In the second trial, a decision made in July 2023 by the Hongshan District Court in Wuhan has been upheld, concluding a labor dispute case.
In this case, an employee who had been working extensively after hours, dealing with work-related matters on social media, was awarded a judgment in his favor, ordering the company to pay him 5,000 yuan in overtime wages. The judgment is now legally binding.
24小时待命工作
半夜还有微信工作会议
In May 2021, Mr Zhang joined a Wuhan company on a 2-year contract, earning 16,000 yuan per month for 8-hour workdays. Despite this, he frequently used WeChat for work-related tasks after hours.
In November 2021, Mr Zhang left the company, leading to a labor dispute. In March 2023, he sued the company, seeking 80,000 yuan in overtime pay for the extra hours worked.
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庭审中，张某认为，从2021年7月到离职前，自己一直是24小时待命工作，下班后仍在微信处理工作事务，经常工作到半夜，最晚的时候工作到凌晨两点，公司还会半夜召开微信工作会议。微信加班已经严重影响了自己的正常休息生活，超过了合同约定的工作时间，公司应该支付加班费。
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公司则认为，张某属于公司的管理人员，在工作群里沟通属于正常工作交流，而且张某接洽相关事务后，不需要他亲力亲为，所以张某不存在加班行为，公司不应该向其支付加班工资。
During the trial, Mr Zhang said he was on call around the clock from July 2021 until he left the company. He worked on WeChat late into the night, even past 2 am, and attended late-night WeChat meetings. He believed this extra work warranted overtime pay.
The company argued that, as a manager, Mr Zhang's WeChat communication was part of regular work. They said he didn't personally do extra work after handling matters, so no overtime pay was due.
非工作时间隐形加班
不局限于用人单位的工作场所
The Hongshan District Court ruled that Mr Zhang's labor contract followed standard working hours. His work-related activities during breaks went beyond basic communication and qualified as overtime. However, quantifying this overtime through social media was difficult. Therefore, the court awarded him 5,000 yuan in overtime compensation after considering factors like his salary, job duties, and overtime frequency and duration.
The judge explained that as the economy grows and technology advances, employees now have more flexible work arrangements, often working outside the office using computers and phones. To address off-hours work, it's important to consider whether employees are handling substantial work-related tasks during their free time, regardless of their physical workplace.
引入“离线权”能解决“隐形加班”吗？
Experts suggest adding an "offline right" to labor laws. This means that outside of regular work hours, employees have the right to refuse digital work communication without facing negative consequences. This helps protect their rest time and promotes a work-life balance.
编辑：商桢
来源：中国青年报 长江日报 法治日报 央视网 新京报评论
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