China Employee Handbook: A Must Have

The China Employment Handbook: A Must Have

As everyone should know by now, employees in China are required to have a written employment contract. The contract should be drafted to be in compliance with China’s Labor Contract Law, and failure to have a valid employment contract places an employer at risk of substantial fines and penalties.

But a simple employment contract is not enough. China companies should have some kind of employee handbook, setting forth the rules and regulations of the company, which governs the day to day employer-employee relationship.

Under Chinese law, termination of an employee within the duration of a contract is designed to be difficult. Termination of an employee may only be for a specified reason in compliance with the law. The role of the handbook is to set forth the rules of employment, so that there is a clear basis for punishment and termination for breaking the company’s rules. The employment contract should be written to incorporate compliance with the terms of the handbook.

The handbook should clearly outline which actions are acceptable in the course of employment and which are prohibited. The handbook should set out systems of warnings, and notifications to employees. The record of any handbook violations will be valuable evidence at any employment arbitration to prove that an employee was terminated with cause for actions in violation of the handbook.

Of course, since we are in China, the handbook should be in Chinese. It goes without saying that employees should be required to sign a form to prove they have received and read the handbook. Not sure if your China company has an up to date handbook? Give our China lawyers a call.

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