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New joinee fired for refusing to get morning coffee and eggs for boss, rehired after public outcry
A Chinese employee was briefly fired for refusing to buy her boss breakfast. After public outrage, she was reinstated, and her supervisor was terminated.
A new employee at a Chinese educational firm was briefly fired after refusing to buy breakfast and coffee for her boss. The employee, surnamed Lou, was allegedly dismissed for not bringing her supervisor a "hot Americano and an egg" each morning. The incident came to light after she shared her experience on the social media platform Xiaohongshu.
(Also read: Chinese man, 30, dies after 104 days of non-stop work with only 1 day off)
Daily breakfast demands
Lou’s supervisor, identified as Liu, insisted that the new employee fetch an Americano, an egg, and sometimes a bottle of water each morning. When the employee refused, tensions escalated. She explained that these tasks were not part of her role and expressed her frustration online, stating that her boss was unreasonable in expecting personal favours on a daily basis.
“I wasn’t hired to be a personal assistant, yet my boss expected me to handle her breakfast needs every morning,” Lou posted, shedding light on the situation.
Dismissed without compensation
When the issue was raised with the human resources department, the employee hoped for a fair resolution. However, she was instead told to leave the company without any compensation. According to a report from South China Morning Post (SCMP), the HR department cited her refusal to serve food and water as grounds for termination.
(Also read: 55-year-old Chinese delivery driver working 18 hours daily dies while napping on bike)
The decision caused an uproar on social media, with netizens criticising the firm and calling for an internal investigation into the incident. Many argued that such treatment of employees was unacceptable and demanded the company take action.
Supervisor fired following backlash
After receiving heavy backlash online, the company was compelled to respond. Under mounting pressure from the public, the firm decided to reinstate the dismissed employee and terminate the supervisor responsible for the unreasonable demands.
Earlier in September, the company issued a public statement confirming that Liu had been fired for her inappropriate behaviour. The firm assured the public that it would take steps to ensure similar incidents would not occur in the future.
