A man in China has hit the jackpot after winning a year of paid leave from his employer’s company raffle.
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A viral video of the man winning the raffle circulated on Chinese social media last week, which shows him holding a sign that reads “365 days of paid leave.” According to Oddity Central, the raffle took place during a meeting held by a company in Shenzen where management wanted to alleviate employee stress by creating a raffle with fun prizes.
One of the employees, identified as Ms. Chen, said her bosses hadn’t organized a meeting in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the raffle contained prizes along with fun “penalties.” Raffle organizers said they wanted to create a prize that would throw everyone off, leading to the ‘365 days of paid leave’ prize. However, it stunned some social media users as it is anyone’s dream to be on paid leave from their job for a year.
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Even his boss was stunned that he won the prize: “(We) never thought that this (lot) would be drawn by someone. Hahaha, the boss was stunned,” Chen added.
Other users think the prize is a trap since once a person comes back to work after a year, their job isn’t secured anymore. “Dare he accept the prize? After a year, he might return to find someone else in his role,” one user wrote. “After a year, if I come back and feel that I can’t continue (in the company), I’ll change jobs. Besides, the work experience (I acquire) will still be legitimate,” another wrote on the social media platform Douyin.
Yeah, and after the end of 365 days where he was able to not work and for the company to still function, the company can determine he is an extra headcount who can be done away with.
— DareSoar (@Soar575) April 14, 2023
It’s like a red flag that he will be fired from his job. Orrr… the lucky draw was an April Fools prank
— Shasha Yang (@ShashaYang8) April 13, 2023
The catch: he is not allowed to use more than 5 days per year. https://t.co/SMztFzmhoZ
— Kherubim, salutes those who plant 🌻🇺🇦🇸🇬 (@Kherubim2k) April 13, 2023
Is this a joke? So, someone finally got the dream work everyone is yearning for where you can both relax and not do anything and yet at the same time you get your salary.
— WEI HAO TAN (@TanEd4ever) April 12, 2023
Times Now News said in their report that another employee at a different company won a similar prize but donated half of the funds to several local charities.
China’s paid leave policy includes several types of leave:
Annual Leave: Employees are entitled to a minimum of five days of paid annual leave after working continuously for one year. The number of days increases with the length of service, up to a maximum of 15 days after 20 years of service.
Public Holidays: China has 11 public holidays per year, during which employees are entitled to paid time off.
Sick Leave: Employees who are unable to work due to illness or injury are entitled to paid sick leave. The length of sick leave and the amount of pay varies depending on the length of service.
Maternity Leave: Female employees are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave, with full pay for the first 15 days and partial pay for the remainder.
Paternity Leave: Male employees are entitled to 15 days of paternity leave, with full pay.