A former kindergarten teacher in China is taking the school to court, alleging he was “fired indirectly” for his sexual orientation.
The teacher claimed he was discriminated against and is demanding his job back.
The kindergarten said he had resigned voluntarily. The kindergarten’s owner, Wei Wenquan, said the teacher had “himself quit” by writing a resignation letter.
The teacher had no labour contract with Wei but was paid a regular salary and had basic insurance covered. It was found the kindergarten was jointly founded by Wei and the teacher.
Everything started with the teacher sharing an article on WeChat titled “I am proud of being gay”. The article was seen by some of the kindergarten children’s parents. A few proceeded to complain to Wei about it and worried the teacher’s sexual orientation may negatively influence the young kindergarteners.
Wei then offered the teacher two choices: continue being a teacher without disclosing his sexual orientation or write a resignation letter and accept compensation.
“I have a neutral attitude toward homosexuality, but as the kindergarten's investor and a father, I think this will make children's parents anxious and negatively affect the kindergarten's operation and the children,” Wei told China Daily.
The teacher then sent the resignation letter to Wei on WeChat, but said he felt he wasn’t given a choice.
“Wei told me directly to stop my work the next day,” he said. “And Wei said I had to write the letter if I wanted to get all the compensation.
“I quit the job under pressure from Wei, so it's unfair. That's discrimination against homosexuality, so I wanted to utilize the legal route – arbitration – to fight for my legal rights.”
The teacher stopped work in August and was given three months’ wages ($3,561) as compensation. He initiated the arbitration in September.
Last week, the arbitration committee organised a mediation session to explore solutions but it failed. The teacher had wanted Wei to apologise and state that homosexuals have equal employment rights.
As mediation had failed, legally binding results will follow in the coming weeks.