal bottom line. , fulfill the legal obligation to protect female workers to the letter, and reduce or even eliminate infringements from the source.
At the same time, human resources and social security departments need to strengthen daily law enforcement supervision, open channels for complaints and reports, and collect clues from multiple sources on employers’ violations of the rights of female employees, order corrections where necessary, and impose penalties where appropriate.
Labor dispute arbitration institutions and judicial organs should rely on facts and law to fully support female workers' claims for rights protection and help female workers maintain the legal defense line for rights protection.
(Source: Beijing Youth Daily)