CHINA: Women have been told they must get pregnant "on schedule" or they will not be considered for promotion, a company has told its staff.
Employees at a firm in China must be on the job for one year before they are allowed to apply to have a child, according to a notice published online by the Dahe Daily provincial newspaper.
They must schedule their pregnancy in advance so as not to “unduly influence” the company’s operations or face a fine of £100 (1,000 yuan).
Women working at the credit union in China's Henan province who fail to stick to the schedule will not receive their year-end bonuses or be considered for promotion.
The notice went viral after it was introduced on Friday - sparking outrage on social media.
It said: "An employee birth plan has been established and will be strictly enforced.
“Employees who do not give birth according to the plan and whose work is impacted will face a one-time fine of 1,000 yuan and will not be considered for promotion.”
According to the Dahe Daily, a company official said that the policy was introduced after a large number of female university graduates had started working at the company.
He claimed it would stop all of the women becoming pregnant at once but said it was only a draft and would be changed if they objected.
The move has been slammed on China's social media, with one user posting on blogging site Weibo: "How idiotic are these leaders are to come up with such a policy?
"Where is our right to give birth?"
Others claimed that although many employers don't follow this policy officially, it is the "unwritten rule" for many female workers.
Mao-era policies required that Chinese citizens receive approval from their employers for life events, including pregnancy, marriage and divorce, but they have now been abolished.