By AJ Hu 由胡的AJ

The recent series of high-profile labor events has thrown a spotlight on the protection of workers’ rights in China. 最近的一系列高调劳动事件已抛出聚光灯对工人权利的保护在中国。

Several foreign multinationals, including FoxConn, McDonald’s and Yum! 几家外国跨国公司，包括鸿海，麦当劳和百胜！ Brands Inc - which owns the KFC brand, had been investigated for providing poor working conditions, underpaying their part-time workers and engaging in other unfair labor practices. Brands公司-拥有肯德基品牌，已被查处，提供工作条件差， u nderpaying他们的部分时间制工人和从事其他不公平劳动实践。 The rescue of slave workers from the brick kilns and mines in Henan and Shanxi provinces had also made headlines in many local and international news media. These events and the recent enactment of the revised China labor law on June 29th, 2007 - after 18 months of heated debates, are reminding foreign investors to be mindful of their legal obligations as an employer in China. Obligations of Foreign Employers 拯救的奴隶工人从砖窑和地雷，在河南，山西等省份也取得了大标题，许多当地和国际新闻媒体，这些事件和最近颁布的修订后中国的劳动法， 2007年6月29日-经过1 8个月的激烈的辩论，是提醒外国投资者，须注意其法律责任，作为雇主，在中国的义务，外国雇主
China has its own unique labor system and regulations. 中国有着自己独特的劳动制度和规章。 Apart from the usual employment requirements, such as signing contracts with workers, meeting wage standards and issuing salary timely, employers in China are also obliged to: 除了惯常的就业要求，如签定合同，与工人，会议的工资标准和工资发放及时，雇主在中国也有责任：
1. 1 。 File their staff employment and dismissal with relevant government bureaus 档案工作人员雇用和解雇与有关的政府部门
2. 2 。 Maintain employees’ personnel file - a unique Chinese document that records all academic and employment history of an employee, and the responsibility of maintaining the file is transferred from one employer to another when the employee changes jobs 保持员工的人事档案-一个独特的中文文件记录了所有学业和就业的历史，是一名雇员，并有责任维护档案是从一个雇主到另一个当雇员职位变动
3. 3 。 Withhold and pay individual income tax on behalf of their employees 扣压并缴付个人所得税代表其雇员
4. 4 。 Make monthly contributions to their employees’ social benefits and housing funds 按月捐款，以自己的雇员的社会福利和住房基金

Most of the above processes are complicated by the involvement of several government bureaus and tedious paperwork.上述大部分工序复杂，其参与的数个政府部门和繁琐的文书工作。 For the unfamiliar, staffing their China operations may pose a challenge.为陌生的，其人员编制在中国的业务可能会构成挑战。 What follows is a useful list of “must-knows” for employers in China.以下是一个有用的清单"必须知道" ，让雇主在中国。

Employment contract 雇佣合约
Official employment contracts written in Chinese must be provided to all employees.正式雇用合同用中文写的，必须提供给全体员工。 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.虽然没有标准合同格式，该协议应承担的关键信息，包括任期合同，试用期，岗位职责，劳动保护和劳动条件，补偿，终止条件，纪律规定和违反合同的规定。 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.视乎个别公司的需要，这也是常见的，把其他的合约条款，如非竞争条款，不披露协议和培训键时期。

Term of contracts 任期合同
Three legal forms of employment terms exist in China:三种法律形式就业的条款存在于中国：
• Fixed Term Employment - contract terminates once the stated time period lapse. •固定期限就业-合同终止后，说明时间内失效。 Upon expiration, the contract can be renewed with mutual consent from both contracting parties.期满时，合同可以延长双方协商同意后，由缔约双方的。
• Open-Ended Employment - contract without termination date. •不限名额就业-合同终止日期。
• Project-based Employment – contract terminates upon completion of a stated project. •以项目为基础的工作-合同终止后，完成了一项声明。

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.由于共同的滥用固定期限合同，由公司，以避免长期雇用的承诺，新劳动法的一些规定，以遏止这种做法，并更好地保护工人的权利。 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.现在，公司可以报名参加，最多两个固定期限合同员工，并有义务支付遣散补偿，如果他们不续签合同。

Wages 工资
The wage standards vary across different regions of China, depending upon economic conditions and job requirements.工资标准不尽相同全国不同地区的中国，这取决于经济条件和工作要求。 For Shanghai, the current minimum required wage stands at RMB 840.至于上海，目前的最低工资要求站在人民币840 。

Social Welfare Benefits 社会福利
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.雇主有责任向雇员的社会福利，对每月basis.the本籍市保险是最常见的福利计划采用雇员的上海居留规定。 The contribution by both employer and employee is detailed in the table below:贡献，即雇主及雇员详见下表：

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.会费计算依据薪金毛额支付给员工，但公司却不同基数的最低和最高上限适用于上海，北京和广州。

Working hours 工作时间
The China labor law stipulates an eight-hour workday, with no more than 40 working hours per week for full-time employees.中国的劳动法规定的8小时工作日，不超过40个工时，每星期为全职员工。 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 假和休假
Similar to other international labor practices, China’s leave and vacation policy includes annual leave, wedding leave, funeral leave, maternity leave and sick leave.如同其他国际劳动惯例，中国的休假和休假政策包括年假，结婚假，丧假，产假和病假。 In addition, employees working out of their registered province or city are eligible for family visitation leave.此外，工作的员工离开自己的注册省份或城市，有资格为家人探视离开。

Termination 终止
Generally, workers can terminate their employment contracts by providing a 30 days’ written notice to the employer.一般来说，工作人员可以终止其雇佣合约，提供了一个30天以书面形式通知雇主。 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.然而，事先通知而能得到豁免的，如果劳动者仍在缓刑或者，如果该公司不履行法律义务，作为雇主。 Termination by employers is much more complicated and often involves severance compensation.终止，由雇主，是更为复杂，且往往涉及遣散补偿。 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.雇主可以解雇员工在没有事先通知或资遣费，只有当工人未能履行在试用期，或如工人犯有严重违反操守，渎职等职务犯罪行为在依法办事。 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.在其他情况下，雇主将需30天通知员工及/或支付的赔偿规定，由省级人民政府。 The new labor law also states that companies planning to reduce their workforce must consult the labor unions 30 days prior to the dismissal.新的劳动法也表示，公司的规划，以减轻他们的劳动人口必须征询工会的前30天内解雇。 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.不可否认的是，中国提供了巨大的机会，向外国投资者，而在同一时间内，风险劳动争议能显着影响企业经营行为。 It is therefore critical for employers to develop responsible HR strategies that ensure stable business operations in China.因此，这是至关重要的雇主，负责制定人力资源战略，确保了稳定的业务在中国的业务。

AJ Hu is the Partner of The JLJ Group (的AJ胡是合伙人的jlj组（ www.jljgroup.com ), a one-stop service-provider ） ，设立一个一站式服务提供商
assisting foreign companies to enter or grow inthe China market.协助外国公司进入或成长inthe中国市场。