☑️ The Basics


Currency: CNY, Yuan (Rate)

Public Holidays: 7 public holidays (see here).

Employer Taxes: 32.30- 44.50% of gross salary (varies by region)

Official Language: Mandarin

Payroll frequency: Monthly

13th / 14th Salary: (what's this?) ****It is common practice to give employees an annual bonus equal to one months’ salary before the Chinese New Year.

Three things to know about employing in China


  1. It is common practice in China to give employees an annual bonus equal to one month's salary before the Chinese New Year.
  2. Employees are only entitled to paid vacation days after they have been working for at least a full year.
  3. Employee who are left unemployed upon dismissal are entitled to unemployment insurance benefits provided they have participated in the unemployment insurance scheme, have made contributions to it, are registered as unemployed, and are actively seeking work.

Employment in China


Notice Period

The notice period is 30 days. Employers can choose to offer one month's pay in lieu of notice to the employee.

Employers only need to give notice to terminated employees if the termination is due to illness or a non-work related injury, incompetence, or a major change in circumstances that renders the contract infeasible.

However, some local regulations can require employers to give prior notice (or payment in lieu of notice) when not renewing an employment contract.

Termination & Severance

Severance pay depends on the reason for termination, but in general, is equal to one month’s salary for each year of employment (capped at 12 months) and cannot exceed three times the minimum wage.

Probationary period

Probation is not permitted for employment contracts of less than three months, or contracts that expire upon completion of assignment.

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage varies depending on the region. The highest minimum wage is in Shanghai at 2,480 CNY per month.

IP protection and non-compete agreements

Non-compete agreements must be clearly defined in the employment contract, and must be reasonable. They cannot exceed two years after termination, and must include a monthly compensation for the employee. In practice, 30-60% of the employee's average monthly salary is acceptable as compensation.

Working Hours

Eight hours per day, 40 hours per week.

Overtime

Overtime is limited to one hour per day; this can sometimes be extended to three hours, and is limited to 36 hours per month.

For overtime worked on a working day, the employee is entitled to 150% of their normal salary. For overtime worked on a rest day, they are entitled to alternative rest time or 200% of their normal salary. For overtime worked on a public holiday, they are entitled to 300% of their normal salary.

Paid Holidays

Paid vacation entitlement depends on the length of employment:

Sick pay and time off

Employees' sick pay entitlements depend on the their length of service, their employer's internal policy and the local regulations. The statutory minimum standard for sick pay varies from region to region.

Employees must provide a medical certificate to avail sick leave benefits.

Parental leave

Employees are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave (and an additional 15 days in case of difficult labour or multiple births). Some cities offer additional maternity leave for women who give birth after the age of 23.

Payment during maternity leave is made by the Social Security Bureau with which the employee is registered, and depends on their average monthly salary over the 12 month period before the birth. Social security will either pay this rate or three times the minimum wage, whichever is higher.

There is no statutory entitlement nationally to provide paternity leave. However, it is provided in some provinces.

Taxes in China


<aside> 💡 You can get a detailed breakdown of the employer contributions for any gross salary by using our **Oyster Platform Quote Generator**.

</aside>

Employees


Social Security

Income tax

Employers


Total social contributions

Contribution rates vary across cities. For example, for Beijing


<aside> 🌍 Country Knowledge Base

</aside>

<aside> 🚀 Check out our public Oyster HQ

</aside>

<aside> 📚 Visit Fully Distributed, the Oyster future of work blog.

</aside>