Japanese Employee Gets A Salary Cut For Taking His Lunch Break 3 Minutes Early. Say What?!

Organisations usually define the time and length of their lunch breaks so that the employees can eat their food not only 'on' time but also 'within' the stipulated time. However, for one Japanese worker, it didn't go so well.

A city official has been punished with a salary cut after he repeatedly went missing from his desk during work hours. But it later turned out that he was only taking his lunch break three minutes early.

soranews24

The employee, working at the waterworks bureau in the city of Kobe, started his designated lunch break early 26 times over the space of seven months, a city spokesman told AFP.

Also read:?McDonald's Is In The Middle Of #MeToo Movement, Employees Call Out Rife Sexual Harassment

"The lunch break is from noon to 1 pm. He left his desk before the break," the spokesman said. As a result, the 64-year-old got half a day's pay deducted as punishment. Apparently, the employee was in violation of a public service law since it required employees to concentrate on their jobs.

ntdtv

The worker's bosses later called a news conference to apologise and a bureau official said, "It's deeply regrettable that this misconduct took place. We're sorry."

Some people took to Twitter to express their outrage. "It's sheer madness. It's crazy. What about leaving your desk to smoke?" said one Twitter user. "Is this a bad joke? Does this mean we cannot even go to the bathroom?" said another.

Also read:?Starbucks To Close 8,000 US Stores For Racial-Bias Training For Employees

If organisations are keeping track of their employees' movements, it sure can't get worse than this. At least, let them eat lunch in peace!