China Employer Rules and Regulations FAQs

As promised in my post from last week, China Employment Contract FAQs, I am back to write about some of the most commonly asked questions we get about China employer rules and regulations with short answers to each of them. The below are the questions that we field most often when doing our China employer audits.

Question 1: I have several separate company policies that deal with different topics such as overtime, employee leaves and discipline. Do they need to be in one document called employer rules and regulations?

Yes. You need a comprehensive employer rules and regulations document that includes all your employer policies/rules. First, this is what Chinese authorities like to see. Second, the fewer documents you have, the easier it will be for your management to enforce your company polices and for your employees to learn about and follow them. Third, by including all the policies in the same document, it will be easier to search out and eliminate any potential inconsistencies. Fourth, this makes it easier for you to be sure to keep everything updated. Lastly, having all employer policies and rules in one document and then getting each of your employees to sign a receipt proving they received it will give you added protection.

Question 2: I have more than one office in China. Do I need a different set of employer rules and regulations for each of my offices?

Yes. China’s employment laws are highly localized and this means employment rules/practices can and usually do differ by city and even by district within the same city. The differences between your various rules and regulations will depend on where your offices and your employees are based. For example, if you have an office in Beijing and an office in Shanghai, you will likely have a very different set of rules and regulations for these two cities. On the other hand, if all your offices are located in Guangdong Province, you likely will have quite similar employer rules and regulations among your offices.

Question 3: I have been operating in China for a long time and I’ve never had a set of rules and regulations. Is it too late to start doing it now?

Absolutely not. Having a well-drafted set of employer rules and regulations will not solve past problems but it will certainly go a long way towards preventing future problems.

Question 4: The rules and regulations seem negative in tone. Will my employees accept them?

Your rules and regulations need to be reasonable to be enforceable in China. But so long as they are reasonable and enforceable, and you implement them according to Chinese law, your employees need to abide by them. One thing you as employer need to do is to get an acknowledgement of receipt signed by your employees proving they received a copy of your rules and regulations. Their signing that acknowledgment also means they have agreed to follow your rules and regulations. It is true that a big part of the standard China employer rules and regulations relates to employee discipline and terminations, but a well-drafted set of these rules and regulations should also provide detailed explanations regarding employee rights and benefits, which will give your employees clarity and protections. Well-written employer rules and regulations are good for both employers and employees and most China employees recognize this and they virtually always are willing to sign off. See China Employee Rules and Regulations: Use Them as a Talent Magnet.

Question 5: Can I just use a template set of rules and regulations from the Internet? 

Only if you do not care at all about preventing all sorts of future employee problems and setting yourself up for difficult and costly employee litigation. Your rules and regulations should match your specific situation, your industry, your locale, and, most importantly, your specific issues, goals, and concerns. Every employer client for whom we have drafted rules and regulations has had their own unique programs/policies/rules and the job of our China employment lawyers is to work with our clients to determine whether what they want is workable and legal for their specific situation and locale.

We will be discussing the practical aspects of Chinese law and how it impacts business there. We will be telling you what works and what does not and what you as a businessperson can do to use the law to your advantage. Our aim is to assist businesses already in China or planning to go into China, not to break new ground in legal theory or policy.