Code and Cupid: Jack and Jill’s Secret Romance in the Silicon Alley of Shanghai

Jack, a dapper but solitary figure in Shanghai’s buzzing fintech scene, often found himself echoing the woes of a modern-day crooner: “All by my lonesome, in the glow of my screen, where’s the love to complement my routine?” Indeed, success in spreadsheets did little to warm his single-occupancy evenings.

Enter stage right: the company’s fresh-faced recruits, amongst them Jill, who breezed into Jack’s department like a spring zephyr. As the calendar pages flipped, Jack and Jill found themselves in a classic rom-com montage, discovering shared passions for everything from blockchain to birdwatching. Jill swiftly became Jack’s workday wingwoman, a beacon of solace amid the sea of code and quarterly reports.

Mustering the bravado of a knight before a dragon, Jack bared his heart, and lo, Jill reciprocated! They frolicked in the proverbial love river, happier, as the ancients said, than celestial beings.

Yet, amidst the euphoria, a specter loomed—the company’s Employee Handbook, a tome as unyielding as it was devoid of romance. It declared office love as taboo as pineapple on pizza. “To love or to log in?” Jack lamented over microwaved lunch. Jill’s response was a shrug as helpless as a forgotten password.

Their solution? A covert operation of affection, a love so underground it could have had its own subway line. Alas, as with all secrets, smoke signals rose, and whispers turned to headlines in the break room.

Confronted by the HR oracle, they faced the ultimatum: “A duo becomes a solo in two weeks.” What’s a fintech Romeo and Juliet to do? Rally their fellow keyboard warriors? Seek new lands of employment where love is not just tolerated but celebrated? Or perhaps, craft the most innovative pitch the HR department has ever seen, proving that love can be the greatest asset of all?

 

Law In A Minute

The right to marry freely is a cornerstone of citizens’ liberties, enshrined in the Constitution of China, and is beyond the reach of organizational or individual interference. However, while companies are empowered to establish their own policies through democratic means to address unique operational requirements, these policies must not transgress the inviolable dictates of the law.

In the scenario at hand, an Employee Handbook that forbids office romance, thus curtailing the matrimonial freedom of its employees, runs afoul of the law’s compulsory conditions. No article within an Employee Handbook should encroach upon the legitimate rights of an employee, nor should any policy contravene binding legal statutes.

Should Jack and Jill find that their lawful rights have been violated, it is within their prerogative—and indeed, it would be advisable—for them to stand in defense of their rights.

 

Legal Basis

Civil Code

Article 101

Natural persons have the rights to life, body, health, name, portrait, reputation, honor, privacy, and freedom of marriage, among others.

Article 1042

Marriage upon arbitrary decision by any third party, mercenary marriage and any other acts of interference in the freedom of marriage shall be prohibited.

The Interpretation on Several Issues about the Application of Laws for the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases issued by the Supreme People’s Court

Article 19: As long as any regulations and policies not contrary to any laws, administive regulations or policies of the State, such regulations and policies made by companies through democratic procedures in line with the provisions of Article 4 of the Labor Law and circulated to all laborers, can be considered a basis for hearing labor dispute cases by the people’s court.