19 Employment, resignation, and work injury

Normal working hours under the law are no more than 8 hours per day and no more than 44 hours per week on average. Weekday overtime is generally capped at 1 hour per day. Where special reasons require more, it must not exceed 3 hours per day, and the total in one month must not exceed 36 hours. Overtime pay has three tiers. Extending working hours on ordinary days: at least 150% of wages. Working on a rest day when compensatory rest cannot be arranged: at least 200%. Working on a statutory public holiday: at least 300%. For statutory public holidays, the law does not offer a “substitute with compensatory rest” option. If the employer arranges overtime but does not pay overtime wages, the labor administration department orders it to pay within a set period. If it still does not pay after that period, it must pay the worker an additional sum of 50% to 100% of the amount due on top of the arrears (nationwide). Which days are statutory public holidays is in Article 2 of the State Council holiday measures: New Year's Day 1 day, Spring Festival 4 days, Qingming Festival 1 day, Labor Day 2 days, Dragon Boat Festival 1 day, Mid-Autumn Festival 1 day, National Day 3 days. Article 7 of the holiday measures allows “unified holiday bridging,” linking these days with weekends into longer breaks

After 12 consecutive months of work you are entitled to annual leave. The number of days follows cumulative working time—years at all employers added together. At least 1 year but less than 10 years: 5 days; at least 10 years but less than 20 years: 10 days; 20 years or more: 15 days. Statutory public holidays and rest days do not count toward annual leave days. Where the employer truly cannot arrange leave because of work needs and you agree not to take it, it must “pay annual leave wages at 300% of the employee’s daily wage income” for the days not taken. That 300% already includes the normal wage for the day you would have worked, so the extra cash in hand is 200%. Daily wage = your monthly wage ÷ 21.75. Monthly wage is the average over the 12 months before payment, excluding overtime pay. If you joined the employer mid-year, days are prorated by remaining calendar days at that employer. On resignation, accrue and settle for the portion of the year already worked; excess leave already taken is not clawed back. If the employer neither arranges leave nor pays, it is ordered to correct within a deadline. If it still does not after the deadline, besides the annual leave wage payment, it must pay an additional sum equal to that amount as compensation (nationwide; effective 1 January 2008).

For a contract of 3 months or more but less than 1 year, probation must not exceed 1 month. For 1 year or more but less than 3 years, not more than 2 months. For 3 years or more, and for open-ended contracts with no end date, not more than 6 months. For a contract for a defined piece of work, or a contract of less than 3 months in total, probation may not be agreed. “The same employer and the same employee may agree on probation only once”—one probation round per person at that company. If the contract lists only a probation period, that probation is void and the period counts as the labor contract term. Probation wages “must not be lower than 80% of the lowest grade wage for the same post at the employer or 80% of the wage agreed in the labor contract, and must not be lower than the minimum wage standard at the employer’s location.” If probation exceeds the legal limit and you actually worked, the employer must pay compensation for the excess period at the monthly wage standard after probation ends. During probation the employer may terminate only for the legally listed grounds and must explain the reason to the worker (nationwide).

Statutory economic compensation under the Labor Contract Law is what the employer owes when you are laid off—commonly called N. The formula: “one month’s wage for each full year of service … six months or more but less than one year counts as one year; less than six months, half a month’s wage to the worker.” If monthly wage exceeds three times the local average monthly wage of employees for the prior year, use triple that average as the cap, and count at most twelve years of service.

The Labor Contract Law gives employers two options when terminating under this article. One is “notify the worker in writing thirty days in advance.” The other is “may terminate the labor contract after paying the worker one additional month’s wage.” If they want you out immediately, they pay an extra month. That extra month is commonly called payment in lieu of notice (代通知金), counted separately from N. That month is based on your prior month’s wage; N uses average wage over the 12 months before termination—the bases differ

The Labor Contract Law provides that where an employer unlawfully terminates or ends a labor contract, it “shall pay damages to the worker at twice the economic compensation standard under Article 47 of this Law.” The calculation is to compute one economic compensation amount under that standard, then pay double

The Labor Contract Law limits economic compensation to the legally listed situations. A worker who initiates departure is not included unless the reason is statutory employer fault such as unpaid wages or failure to pay social insurance. Signing “voluntary resignation” usually voids both economic compensation and unemployment insurance.

