Chinese firm wanted to fire workers for being single
A peculiar solution to the demographic problem？
Idiom of the week: 请知悉 qǐng zhīxī
Meaning: please be informed (formal)
若三季度内不能结婚成家，公司将与您解除劳动合同，请知悉。Please be informed, if the employee cannot marry and settle down by the third quarter, the company will terminate the labor contract.
Get married or get fired: which one would you choose?
Recently, the employees of Shuntian Chemical Group in Shangdong, China, were faced with a choice: get married until September this year, or get fired otherwise. The company’s ordeal went viral in China, and some netizens thought it was an online joke. They were wrong.
Let’s read about why it started and how it ended: and learn some new legal vocabulary!
通知中要求，“单身员工于2025年9月30日前解决个人婚姻问题。一季度内完不成的，个人要写检讨；二季度内完不成的，公司要进行考核；三季度内完不成的，个人要离职。若三季度内不能结婚成家，公司将与您解除劳动合同，请知悉。”
通知 (tōngzhī) – notice, notification
单身 (dānshēn) – single, unmarried
员工 (yuángōng) – employee
个人 (gèrén) – individual, personal
婚姻 (hūnyīn) – marriage
检讨 (jiǎntǎo) – self-criticism, review
二季度 (èr jìdù) – second quarter (of the year)
考核 (kǎohé) – assessment, evaluation
离职 (lízhí) – to resign, to leave a job
解除 (jiěchú) – to terminate, to 解除 (cancel)
劳动合同 (láodòng hé tóng) – labor contract
请知悉 (qǐng zhīxī) – please be informed (formal)
The notice required, "Single employees must resolve their personal marriage issues by September 30, 2025. If not completed in the first quarter, the individual must write a self-criticism; if not completed in the second quarter, the company will conduct an assessment; if not completed by the third quarter, the individual must resign. Please be informed, if the employee cannot marry and settle down by the third quarter, the company will terminate the labor contract."
Controversial notice has sparked criticism in China. Photo: Baidu
近日，山东临沂沂南县的山东舜天化工集团工会发布通知，要求28岁至58岁的单身员工在今年9月30日内限期成家立业，否则个人需要检讨并离职，该消息引发网友关注。2月13日，记者从沂南县人社局了解到，该企业被下达责令改正指令书，撤销并废止了通知提出的规定。
近日 (jìnrì) – recently
发布 (fābù) – to issue, to release
限期 (xiànqī) – to set a deadline
成家立业 (chéngjiā lìyè) – to settle down and establish a career
引发 (yǐnfā) – to trigger, to provoke
下达 (xiàdá) – to issue, to give (an order or directive)
责令 (zélìng) – to order, to instruct
改正 (gǎizhèng) – to correct
指令书 (zhǐlìng shū) – directive
撤销 (chèxiāo) – to revoke, to cancel
废止 (fèizhǐ) – to abolish, to invalidate
Recently, the Shandong’s Shuntian Chemical Group's labor union in Yinan County, Linyi City, Shandong, issued a notice requiring single employees aged 28 to 58 to settle down and establish their families by September 30 of this year. Otherwise, individuals would need to write a self-criticism and resign. This news has attracted attention from netizens. On February 13, a reporter learned from the Yinan County Human Resources and Social Security Bureau that the company was issued a directive to correct the situation and had revoked and invalidated the regulations mentioned in the notice.
该公司有关负责人称，公司本意是帮助和督促大龄未婚职工拿出一定时间和精力为自身的人生大事去努力，倡议激励尽快成家立业。但方式方法简单，将倡议事项搞成了硬性制度规定。
有关 (yǒuguān) – relevant, concerning
负责人 (fùzérén) – person in charge, responsible person
本意 (běnyì) – original intention, original meaning
督促 (dūcù) – to urge, to supervise and encourage
大龄 (dàlíng) – older (usually referring to age, typically in the context of unmarried people or late career stage)
职工 (zhígōng) – employee, worker
拿出 (náchū) – to take out, to put forth
精力 (jīnglì) – energy, effort
人生大事 (rénshēng dàshì) – major life events
倡议 (chàngyì) – to propose, initiative
激励 (jīlì) – to motivate, to encourage
方式方法 (fāngshì fāngfǎ) – methods, ways
简单 (jiǎndān) – simple
硬性 (yìngxìng) – rigid, inflexible
The company's responsible person stated that the original intention was to help and urge older unmarried employees to dedicate some time and effort to focus on their major life events, encouraging them to settle down and establish their families as soon as possible. However, the approach was too simplistic, turning what was meant to be an initiative into a rigid rule.
Photo: NDTV
随后，该公司表示，现已叫停这个通知、撤销废止通知所提规定。同时将加强企业内部管理，认真学习有关法律法规，坚决杜绝此类事件再次发生。
随后 (suíhòu) – subsequently, afterward
叫停 (jiàotíng) – to halt, to stop
废止 (fèizhǐ) – to abolish, to invalidate
所提 (suǒ tí) – mentioned, proposed
加强 (jiāqiáng) – to strengthen, to enhance
内部管理 (nèibù guǎnlǐ) – internal management
认真 (rènzhēn) – carefully, seriously
法律法规 (fǎlǜ fǎguī) – laws and regulations
坚决 (jiānjué) – resolutely, firmly
杜绝 (dùjué) – to prevent, to eliminate
Subsequently, the company stated that it had stopped the notice and revoked the regulations mentioned in it. The company also pledged to strengthen internal management, carefully study relevant laws and regulations, and ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
企业能够根据自行出台的规定随意与员工解除劳动合同吗？
《民法典》中规定了自然人享有婚姻自由权，结婚应当男女双方完全自愿，禁止任何一方对另一方加以强迫，禁止任何组织或者个人加以干涉。公司无权以未婚为由与员工解除劳动合同。
自行 (zìxíng) – on its own, self-initiated
出台 (chūtái) – to issue, to introduce (a policy or regulation)
随意 (suíyì) – at will, arbitrarily
民法典 (mín fǎ diǎn) – Civil Code
自然人 (zìrán rén) – natural person
享有 (xiǎng yǒu) – to enjoy (a right, privilege, etc.)
婚姻自由权 (hūnyīn zìyóu quán) – the right to marriage freedom
自愿 (zìyuàn) – voluntary, by one's own will
强迫 (qiǎngpò) – to force, to coerce
干涉 (gānshè) – to interfere
无权 (wú quán) – without the right, to have no authority
Can a company arbitrarily terminate an employee's labor contract based on its own regulations?
The Civil Code stipulates that natural persons enjoy the right to marriage freedom, and marriage must be fully voluntary on the part of both parties, prohibiting either party from coercing the other, and prohibiting any organization or individual from interfering. A company has no right to terminate an employee's labor contract on the grounds of being unmarried.
Antoine & Dorota
Referenced author(s): 新浪财经