By: Trends DeskNew Delhi | November 10, 2025 04:58 PM IST 2 min readHe returned to work after a month and further applied for another sick leave after half a day for pain in his right foot (Representative image/Unsplash)For many professionals, asking for leave often evokes hesitation and guilt. Perhaps, this mostly happens in understaffed offices, with bosses perceiving leave requests as a lack of commitment. A Chinese man has caught the internet’s attention after he found an unusual way to apply for sick leave, only to get fired.According to the South China Morning Post, Chen, who worked at a company in Jiangsu province, was fired after his boss discovered he had walked 16,000 steps during sick leave for foot pain. The report stated that Chen first applied for sick leave in February and March 2019 due to a back strain sustained at work.He returned to work after a month and further applied for another sick leave after half a day for pain in his right foot. Along with the mail, he also submitted a doctor’s note suggesting rest for a week. Later, Chen was diagnosed with a heel spur and extended his leave, the report added.Also Read | Employee shares contrasting leave approval responses from Indian, Japanese bosses; triggers debateDays later, Chen was stopped by the security at his company when he visited the office to submit his medical records. The company fired him, claiming Chen had submitted manipulated medical records and also presented data showing he had walked over 16,000 steps on the day he applied for leave.The incident came to light recently when Chen, who had filed a labour arbitration case against the company in 2019, won a legal battle against his former employer, with a court awarding him 118,779 yuan (approximately Rs 15 lakh) in compensation.The SCMP report added that the company had presented surveillance footage of Chen running towards the office and software records showing his step count. Chen argued that the evidence was invalid and that he had submitted his original hospital records, including medical scans of his waist and foot.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:social media virals