Once you return the computer and accounts, these materials are gone for good. Labor disputes follow “who asserts must prove”: what you claim, you must prove. Where evidence is in the employer’s hands, the employer must produce it; failure to do so carries adverse consequences for the employer. In arbitration, if you cannot obtain employer-held materials, the tribunal may order the employer to submit them within a set time. For dismissal, termination, contract cancellation, wage reduction, and calculation of length of service, the employer bears the burden of proof. Overtime is different: you must first prove you worked overtime. If you show overtime records are with the employer and it will not produce them, adverse consequences shift to the employer. The employer is only required to keep wage payment records for at least two years. When paying wages, the employer must give you a personal wage breakdown. Without a written contract, wage payment records, social insurance payment records, and a work ID can all prove an employment relationship. Employment registration forms, attendance records, and testimony of other employees can also be used. Chat logs count as electronic data and can be evidence. Submit originals; printouts from original records still count as originals. In one Shanghai procuratorate case, a worker sought ten years of minimum-wage shortfalls. First- and second-instance courts recognized only the last two years before resignation. The courts held the employer need keep only two years of records, so the worker had to prove the prior eight years. He had ten years of pay slips and bank statements, but the employer disputed authenticity of the slips. In August 2024 he applied for procuratorial supervision. After the procuratorate protested, the employer paid 19,000 yuan in a mediated settlement. He sued when the company cleared staff in 2021; by the supervision application about three years had passed (nationwide)

The Law on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases requires that when signing a labor contract, the employer explain four things. Those four are: what occupational disease hazards the work may cause, what consequences may follow, how to protect yourself, and what benefits apply. The statutory wording is to “truthfully inform the worker and specify it in the labor contract; concealment or deception is forbidden.” If you are later assigned hazardous work not disclosed in the contract, the employer must inform you again truthfully and renegotiate contract terms with you. If the employer fails, “the worker has the right to refuse work involving occupational disease hazards, and the employer may not terminate the labor contract for that reason.” There are three exams: pre-placement, during employment, and pre-departure. “Occupational health examination costs shall be borne by the employer”; the employer pays and must inform you of results in writing. Without a pre-placement exam, the employer must not assign work involving occupational disease hazards. Workers with occupational contraindications must not be assigned prohibited tasks. If health damage related to the job is found, the worker must be transferred from the original post and properly placed. “An employer must not terminate or end the labor contract with a worker who has not undergone the pre-departure occupational health examination.” On leaving, you “have the right to obtain a copy of your occupational health surveillance file; the employer shall provide it truthfully and free of charge, and affix its seal on the copy provided.” That occupational health surveillance file must be copied truthfully, given free, and stamped on the copy (nationwide)

The statutory list of occupational diseases, effective 1 August 2025, has 12 major categories and 135 conditions, including 4 open-ended clauses. The first category is occupational pneumoconiosis. It covers silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, graphite pneumoconiosis, carbon black pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, and talc pneumoconiosis. Also cement pneumoconiosis, mica pneumoconiosis, potter's pneumoconiosis, aluminum pneumoconiosis, welder's pneumoconiosis, and foundry worker's pneumoconiosis, plus one open-ended clause. Occupational ear, nose, throat, and oral diseases include noise-induced deafness and blast-induced deafness. Occupational eye diseases include chemical eye burns and welder's flash keratitis. Harm from pneumoconiosis and noise-induced deafness is permanent. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that silicosis is permanent lung damage that progresses over time, with no known cure. A Lancet review states that after patients stop dust exposure, lung function still worsens as the disease progresses. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states that noise-induced hearing loss is permanent and cannot be corrected by surgery or drugs. The law gives four rights you can cite on the spot. First, to know what occupational disease hazards exist in the workplace, what consequences they can cause, and what protective measures are required. Second, to demand qualified protective facilities and personal protective equipment and improved working conditions. Third, to criticize, report, and complain about violations of occupational disease prevention law and practices that endanger life and health. Fourth, “refuse unlawful orders and forced work without occupational disease protections”—you may refuse noncompliant orders and unprotected tasks. And “any reduction of wages, benefits, or other treatment, or termination or ending of the labor contract, because the worker lawfully exercised proper rights is void.” Pay cuts, benefit cuts, or dismissal for exercising these rights do not count (nationwide)

