Chairman of Chinese Supermarket Chain Pangdonglai
Announces Guidelines to Manage Employees' Personal Lives
Responds to Previous Controversy: "Only Aspirational, Not Mandatory"
A famous large supermarket chain in China has sparked controversy by announcing guidelines that manage employees' personal lives, including divorce. On the 16th, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, "Wei Donglai, chairman of the well-known supermarket chain Pangdonglai, recently posted new rules that all employees must follow on his Douyin account."
Chairman Wei stated, "If a marriage is unhappy and one party requests a divorce, the other party cannot oppose or interfere with the divorce request," adding, "From this year, domestic violence between spouses is not allowed at Pangdonglai. Hitting children is also prohibited." He continued, "When borrowing money from others, employees must not request an amount exceeding their monthly salary, homes must be kept clean and tidy, and residential fire safety equipment must be installed."
Additionally, he insisted that employees should not dislike their work and should set and plan their own lives independently rather than relying on their parents or others. However, no specific disadvantages or penalties for failing to comply with these rules were mentioned.
Pangdonglai's guidelines spread widely on Chinese social networking services (SNS), garnering over 9 million views. Local netizens reacted with comments such as "Is this for real?", "The chairman is not even a father, so why such control?", and "This is an invasion of privacy."
However, there are also claims that such measures are not illegal as long as they do not disadvantage workers. Fu Jian, director of Henanzhejin Law Firm in China, told local media, "If these guidelines are unrelated to employees' wages, they are legal." Nevertheless, he emphasized, "These guidelines are clearly unrelated to employees' duties and exceed the reasonable scope of employer management. Companies should not interfere in employees' personal affairs. Forcibly imposing rules on workers' private lives can infringe on their freedom and privacy."
Last November, the company was also investigated locally after it was revealed that it prohibited employees from paying the 'Chaili' (marriage dowry) that a groom must pay to the bride's side before marriage in China, as well as lavish weddings, and required employees not to rely on their parents for purchasing houses or cars. The company explained, "These are values promoted at the company level and are not mandatory."
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