China Employment Law

China Employee Vacation Law

China’s Regulation on Paid Annual Leave for Employees (《职工带薪年休假条例》) entitles employees who have worked continuously for one year to paid annual leave. China employees are entitled to the following  statutory vacation periods, based on length of employment More than 1 and less than 10 years service: 1 week (5 days) vacation More than 10 and

China copyright law

China Copyrights and Work for Hire

As a general rule, the creator of an original work (e.g., a song, movie, or video game) owns the copyright in that work. This is true in the United States and China, and in most every other country in the world. The main exception to the general rule is for “works for hire,” which are

China Overtime Rules

China Overtime Laws and Employee Terminations

Many companies operating in China expect their China-based employees to work overtime whenever needed to “get the job done.” Though imposing these sort of work hours can make sense in their home countries, this mindset is at odds with China’s laws. It gets even worse in China when the employer intends to discipline or termiante

China Lawyers

Six Common China Problems AND Their Solutions

I was talking with one of our China lawyers the other day about how we get the same emails and phone calls from companies with China legal problems that either cannot be solved or cannot be solved at a fee that will make sense. We then discussed how so often these problems could have been

China company formation

China WFOE Formation and Management Structures

Many believe that forming a China WFOE consists mostly of filling in lines on an application and submitting it to a China government office and then sitting back and waiting. If you share this belief, you are, among other things, ignoring all that goes into deciding how to manage the WFOE once formed. I was

China Attorneys

Getting Money Out of China: The Long Version

For the last few months, I alone have been averaging a call or email a day from someone inquiring about getting money out of China. Yesterday’s calls were typical. One was from a realtor wanting to know how the Chinese buyer of a two-million-dollar house could get her money out of China to pay for it.

China overtime laws

Six Myths About China Working Hours and Overtime

China Working Hours and Overtime Issues Navigating the complex landscape of China’s employment laws is a crucial task for foreign companies operating in China. Among the many challenges these businesses face, understanding and complying with China’s employment laws, especially those pertaining to working hours and overtime, are paramount. Misconceptions about these regulations can and do

China Employment Laws

China Employment Laws: Get Them Right or Face PUBLIC Consequences

The PRC Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently released a set of rules regarding providing public notice of China employer labor violations (《重大劳动保障违法行为社会公布办法》). The goal of these new rules is to deter employers from violating China’s labor and employment laws and regulations. These rules will take effect on January 1, 2017, and they

he eight keys for navigating China's employment laws

Eight Keys for Navigating China’s Employment Laws

It is far cheaper to avoid China employment law problems than to deal with one that has arisen. If you follow the following eight rules, your chances of having a China employment problem will markedly decrease. 1.  Use written employment contracts. China employers without a written employment contract are exposing themselves to penalties, administrative fines and the risk of