On 16 Apr. 2025, China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) jointly released the fourth batch of typical cases of labor and employment disputes.
This series includes five cases, with Case No. 2 specifically reinforcing the prohibition against employers reducing the salary or benefits of pregnant employees under the pretext of job reassignment. This case further strengthens the judicial protection of labor rights.
In this case, the employer was found to have violated the law by transferring and reducing the salary of a female employee due to her pregnancy. After Zhao, an engineer of a technology company, became pregnant in 2023, the company unilaterally removed her from her project team and reassigned her to a different position without her consent or negotiation. This resulted in a salary reduction from RMB 17,000 to RMB 3,000 per month (slightly above the local minimum wage). The arbitration committee ruled that the company must pay Zhao the wage difference. The court noted that the employer neither proved that Zhao was “unfit for her original duties” nor obtained her consent for the reassignment. These actions violated the “Law on Safeguarding the Rights and Interests of Women” (妇女权益保障法) and “Special Rules on the Labor Protection of Female Employees” (女职工劳动保护特别规定), constituting a disguised infringement on her labor rights during pregnancy.
Since 2017, the two departments have jointly selected and released typical cases, with three previous batches totaling 31 cases covering issues such as excessive overtime and new forms of employment.
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Photo by michelle mirabell on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
