Photo: IC

A woman's claim for compensation from her company was rejected by a court in South China's Guangdong Province after she was fired for using an umbrella to cover a surveillance camera installed right above her seat, which she believed would "infringe on her privacy", according to media reports on Tuesday. 

The case dated back to June, 2019, when the company set up multiple high-definition cameras in the office, one of which was placed above the desk of the woman, surnamed Zhang. 

Zhang decided to use two umbrellas to block the camera as she was worried that it might infringe on her personal privacy by her "male boss" as its location made it "easy to expose her", said the reports. 

Dissatisfied with Zhang's behavior, the company verbally communicated with Zhang twice through the human resources manager and then sent a written warning to her on two more occasions. However, Zhang kept the umbrellas in place for the following ten days.

The company later terminated its labor contract with Zhang on the grounds of serious violation of discipline and affecting the company's aim to better manage employees. 

However, Zhang said the company's management would not be affected as cameras placed elsewhere in the office could also see her. She sued the company and claimed compensation of 330,000 yuan ($50,000) for illegally terminating the labor contract. 

The local court retried the case and ruled against Zhang's claim.