China, officially the People’s Republic of China, is the largest of all Asian countries with the largest population in the world. It has 33 administrative units directly under the central government, consisting of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two special administrative regions. It is the world’s largest producer of rice and is among the principal sources of wheat, corn (maize), tobacco, soybeans, peanuts (groundnuts), and cotton.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in China.
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China, officially the People’s Republic of China, is the largest of all Asian countries with the largest population in the world. It has 33 administrative units directly under the central government, consisting of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two special administrative regions. It is the world’s largest producer of rice and is among the principal sources of wheat, corn (maize), tobacco, soybeans, peanuts (groundnuts), and cotton.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in China.
There are seven national holidays celebrated over a number of days in China.
The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.
| January 1 | New Year’s Day (元旦) | |
| February 10-17 | Spring Festival (春节) | Movable |
| April 4-6 | Ching Ming Festival (清明节) | Movable |
| May 1-5 | Labor Day (劳动节) | |
| June 10 | Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) | Movable |
| September 15-17 | Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) | Movable |
| October 1-7 | National Day Holiday (国庆节) |
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in China is 6 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
Employers and employees must contribute to five insurances and one fund, or “五险一金”, including:
The following table summarizes the monthly contribution rates for Shanghai and Beijing:
| Shanghai | Beijing | |||
| Benefits | Employer Rates | Employee Rates | Employer Rates | Employee Rates |
| Pension insurance | 16% | 8% | 16% | 8% |
| Medical and maternity insurance | 10% | 2% | 9.8% | 2% |
| Unemployment insurance | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Work-related injury insurance | 0.16-1.52% | 0% | 0.2-1.9% | 0% |
| Housing provident fund | 5-7% | 5-7% | 5-12% | 5-12% |
| Total | 31.66-35.02% | 15.5-17.5% | 31.5-40.2% | 15.5-22.5% |
Employees work no more than eight hours per day and 44 hours per week, and employers must ensure that employees have at least one day off each week.
Due to the needs of production and operation, the employer may extend the working hours after consultation with the trade union and the workers, generally not exceeding one hour per day.
If the working hours need to be extended for special reasons, under the condition of ensuring the health of workers, the extended working hours must not exceed three hours per day and 36 hours per month.
Overtime is paid at 150% of employees’ salaries.
If the contract is less than three months or only for completing a specific task within a specific term, no probationary period is allowed.
For contracts of at least three months, the probation period varies from one to six months depending on the length of the employment contracts:
| Length of Employment Contracts | Probation Period |
| 3 months and more but less than 1 year | Up to 1 month |
| 1 year or more but less than 3 years | Up to 2 months |
| 3 years or more and indefinite term | Up to 6 months |
The termination notice period depends on whether or not the employee is on probation as follows:
| Probation Status | Employer Notice Period | Employee Notice Period |
| During probation | Not allowed* | 3 days |
| Post probation | 30 days or pay in lieu of notice* | 30 days |
*However, if the employee is proved to be unqualified for employment during the probation period, employers may dismiss them without notice.
**The pay in lieu must be based on the employee’s previous monthly salary.
Employees work no more than eight hours per day and 44 hours per week, and employers must ensure that employees have at least one day off each week.
Due to the needs of production and operation, the employer may extend the working hours after consultation with the trade union and the workers, generally not exceeding one hour per day.
If the working hours need to be extended for special reasons, under the condition of ensuring the health of workers, the extended working hours must not exceed three hours per day and 36 hours per month.
Overtime is paid at 150% of employees’ salaries.
If the contract is less than three months or only for completing a specific task within a specific term, no probationary period is allowed.
For contracts of at least three months, the probation period varies from one to six months depending on the length of the employment contracts:
| Length of Employment Contracts | Probation Period |
| 3 months and more but less than 1 year | Up to 1 month |
| 1 year or more but less than 3 years | Up to 2 months |
| 3 years or more and indefinite term | Up to 6 months |
The termination notice period depends on whether or not the employee is on probation as follows:
| Probation Status | Employer Notice Period | Employee Notice Period |
| During probation | Not allowed* | 3 days |
| Post probation | 30 days or pay in lieu of notice* | 30 days |
*However, if the employee is proved to be unqualified for employment during the probation period, employers may dismiss them without notice.
**The pay in lieu must be based on the employee’s previous monthly salary.
Employers and employees must contribute to five insurances and one fund, or “五险一金”, including:
The following table summarizes the monthly contribution rates for Shanghai and Beijing:
| Shanghai | Beijing | |||
| Benefits | Employer Rates | Employee Rates | Employer Rates | Employee Rates |
| Pension insurance | 16% | 8% | 16% | 8% |
| Medical and maternity insurance | 10% | 2% | 9.8% | 2% |
| Unemployment insurance | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Work-related injury insurance | 0.16-1.52% | 0% | 0.2-1.9% | 0% |
| Housing provident fund | 5-7% | 5-7% | 5-12% | 5-12% |
| Total | 31.66-35.02% | 15.5-17.5% | 31.5-40.2% | 15.5-22.5% |