Without work-injury recognition, medical costs, wages paid during the work-stoppage period for treatment (停工留薪期工资), and disability benefits all vanish. If the employer misses the 30-day filing deadline, it must pay all work-injury benefits due in that period itself

«Deemed work injury» requires sudden illness «during working hours and at the workstation» with death, or death within 48 hours after failed emergency treatment. Delaying care to meet those conditions trades your chance to live for compensation you may never receive

The regulations state plainly: if an employer that should enroll in work-injury insurance did not, and an employee is injured, that employer pays benefits under the same items and standards as the regulations. Which payments and how much match enrolled cases; only the payer changes to the employer

The lump-sum disability benefit converts disability grade into months of your own wage, paid once. Grade 5 — 18 months, grade 6 — 16 months, grade 7 — 13 months of your wage. Grade 8 — 11 months, grade 9 — 9 months, grade 10 — 7 months of your wage

Work-related death money comes in three parts. First, funeral allowance: 6 months of the prior-year average employee monthly wage in the insurance pooling area where you were enrolled. Second, dependents' pension from the deceased's wage, paid monthly: spouse 40% per month, other dependents 30% each per month. Third, one-time work-death benefit: 20 times the prior year's national urban per capita disposable income. Nationwide there is only this one figure, not by region. For deaths in 2026, that payment is about 1,130,000 yuan (113万 / exact value 1,130,040 yuan). The calculation is prior-year national urban per capita disposable income 56,502 yuan × 20.

For health: three Swedish and Danish cohorts together, 79,201 employed people aged 18 to 65. None had cardiovascular disease at baseline; mean follow-up 12.4 years. 9% reported workplace bullying in the past year. Bullied workers had about 59% higher risk of cardiovascular disease (coronary and cerebrovascular disease) (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.28–1.98). Those who faced workplace violence had about 25% higher risk (HR 1.25, 1.12–1.40). For both, more exposure meant higher risk. A Norwegian follow-up survey using a national random sample of 1,846 employed people, measured every two to three years for three rounds: bullied workers were about twice as likely to develop suicidal thoughts (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.08–3.89). The reverse did not hold — prior suicidal thoughts did not predict later bullying. Legally, China has no dedicated «workplace bullying» statute; match the act to existing rules. Employers who insult, physically punish, beat, illegally search, or illegally detain workers face administrative penalties, must compensate harm, and bear criminal liability if applicable. If an employer uses violence or threats to force work, you may terminate the contract at once without prior notice and claim economic compensation. Employers must prevent and stop sexual harassment via authority or hierarchy; victims may hold harassers civilly liable. Labor arbitration closes within 45 days from acceptance; complex cases may extend up to 15 days more.

The Labor Contract Law requires a certificate when the contract is terminated or ended. The rule does not depend on who initiated it — non-renewal, resignation, or dismissal all count. The employer must complete personnel file and social insurance transfer within 15 days. Implementing regulations require four items on the certificate: contract term, date of termination or end, job position, and years of service at the unit. The Unemployment Insurance Regulations require workers who become unemployed to take the employer's certificate promptly to the social insurance agency for unemployment registration. Unemployment benefits start from the registration date. If the employer does not issue a written certificate, the labor administration orders correction. If you suffer loss, the employer pays damages. The law also provides that a new employer who hires someone still bound to a former employer and causes loss to the former employer bears joint and several liability. The separation certificate is written proof that you and the former employer have ended the relationship (nationwide)

A Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration circular covers one-time compensation income from terminating a labor relationship with an employer. That income includes economic compensation, living allowances, and other subsidies. The portion within 3 times the local prior-year average employee wage is exempt from individual income tax. The portion above 3 times is not merged into annual comprehensive income; it is taxed separately under the comprehensive income rate table. On that table, the portion within 36,000 yuan for the year is taxed at 3%; the portion from 36,000 yuan to 144,000 yuan at 10%. Higher brackets go up to 45%. Example: if the local prior-year average employee wage is 100,000 yuan, 3 times is 300,000 yuan. On 360,000 yuan compensation, only the 60,000 yuan excess is taxed—3480 yuan. If the full 360,000 yuan were taxed under that table, tax would be 58,080 yuan. Effective 1 January 2019; no end date stated (nationwide)

The Social Insurance Law states that when you take a job in another place (formally, across pooling areas), your pension record moves with you and contribution years accumulate. Employee medical insurance works the same: the record follows the person and years accumulate. At retirement the pension is calculated in segments and paid by one place. Cross-province pension transfer follows the transfer-and-continuation measures issued by the General Office of the State Council. Before benefit-claiming age, the pension relationship may not be terminated and you may not withdraw from the scheme (退保). The Social Insurance Law also states that the individual account may not be withdrawn early. Money in the individual account transfers in full with interest. The employer-paid portion is the pooled fund; it transfers at 12% of your actual contribution wage for each year from 1998 onward. When you claim the pension, calculation uses your contribution wage each year, contribution years, and average wages where you claim. Procedure: once enrolled and paying at the new place, the employer or you apply in writing to the new place of enrollment. The new place reviews within 15 working days; the old place completes transfer out within 15 working days after receiving the letter agreeing to accept. After the new place receives the record and funds, it completes the process within a further 15 working days. Under the 2020 nationwide-handling list, this was to be available for nationwide handling by year-end. You only apply to the place you are moving to; no need to return to the place you left. For employee medical insurance, the old place must first suspend coverage and you must already be enrolled at the new place before you apply. You can apply online on the National Healthcare Security service platform or at a counter. The old place transfers out within 10 working days; the new place takes in within 5 working days, with individual account balance moved along. If the gap before transfer is 3 months or less, after back contributions under the new place's rules there is no waiting period: reimbursement from the contribution month, and the gap period can be reimbursed retroactively. If the gap exceeds 3 months, the waiting period follows local rules and in principle does not exceed 6 months (nationwide)

The Labor Contract Law requires a written labor contract when an employment relationship is established. If it is not signed on the first day of work, it must be signed within one month from that day. If more than one month but less than one year passes without a contract, the employer must pay you double wages each month. The implementing regulations fix the start and end: from the day after one full month of work through the day before the contract is later signed. If a full year passes without a contract, double wages run through the day before the year is complete—at most 11 months. From the day the year is complete, both sides are treated as having signed an open-ended labor contract, and the employer must sign one at once. An open-ended contract is one with no agreed end date. A Supreme People's Court judicial interpretation effective September 2025 provides that double wages are calculated by the month; periods under one month are calculated by actual working days. If the employer proves the lack of a contract was due to force majeure, or to your intentional or grossly negligent refusal to sign, it need not pay. Within the first month of work, if the employer notifies you in writing to sign and you do not, the employer may terminate the employment relationship in writing. In that case it owes no economic compensation, only wages for the days you worked. Courts will not support a further claim for double wages covering the period already treated as an open-ended contract (nationwide)

The Social Insurance Law requires the employer to declare and pay social insurance on time and in full. Except for statutory grounds such as force majeure, it may not defer or reduce payments. If the employer infringes your social insurance rights, you may ask the social insurance administrative agency or the social insurance contribution collection agency to handle it under the law. If the employer fails to pay on time and in full, the collection agency orders it to make up the shortfall within a deadline and adds a daily late fee of 5/10000 from the day payment was due. If it still does not pay after the deadline, it is fined 1 to 3 times the unpaid amount. Labor security inspection covers whether the employer participates in social insurance and pays contributions. After a case is opened, investigation finishes within 60 working days, extendable by 30 working days for complex cases. The Labor Contract Law provides that if the employer does not pay social insurance for you as required by law, you may terminate the labor contract and the employer must pay economic compensation. If you resign with 30 days’ prior notice on your own, the employer owes no economic compensation. So the notice must state that you are terminating because the employer did not pay social insurance as required by law. A Supreme People's Court judicial interpretation effective September 2025 states that agreements with you not to pay social insurance, or your own promise that payment is unnecessary, are both void. If the employer did not pay social insurance as required by law and you terminate and claim economic compensation on that basis, courts support the claim under the law. If the employer never enrolled you, the social insurance agency cannot make it up, and you lose benefits as a result, you may claim damages from the employer. That is a labor dispute the courts accept (nationwide)

