[Direct answer]If an employee refuses to obey management, the employer cannot simply dismiss them on the spur of the moment: only if the employee's behavior reaches the level of "serious violation" as defined in the rules and regulations, and the rules have been formulated through democratic procedures and publicly announced and notified, can the employer terminate the contract in accordance with Article 39 of the Labor Contract Law without having to pay economic compensation; if the rules are lacking, the procedures are improper, or the evidence is insufficient, it constitutes an illegal termination, and the employee can request to continue the contract or claim compensation at twice the standard of economic compensation (2N).

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

In the workplace, there are various forms of "disobeying management": refusing reasonable work arrangements, engaging in passive resistance, challenging superiors, violating attendance rules, and refusing to cooperate with work handovers. Many companies believe that they can deal with employees as they please just by including "obeying management" in the labor contract, but signing a labor contract does not mean that the company can dismiss employees at any time. In practice, common scenarios include: employees refusing to accept job transfers or refusing to report to new positions; being dismissed for violating attendance rules after repeatedly being late or leaving early; and being dismissed by the company on vague grounds such as "not cooperating with inspections and rectifications" or "defying superiors". Whether these situations can be terminated and whether compensation should be paid depend on the basis of the system, the degree of the violation, and whether the termination procedures are complete. Improper handling can easily lead to labor arbitration, and companies that face long-term difficulties in employee management can also seek assistance from professional institutions to improve their management capabilities and avoid legal risks.Enterprise legal advisory servicesImprove the system and address the loopholes in the process.

II. Key points of dispute

  • Is "disobeying management" necessarily equivalent to "seriously violating rules and regulations"? It requires the system to have clear quantitative standards for relevant behaviors (such as the number of times of being late, and the determination of the circumstances of refusing to obey orders). General statements and personal evaluations by leaders are usually difficult to be accepted by arbitration committees and courts.
  • Is the regulation itself effective? It must be formulated through a democratic process, its content must be legal, and it must have been publicly announced or notified to the workers. Otherwise, it cannot be used as a basis for termination. This is a common reason why enterprises lose lawsuits.
  • Is the dismissal procedure compliant with regulations? The employer should notify the trade union of the reasons for the dismissal in advance, deliver the dismissal notice in writing, and keep the evidence. Any flaw in the procedure may also lead to a determination that the dismissal is illegal.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

A group-wide illegal termination case handled by Henglue Lawyers is highly representative: In August 2025, A Company issued "Notices of Terminating Employment Relationship" to 12 employees, including Zhang Li, Hu Fei, and Liu Gang, on the grounds that the recruitment procedures were found to be irregular during inspections. These 12 employees had all provided labor, accepted management, and received salaries during their employment, and some had even renewed their labor contracts with the company. After taking on the case, Attorney Feng Na conducted a detailed comparison between Article 39 of the Labor Contract Law and Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Contract Law, pointing out that neither the inspection and rectification nor the irregular recruitment constituted legally permitted unilateral terminations. The company's dismissal essentially amounted to an illegal evasion of legal obligations. At the same time, she clarified that the social security registration is merely an administrative matter, not a prerequisite for the effectiveness of the labor contract, and that internal approval procedures cannot override the rights of employees. The arbitration, first-instance, and second-instance courts all adopted the lawyer's arguments, ruling that the terminations were illegal, revoking the terminations, and ordering the continuation of the labor contracts. This shows that in cases of terminations due to "non-compliance with management," adjudicative bodies conduct extremely strict reviews, and employers face losing the case if their evidence is insufficient.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

For employers: According to Article 4 of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China (implemented on January 1, 2008), rules and regulations should be discussed and determined through equal consultation with workers' representatives and trade unions, and then publicly announced and notified to workers. In daily management, evidence of disciplinary violations (written warnings, interview records, self-criticism, and original attendance records) should be gradually collected. Once the violations reach the severity stipulated in the rules, the employer may terminate the contract in accordance with Article 39 and notify the trade union of the reasons in advance (Article 43). For workers: If they are dismissed on the grounds of "disobeying management", they should request the company to issue a written termination notice, verify the provisions of the rules cited by the company and the public announcement records, and apply for labor arbitration within one year from the date they become aware of the infringement of their rights. If the dismissal is found to be illegal, they may request the employer to continue to perform the contract in accordance with Article 48 or claim double compensation according to the standard of economic compensation in accordance with Article 87. Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China (implemented on September 18, 2008) also clearly stipulates that the termination must comply with legal circumstances. For the employer's employment compliance and contract management system, reference can be made to the relevant provisions.Corporate commercial and contractual legal servicesIf you need help handling labor dispute cases, please refer to the details below.Labor arbitration and legal services for work-related injury compensation.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

The case is handled byFeng NaAttorney (Practice Certificate No.: 11101202211562923, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acting on behalf of the client. Tip for employers: Employment management and termination must be based on "legally binding evidence and verifiable records." Avoid arbitrarily dismissing employees based on non-statutory reasons such as internal rectification or leadership dissatisfaction. Tip for employees: If faced with a dismissal based on the grounds of "non-compliance with management," immediately retain the employment contract, pay slips, attendance records, termination notices, and communication records. Seek professional labor lawyers promptly to evaluate options for continued performance or compensation for unlawful dismissal. For more services, please refer to our website.Beijing Henglue Law FirmOfficial website.

