This book is written about mainland China. Where it says national, domestic or the state, it means China, not your country.

What to do first after a layoff

What to do after a layoff or dismissal is spread across Section 19, Section 7 and a few other sections. The list below puts it in time order. Each step says only what to do. The details, numbers and sources are in the item named in the parentheses. If you are only owed wages and have not left yet, go straight to Section 7, item 2 (if wages are owed, complain to the labor inspectorate first).

The same day: before you sign

If the company hands you a form saying "voluntary resignation for personal reasons", do not sign. If you sign, severance and unemployment insurance benefits usually both fall away. See Section 19, item 7 (do not sign "voluntary resignation for personal reasons").
If the company says "sign this first so we can get the process done, the severance comes separately", ask for the severance to be written into the agreement on the spot. If they will not write it, do not sign. Not signing on the day has no legal consequence. See Section 19, item 7 (do not sign "voluntary resignation for personal reasons").
Turn on a recording as soon as the meeting starts. For a conversation you take part in yourself, you do not need the other side's consent first. See Section 8, item 41 (record).
Before you hand back the computer and accounts, save your pay slips, attendance records, labor contract, social insurance records and chat records. See Section 19, item 8 (keep evidence before you leave).
Save only the materials about your own employment relationship. Do not take the company's source code, customer lists or technical documents. See Section 11, item 7 (do not take source code when you leave).
Hand over account access in full. Do not delete data and do not change passwords, even if the company owes you money. See Section 11, item 6 (hand over account access in full).

The same day to the first few days: work out the money

First work out N: one month's wages for each full year of service, and half a month's wages for a period of less than half a year. See Section 19, item 4 (when you are laid off, work out N first).
Monthly wages are the average of the 12 months before you left. Bonuses, allowances and subsidies all count. This is the point the company is most likely to push down. See Section 19, item 4 (when you are laid off, work out N first).
First ask under which provision the company is ending your contract. An extra month's wages applies in only three cases: you cannot do the work after an illness; you cannot do the work, even after training or a change of post; or the circumstances at the time the contract was made have changed a great deal and the two sides cannot agree. In these three cases, if the company did not give you 30 days' written notice in advance, it must pay one more month's wages on top of N. When you negotiate, list this one month separately. Layoffs for economic reasons and terminations by agreement do not carry this month. See Section 19, item 5 (no 30 days' notice in advance).
If the company ended the contract unlawfully, the compensation is 2N. First ask legal aid or a lawyer whether the termination was unlawful, and then decide whether to negotiate or go to arbitration. See Section 19, item 6 (unlawful termination).
Annual leave you have not used up is settled when you leave, pro rata to how long you worked that year. See Section 19, item 2 (annual leave).
Overtime pay you are owed goes into the same calculation. See Section 19, item 1 (overtime pay).

The first week

Go and register as unemployed. Unemployment insurance benefits count from the day you register, so each month you wait is a month of benefits lost. See Section 7, item 1 (unemployment insurance benefits).
Unemployment registration is done at a public employment service such as an employment service center, and it is free. See Section 7, item 5 (public employment service).
Apply for unemployment insurance benefits in the "掌上12333" app or in the electronic social security card mini program. You can claim only if you paid in for 1 year and did not resign voluntarily. See Section 7, item 1 (unemployment insurance benefits).
While you receive unemployment insurance benefits, the unemployment insurance pays your employee medical insurance for you. You do not need to enroll separately. See Section 7, item 1 (unemployment insurance benefits).
If you cannot afford a lawsuit, call 12348 to apply for legal aid. You no longer need to go back to your place of origin for a proof of financial hardship. See Section 7, item 3 (legal aid).
If you signed a non-compete agreement, keep the original. The company must pay compensation every month. If it has not paid for 3 months for its own reasons, you can ask to end the agreement. See Section 11, item 12 (non-compete agreement).
Fix your daily routine: get up on time, put the job search into a fixed schedule, and do not stay at home all day. See Section 29, item 3 (after losing your job, fix your daily routine first).

The first month

If wages or overtime pay are being withheld, first call 12333 to complain to the labor inspectorate, and then apply for labor arbitration. Neither route costs anything. See Section 7, item 2 (if wages are owed, complain to the labor inspectorate first).
If the one who hired you is an unlicensed workshop, you still go through the inspectorate and arbitration. If a labor contractor owes you money, go to the general contractor. Only if you did private work for a household or an individual do you go to court. See Section 7, item 22 (first find out who hired you).
Labor arbitration must be filed within 1 year after you leave. After that, the other side needs only to say "the time limit has passed". See Section 8, item 19 (labor arbitration, 1 year).
To look for work, go first to a public employment service. Job referral and career guidance are both free. Do not use a fee-charging agency. See Section 7, item 5 (public employment service).
Do not job-hunt by sending résumés alone. Learn job-search skills, set a clear target, and ask people you know for internal referrals. See Section 7, item 14 (use a systematic method to look for work).
If you hear "pay first, then start work", "train first, then we arrange work", or "recruit others", refuse on the spot. See Section 7, item 15 (do not sign a "training loan").
If you want to learn a skill, first check the local human resources and social security bureau's "vocational training subsidy catalog". Do not pay for a class yourself. See Section 7, item 13 (vocational training subsidy).
Check whether you qualify as a person with employment difficulties, for example because of older age or long-term unemployment. Once you are recognized, there is a subsidy when you pay social insurance yourself, and you can be placed in line for public-welfare jobs. See Section 7, item 12 (recognition as a person with employment difficulties).

The following months

Pay living costs from your emergency fund first. Do not borrow money and do not sell investments at a loss. See Section 5, item 27 (emergency fund).
In the first three months, put off big decisions that cannot be undone. Selling a house, putting the severance into an investment in one sum, going into a partnership and guaranteeing someone else's loan all count. See Section 29, item 12 (big decisions that cannot be undone).
If your unemployment insurance benefits run out and you still have no job, do not leave your medical insurance empty. You can pay resident medical insurance yourself by the year. If you stop paying and then start again, there is a 3-month period in which medical care is not reimbursed. See Section 7, item 9 (resident medical insurance).
A break in pension insurance does not reset it to zero. It is counted by total years. You do not need to pay anyone to register you under their company and pay for you. See Section 7, item 18 (a break in social insurance).
If household income falls below the local dibao (低保, minimum living allowance) line, apply for dibao. See Section 7, item 7 (apply for dibao).
If you cannot cope and want someone to talk to, call 12356. It is free. See Section 29, item 11 (call 12356).
For money you have still not got back, keep an eye on the deadline of 1 year after you left. See Section 8, item 19 (labor arbitration, 1 year).