MKS sports trade union of a company in Yinan county, East China's Shandong Province recently issues a notice requiring single employees aged 28-58 to marry by September 30 or face a review and potential dismissal." src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-14/b7215dfe-61ce-409b-a356-1424c915adbb.jpeg" />

The trade union of a company in Yinan county, East China's Shandong Province recently issues a notice requiring single employees aged 28-58 to marry by September 30 or face a review and potential dismissal.

The trade union of a company in Yinan county, East China's Shandong Province recently issued a notice requiring single employees aged 28-58 to marry by September 30 or face a review and potential dismissal, sparking widespread attention, according to CCTV.com on Friday. Local human resources and social security bureau issued a correction order on Thursday, revoking the company's notice.

The notice released by Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group Co., Ltd., showed that the company promotes the spirit and cultural values of "diligence, kindness, loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness." It emphasized that employees should work well and establish families, so that their families can be reassured, equating this to filial piety. The notice required single employees (aged 28-58, including those who are divorced) to form families and have children within the specified time frame.

According to CCTV.com, the company also set up offices and a human resources department as supervisory units, stating that "if these supervisory units fail to accomplish the above tasks, the company will give them a negative rating for 'inaction' in the performance assessment."

Previously, in response to media inquiries, company representatives stated that this was an internal matter and a decision made by senior management, which is a part of the private company's internal affairs.

A company representative later clarified that the intention was to encourage older unmarried employees to focus on important life decisions and motivate them to marry and settle down. However, the approach was overly simplistic, and the company mistakenly transformed this initiative into a rigid policy, CCTV.com reported.

Local human resources and social security bureau held a meeting with the company on Thursday, pointing out that the notice violated relevant provisions of the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China and the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China. Therefore, the notice was immediately stopped, and the company was ordered to correct its actions.

Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group Co., Ltd. later stated that the notice has been halted and the regulations revoked, adding that the company will strengthen internal management, study relevant laws and regulations, and prevent such incidents from occurring again.

"Corporate rules should not override laws or social morals," one netizen commented. Another netizen also pointed out that the Marriage Law guarantees freedom of marriage, emphasizing that the decision to marry should be a personal choice, not something imposed by parents or companies.

Global Times