Staff recruitment is one of the challenges that business startups will face after setting up a company in China. The include local employees and foreign employees. To hire a local employee in China is a smart move for the foreign companies who are looking to perform business in China as these candidates are likely to bring a value-add by utilizing their previous experiences in the local market. While to hire foreign employees, just like any other country, one needs to acquire a legal work permit in order to find a job in China. However, getting a work visa in China is no simple task. Below is an overview about hiring employees in China.
Consideration on Hiring Local Employees in China
An employee’s compensation package breakdown often contains four additional clauses.
1. Public liability insurance: provides a cover in events of property damages or personal injuries, while the employee was indirectly on-duty.
2. Employer liability insurance: covers the monthly salary that is to be paid to an employee while he/she is off-duty due to an injury.
3. Supplemental/commercial health coverage: covers the additional medical care expenses that are not covered by the social security fund.
4. Professional liability insurance: covers the damages imposed by the clients for the inadequate services, advice or designs that cause the clients to lose money.
Tips on Hiring Foreign Employees in China
As an employer, there are certain tips that you should stick to, in order to hire a foreign employee in China.
1. Thoroughly understand China’s labor laws along with the different rules defined by the PRC government.
2. Spend some good time to understand what your local labor unions are expecting from your process of hiring overseas employees.
3. Perform a gap analysis to identify the conflicts that may exist in your local labor rules concerning your business’s location to the ones defined by PRC.
4. Complete all the paperwork and formal requirements that are related to hiring a foreign employee, including licenses, documentation and visa formalities.
5. Please remember that you, as an employer, may require to complete the regular procedures of renewing the licenses and other documentations at a set frequency to keep your hired employee on board, even after hiring.
6. Educate yourself and your HR department about the ever changing nature of the China’s labor laws. Adopt a proactive approach to stay updated to all the amendments in labor laws, so as to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
To hire local employees in China, the employer needs to consider four primary factors; the net salary, China’s personal income tax rate, and both the employer’s and employee’s contribution to China’s social insurance funds.
Prerequisites for Foreign Expats Working in China
There are certain prerequisite requirements that a foreign applicant must meet in order to be eligible for working in China. Although some of the conditions may vary from city to city; the base requirements are same all across the China. To be eligible for working in China, a candidate:
1. Must be over 18 years of age and bears good health.
2. Possess no criminal record or background.
3. Holds a valid passport or any other travel documents that could be presented instead of the passport.
4. Must have the relevant qualifications, experience, and skills that are required to do the job.
5. Preferably has an employment offer from a registered employer.
Despite the fact that it is difficult to hire employees in China for foreign investors, there are HR agencies to help foreign companies in accessing local labour force. Tannet can also help you in this regard. We can assist you in work permit application, staff recruitment and training. In addition, we also provide payroll outsourcing services.
Contact Us
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 86-755-82143512, 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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