Een praktische Gids voor De Naleving van het Arbeidsrecht in China
Door AJ HU
De recente reeks high-profile arbeidsgebeurtenissen heeft een schijnwerper op de bescherming van arbeiders' rechten in China geworpen.
Verscheidene buitenlandse multinationale ondernemingen, met inbegrip van FoxConn, McDonald's en Yum! Brands Inc - dat het merk van KFC bezit, was onderzocht voor het verstrekken van slechte het werk voorwaarden, het onderbetalen van hun part-time arbeiders en het in dienst nemen in andere oneerlijke arbeidspraktijken. De redding van slavenarbeiders van de steenovens en mijnen in provincies Henan had en Shanxi ook krantekoppen in vele lokaal en internationaal nieuwsmedia gemaakt. Deze gebeurtenissen en recente bepaling van het herziene arbeidsrecht van China op 29 Juni, 2007 - na 18 maanden verwarmde debatten, herinneren bedachtzaam buitenlandse investeerders eraan om te zijn van hun wettelijke verplichtingen als werkgever in China.Verplichtingen van Buitenlandse Werkgevers
China heeft zijn eigen unieke arbeidssysteem en verordeningen. Behalve de gebruikelijke werkgelegenheidsvereisten, zoals het ondertekenen van contracten met arbeiders, het voldoen aan van loonnormen en het uitgeven van geschikt salaris, zijn de werkgevers in China ook verplicht:
1. Dien hun personeelswerkgelegenheid en ontslag met relevante overheidsdiensten in
2. Handhaaf dossier van het werknemers het' personeel - een uniek Chinees document dat al academische en werkgelegenheidsgeschiedenis van een werknemer registreren worden, en de verantwoordelijkheid om het dossier te handhaven overgebracht van één werkgever aan een andere wanneer de werknemer banen verandert
3. Houd en betaal individuele inkomstenbelasting namens hun werknemers in
4. Lever maandelijkse bijdragen tot hun werknemers' sociale voordelen en huisvestingsfondsen
Most of the above processes are complicated by the involvement of several government bureaus and tedious paperwork. For the unfamiliar, staffing their China operations may pose a challenge. What follows is a useful list of “must-knows” for employers in China.
Employment contract
Official employment contracts written in Chinese must be provided to all employees. While there is no standard contract format, the agreement should bear critical information including term of contract, probation period, job responsibilities, labor protection and working conditions, compensation, termination conditions, disciplinary rules and breach of contract provisions. Depending on individual needs of companies, it is also common to include other contract terms such as non-compete clause, non-disclosure agreements and training bond period.
Term of contracts
Three legal forms of employment terms exist in China:
• Fixed Term Employment - contract terminates once the stated time period lapse. Upon expiration, the contract can be renewed with mutual consent from both contracting parties.
• Open-Ended Employment - contract without termination date.
• Project-based Employment – contract terminates upon completion of a stated project.
Due to the common abuse of fixed-term contracts by companies to avoid long-term employment commitments, the new labor law includes several provisions to curb such practice and better protect workers’ rights. Now, companies can sign at most two fixed-term contracts with an employee and are obliged to pay severance compensation if they do not renew the contract.
Wages
The wage standards vary across different regions of China, depending upon economic conditions and job requirements. For Shanghai, the current minimum required wage stands at RMB 840.
Social Welfare Benefits
Employers are obliged to contribute to the employees’ social welfare benefits on a monthly basis.The Domicile City Insurance is the most common benefit scheme adopted for employees of Shanghai residency. The contribution by both employer and employee is detailed in the table below:
The contributions are calculated based upon the gross salary paid to the employee, but a varying minimum base and maximum cap applies for Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
Working hours
The China labor law stipulates an eight-hour workday, with no more than 40 working hours per week for full-time employees. If there is a specific need for overtime, companies would need to discuss the arrangements with relevant unions and provide overtime compensation, set at 150% of normal wages for overtime on normal workdays, 200% for rest days, and 300% for national holidays.
Leave and vacations
Similar to other international labor practices, China’s leave and vacation policy includes annual leave, wedding leave, funeral leave, maternity leave and sick leave. In addition, employees working out of their registered province or city are eligible for family visitation leave.
Termination
Generally, workers can terminate their employment contracts by providing a 30 days’ written notice to the employer. However, the prior notice can be exempted if the worker is still under probation or if the company fails to fulfill its legal obligations as an employer. Termination by employers is much more complicated and often involves severance compensation. An employer can dismiss staff without prior notice or severance pay only if the worker fails to perform during the probation period or if the worker commits a serious breach of conduct, dereliction of duty or crime in accordance with the law. In other situations, the employer will be required to give 30 days’ notice to the employee and/or pay compensations stipulated by the provincial governments. The new labor law also states that companies planning to reduce their workforce must consult the labor unions 30 days prior to the dismissal. It is undeniable that China offers vast opportunities to foreign investors, but at the same time, the risks of labor disputes can significantly impact business operations. It is therefore critical for employers to develop responsible HR strategies that ensure stable business operations in China.
AJ Hu is the Partner of The JLJ Group (www.jljgroup.com), a one-stop service-provider
assisting foreign companies to enter or grow inthe China market.