The Labor Contract Law provides that except for a service period after special training and non-compete, the employer may not agree that the worker bears liquidated damages. The first is when the employer pays special training expenses to send you for specialized technical training and may agree a service period with you. If you leave early in breach of the service period, you pay liquidated damages as agreed. Liquidated damages must not exceed the training expenses the employer paid. What the employer can actually claim must not exceed the training expenses allocated to the unfinished part of the service period. Example: training costs 30,000 yuan, service period 3 years; leave after 2 years, at most 10,000 yuan. Training expenses need vouchers, including training fees, travel during training, and other direct costs caused by the training. If you lawfully terminate because of employer faults such as unpaid social insurance or unpaid wages, that is not a breach of the service period, and the employer may not claim liquidated damages. The second is non-compete; rules are in Section 11, item 12 (non-compete agreement). Also, contract clauses that exempt the employer from statutory duties or exclude the worker’s rights are void (nationwide)

The Labor Contract Law provides that only when the employer and worker agree through consultation may the agreed contents of the labor contract be changed. Changes must use written form. A Supreme People's Court judicial interpretation adds another rule. If both sides orally agreed to change the contract and then actually worked under the new terms for more than one month, the change is still valid. At that point, arguing the change is void for lack of written form is not supported by courts. The premise is that the changed content is lawful and does not violate public order and good morals. Beijing High Court and Beijing arbitration commission practice is as follows. If the contract does not state a post or states it unclearly, and the employer has proper reasons and reassigns reasonably for business needs, that counts as the employer’s staffing autonomy. Reasonableness looks at four things: whether there is business necessity, whether the purpose is proper, whether you can do the new post, and whether pay and benefits worsened. If the contract clearly states the post and has no reassignment clause, a unilateral reassignment by the employer is a breach, and the shortfall versus original-post wages must be made up. If the contract writes the work location as a broad range such as “nationwide” or “Beijing,” that counts as unclear, and the place you actually work controls. Without proper reasons, the employer may not change that place. If the employer fails to pay wages in full and on time, you may terminate the labor contract and the employer must pay economic compensation (nationwide; Beijing practice applies only in Beijing)

The Labor Contract Law provides that the labor dispatch company is your employer; it must sign a fixed-term contract of 2 years or more with you and pay wages monthly. During periods with no assignment, it pays the local minimum wage monthly. The dispatch company must tell you the contents of the dispatch agreement and must not deduct wages the host workplace (legally, the using unit) pays you. Neither company may charge you fees. Dispatched workers have the right to equal pay for equal work with employees of the host. The host must use the same labor-remuneration distribution method for the same type of post. With no same-type post, set pay by reference to the same or similar local posts. The host must pay overtime and performance bonuses, provide post-related benefits, and must not discriminate against dispatched workers. For continuous assignment, wages must be adjusted normally. Dispatch may only be used for temporary, auxiliary, or substitute posts; temporary posts are those lasting no more than 6 months. Dispatched workers at the host must not exceed 10% of total staffing. If the host harms a dispatched worker, the dispatch company and the host bear joint and several liability. Joint and several means you may claim the full amount from either one, or from both. If you have a labor dispute with either, both are joint parties in arbitration. If you are injured at work at the host, the dispatch company applies for work-injury recognition and bears work-injury insurance liability; the host must assist the investigation. The host may return you only in the legally listed situations. Arrangements labeled contracting or outsourcing that in substance use people as dispatch are handled under the dispatch rules (nationwide; interim provisions effective 1 March 2014)