Employment agreements are mandated to be signed with all (Chinese and expat) full-time employees according to Chinese labor law. For employees in China, China law applies. Some Chinese judges will not recognize employment agreements in any language other than Chinese. So put your China employment agreements in Chinese. Many employment rules vary by the province and even by city. It is therefore critical that your employment agreements, your rules and regulations, and your employment related actions all be done pursuant to local requirements.
China employment agreements must include the following provisions:
Basic information about the employer and the employee, including place of work;
Duration of the contract;
A description of the work the employee will be performing;
Working hours and rest and leave time;
Wages and social insurance;
Applicable labor protections and labor conditions and protection against occupational hazards;
Other matters required by relevant laws and regulations.
If an employer goes more than a month without a valid written employment agreement with an employee, the employer will be required to pay that employee double the employee’s monthly wage. If a second one-month period passes without a valid written employment contract (even if the employee refuses to enter into a written contract), the employer must pay applicable economic compensation upon terminating that employee.
If an employer goes more than a year without a written employment agreement with an employee, the employee lacking the written employment agreement will be deemed to have entered into an open-term labor contract the employer, which essentially means there is no definitive end date to the labor relationship. If this happens, it becomes nearly impossible to terminate the employee without having to pay multiple years of wages.
It is important to note that the above rules apply both to Chinese and to foreign employees working in China. It is also important to note that some Chinese labor arbitration commissions and some Chinese courts do not recognize anything other than Chinese language agreements as valid written employment contracts.
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If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to tannet-solution@hotmail.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020, Dongmen Rd South, Luohu, Shenzhen, China.
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