Chinese company bans staff from using the toilet more than once during their shifts to 'prevent them from slacking off'

A company in China has faced a public backlash after banning its employees from going to the bathroom more than once during working hours.

The firm in southern China's Dongguan fined its workers up to 20 yuan (£2.26) each for using the toilet twice during their eight-hour shift, according to pictures of the notices widely circulated online.

A manager told reporters that they made the rule to prevent the staff from slacking off at work and using the bathroom breaks to smoke cigarettes or play on their phones.

A company in China fined its employees for going to the bathroom more than once during working hours. In this file photo, workers at a machine manufacturing factory in Binzhou, eastern China's Shandong Province, work on a production line on December 15

The firm in southern China's Dongguan fined its workers up to 20 yuan (£2.26) each for using the toilet twice during their eight-hour shift, according to pictures of the notices shared online

The incident came to light after the company's punishment notices were shared online by anonymous users.

In one statement dated on December 21, four workers at the Anpu Electronics, a hardware manufacturer, were fined 20 yuan (£2.26) each for going to the bathroom twice during their shift that day.

One of the employees was said to have used the toilet 'without reporting'.

Two staff members were also fined for 10 yuan (£1.13) per person on December 20 for breaking the rule.

Many social media users were angered by the incident, slamming the company 'inhumane'.

One viewer wrote: 'Only one toilet break in a day? This is against human nature.'

Another one condemned: 'Outrageous. I would need to go to the toilet several times after having even just one glass of water. I'm just supposed to hold it in?'  

A company in China has faced a public backlash after punishing its employees for going to the bathroom more than once during working hours. In this file photo, an employee checking drilling machine components at a factory in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province on December 19

After the pictures attracted much attention online, an anonymous manager claimed the company used the measure to prevent employees from slacking off at work. 

'They don't actually use the bathroom,' the supervisor told the Chinese video news outlet Pear. 'They would use going to the bathroom as an excuse to smoke cigarettes and play on their phones.'

He added that the fine was deducted from the workers' monthly bonus, which was separate from their basic salaries.

On Tuesday, the Dongguan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau confirmed the incident to reporters, adding that they had investigated the matter.

The authorities had ordered the company to remove the rule and return the money to the employees, an official told The Beijing News. 

Pictures widely circulated online shows a digital timer placed above a toilet cubicle in the building of Kuaishou, a Beijing-based firm known for its popular video-sharing mobile app

Apparently, the Dongguan company is not the first one to try to limit its staff's bathroom breaks.

Last month, a major Chinese technology firm, Kuaishou, was accused of installing timers in the toilets to check how long its employees spend in the bathroom.

Social media images allegedly show a digital timer placed above a toilet cubicle in the building of Kuaishou, a Beijing-based firm known for its popular video-sharing mobile app with 200 million active users.

Kuaishou claimed that the monitoring devices were implemented as part of its plan to build new restroom facilities.