Q1: Can the company directly dismiss an employee who refuses to obey management?

It is not possible to dismiss an employee solely on the grounds of "disobeying management". A lawful dismissal must meet three conditions simultaneously: first, there must be rules and regulations established and announced through democratic procedures, and the relevant behaviors must be clearly defined; second, the employee's behavior must reach the level of serious violation as stipulated by the rules and regulations; third, the statutory procedures such as notifying the trade union and delivering the dismissal notice in writing must be fulfilled. If any of the three conditions are not met, the dismissal may be deemed illegal, and the employee can claim to continue the employment or seek compensation at twice the standard of economic compensation. If the company dismisses the employee for non-statutory reasons such as the leader's dissatisfaction or internal rectification, the risk of losing the lawsuit is very high. It is recommended that the company conduct a compliance review before dismissing an employee, and that the employee consult a lawyer after being dismissed to decide on an arbitration strategy.

Q2: What evidence is required to dismiss an employee for "seriously violating rules and regulations"?

The company needs to form a complete chain of evidence: at the institutional level, provide records of democratic procedures and publicized receipt records to prove that the system is legal and effective and that employees have been informed; at the factual level, provide original attendance records, surveillance videos, written warnings, conversation recordings, employee reviews, etc. to prove the disciplinary violations; at the degree level, prove that the disciplinary violations meet the dismissal standards stipulated by the system; at the procedural level, provide records of notifying the trade union and proof of delivery of the dismissal notice. In practice, relying solely on the leader's oral evaluation or sporadic chat screenshots is usually insufficient to determine serious disciplinary violations. Evidence should be gradually fixed in daily management, and materials made up after the fact are easily questioned about their authenticity.

Q3: How much compensation can an employee receive if they are illegally dismissed?

There are two scenarios: First, if the employee requests to continue the performance of the labor contract and the contract can still be performed, the company shall resume the labor relationship and pay the employee the wages during the dispute period; Second, if the employee does not request to continue the performance of the contract or the contract can no longer be performed, the company shall pay compensation at twice the standard of economic compensation, that is, two months' wages for each year of service (commonly known as 2N), and six months or more but less than one year shall be calculated as one year, and less than six months shall be paid one month's wages. Taking a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan and three years of service as an example, the compensation would be about 60,000 yuan. If the company refuses to pay after the ruling takes effect, the employee may apply to the court for enforcement. For details, please refer to the following link:Creditor's rights and debts, and legal services related to enforcement.

Q4: Does refusing to accept a job transfer count as disobeying management?

Not necessarily. The transfer of a job position must be reasonable: it must be related to the position specified in the labor contract, not humiliating or punitive, with a comparable salary level, and the employee must be capable of performing the duties. Employees should cooperate with reasonable job transfer arrangements. If an employee refuses to report to work without a valid reason, the company may handle the matter in accordance with its regulations; however, employees have the right to refuse unreasonable job transfers (such as disguised salary reductions, marginalization, or punitive job transfers). The refusal itself does not constitute a violation of disciplinary rules. The key to determining whether a job transfer is reasonable lies in its basis and purpose. It is recommended that employees keep the job transfer notice and communication records, and consult a lawyer before providing a written response if necessary, to avoid signing documents blindly or engaging in passive resistance that could be used against them.

Q5: Is it the same thing to disobey management and violate the labor contract?

No. The labor contract stipulates the basic rights and obligations of both parties, and violating the labor contract falls under the category of breach of contract; while "disobeying management" belongs to the issue of employment management. The legality of the termination needs to be reviewed based on three aspects: the rules and regulations, the facts of violating discipline, and the termination procedures. The company cannot use the clause "shall obey management" in the labor contract as the sole basis for termination. It still needs to prove that the disciplinary system is effective, the behavior meets the standards, and the procedures are compliant. When workers encounter such dismissals, they should require the company to specify the specific disciplinary clauses and factual basis, judge the legality of the termination based on this, and collect counter-evidence, such as normal attendance records, work results, and supervisor's recognition records.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Labor arbitration legal services·Attorney Feng Na·Beijing Henglue Law Firm