By Gregory Sy, Grandall Legal Group

V. Termination and ‘Layoffs’

1. Under what circumstances can an employee be terminated without notice?

An employer may terminate an employee without requirement for notice in the following situations:

- during the probation period, if the employee is determined to be unfit for the position;
- employee materially breaches employer’s rules and regulations;
- employee engages in serious dereliction of duty, graft or corruption causing substantial damages to the employer’s interests; Read the rest of “Guide to Employment Law in China – 2008 (Part II)” or post a comment

By Gregory Sy, Grandall Legal Group

I. Employment Law Legislation

1. What legislation governs employment law in China?

Employment law in China is governed by a relatively comprehensive set of laws, more recently supplemented in late 2007 to strengthen workers’ rights.

Major laws include:
- Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China (1994) (“Labour Law”)
- Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China (2007) (“Labour Contract Law”)
- Labour Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Law of the People’s Republic of China (2007) (“Labour Arbitration Law”) (effective May 1, 2008) Read the rest of “Guide to Employment Law in China – 2008 (Part I)” or post a comment

By China Briefing 

Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Senior Partner of Dezan Shira & Associates, speaking at the Asia Business Forum Annual China M&A Conference in Singapore today said that he felt the Chinese economy would withstand any U.S. recession and that M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity would continue in the PRC.

His comments, made to a group of prominent academics and lawyers, including the corporate finance heads of Deloitte Touche and KPMG, stated that while U.S. imports had declined by over 10 percent in the past four months signaling a downtown in the U.S. economy, Chinese exports had risen by over 21 percent for the same period, proving, he said, that China had sustainable export markets elsewhere that would keep it immune from any U.S. recession. Read the rest of “China M&A activity unlikely to slow down, economy appears immune from U.S. recession” or post a comment

Getting prepared for your annual audit inspection

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

All foreign invested businesses in China are required to prepare annual financial statements, including balance sheets and income statements for their annual Chinese audit. Such accounts must be in accordance with the Chinese accounting standards for business enterprises – there are now no differences between standards for domestic and foreign enterprises. Foreign companies, including their legally responsible persons, must take full responsibility for the truthfulness, legitimacy and completeness of these financial statements. These documents must be completed ahead of the submission of consolidated accounts for tax purposes by the end of April every year, for the financial calendar year ending the previous December 31.

These statements will be used for computing the taxable and distributable profit. Accordingly, an annual audit by a firm of certified public accountants registered in the PRC is required under Chinese law.

There are a number of areas where you need to take particular care and where there are some differences between Chinese and Western accounting practice. These are guidelines only as every business is Read the rest of “China’s audit regulations – Filings shortly due” or post a comment

By Cliff Sosnow, Robert Kwauk and Elysia Van Zeyl

As China’s role on the international stage grows, its trade practices have attracted increased scrutiny from the international community.

In recent years, a number of complaints have been made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning the Government of China’s involvement in the marketplace and, in particular, the wide range of alleged subsidies — most of which are indirect — offered to domestic producers and exporters by the Government of China. Recently, these complaints have crystallized into the establishment of a WTO panel at the request of the United States and Mexico to examine the existence and impact of subsidies that are alleged to have unfairly boosted Chinese exports and skewed Chinese buying decisions to favour Chinese-made products. Read the rest of “Spotlight on Chinese Subsidies” or post a comment