In one case decided by the Shanghai First Intermediary People’s Court, an employee of Company A had an affair with a married intern in a hotel, due to which the employee was terminated by the Company on the grounds of seriously violating the Company’s internal regulations, according to which, any supervisor, group leader or any person of a senior position of the Company is not allowed to have dubious or sexual relationships with employees, even though the said relationship is consensual by both parties. If the said senior employee develops a dubious relationship with his/her subordinate, and does not inform the Company about the relationship or continue the dubious relationship after informing the Company, the senior employee will be punished and may even be terminated, provided that the situation is serious. Based on the above and the fact that both the employee and the intern were married, the judge held that the termination was legitimate and valid, as the employee had seriously violated the Company’s internal regulations.
China