A
Overtime pay comes in three tiers, 1.5x, 2x and 3x; if it isn't paid, complain to labor inspection, and if it is still unpaid after the deadline the employer must pay an extra 50% to 100%
Value for cost High
In plain termsOvertime on ordinary workdays is paid at 1.5 times your wage. Overtime on rest days, if you are not given time off in lieu, is paid at 2 times. Working on statutory holidays such as New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Labor Day and National Day is paid at 3 times, and it cannot be offset with time off in lieu. If the company doesn't pay, complain to labor inspection. If it has been ordered to pay within a deadline and still doesn't pay, the employer must additionally pay half to one times the amount owed.
- Cost
- No money. As you go, save a copy of your clock-in records, shift schedules and overtime approval forms, and keep screenshots of the messages in work group chats where your manager assigns you tasks. The hard part is remembering to save them every month.
No money
Done in passing
Some willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The law sets normal working hours at no more than 8 hours a day and an average of no more than 44 hours a week. Overtime on ordinary workdays generally must not exceed 1 hour a day. Where there is a special reason for working longer, it must not exceed 3 hours a day, and the total for a month must not exceed 36 hours. Overtime pay has three tiers. If you are required to work extended hours on an ordinary workday, you are paid no less than 150% of your wage. If you are required to work on a rest day and cannot be given time off in lieu, no less than 200%. If you are required to work on a statutory holiday, no less than 300%. For the statutory-holiday tier, the statute contains no option of “offsetting it with time off in lieu.” If an employer arranges overtime but does not pay overtime pay, the labor administration department orders it to pay in full within a deadline. If it still has not paid after the deadline, it is ordered to pay the worker, on top of the amount owed, an additional compensation of not less than 50% and not more than 100% of the amount payable (nationwide)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- Rest days and statutory holidays are calculated separately. Statutory holidays are only the few designated days in the year: New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Labor Day, National Day and the like. Days off strung together by swapping workdays count as rest days and are paid at 200%. “Company rules say overtime needs approval” and “I stayed voluntarily”: neither statement means the company can skip paying you, but they make it harder for you to produce evidence, so keep the records of tasks assigned and approvals. If a company wants to use either of the two special working-hour arrangements, the comprehensive working-hours system or the non-fixed working-hours system, it must first get approval from the labor administration department; it cannot decide this on its own. For the time limit for arbitration of disputes, see Section 8, Item 19.
A
Annual leave is 5, 10 or 15 days based on your cumulative years of work; leave not taken is paid at 300% of your daily wage
Value for cost Standard
In plain termsIf your years of work across all employers add up to at least 1 year but under 10 years, you get 5 days of annual leave a year. At 10 years it is 10 days, and at 20 years it is 15 days. It keeps adding up even if you have changed jobs. If the employer can't schedule your leave and you agree not to take it, those days are paid at 3 times your daily wage. Once you sign a form saying you “voluntarily give up annual leave,” you are left with only your normal wage.
- Cost
- No money. Add up the years you have worked at all your employers; your social insurance contribution record is the proof. The hard part is being able not to sign when the company hands you a form saying you “voluntarily give up annual leave.”
No money
Done in passing
Some willpower
Benefit size medium
- Benefit
- You are entitled to annual leave after working continuously for 12 months. The number of days depends on your cumulative working time: the years you have worked at all employers are added together. At least 1 year but under 10 years: 5 days; at least 10 years but under 20 years: 10 days; 20 years or more: 15 days. Statutory national holidays and rest days are not counted in the number of annual leave days. If the employer genuinely cannot schedule your leave because of work needs and, with your own consent, you do not take it, the days you were due but did not take are paid “at 300% of the employee's daily wage income as annual leave pay.” This 300% already includes the one share you would have been paid anyway for working that day, so what you actually receive on top is 200%. Daily wage = your monthly wage ÷ 21.75. The monthly wage is based on your wages for the 12 months before this payment, averaged per month after excluding overtime pay. If you joined the employer that year, the leave is prorated by the calendar days remaining at this employer. When you leave, it is prorated by how long you have already worked that year, and settled in full; days already taken in excess are not deducted back. If the employer neither schedules the leave nor pays for it, it is ordered to correct this within a deadline. If it still has not corrected it after the deadline, then besides that annual leave pay it must pay an additional compensation of the same amount (nationwide, in effect from January 1, 2008)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- Cumulative working time is added up across employers; if you have changed jobs, don't count only your years at your current employer. Only when the employee “for personal reasons states in writing that they will not take the leave” may the employer pay only the normal wage, so don't sign the form saying you “voluntarily give up annual leave.” If your personal leave adds up to 20 days or more and the employer does not deduct your wages, you are not entitled to annual leave that year. Nor are you if your sick leave exceeds the corresponding number of months: 2 months if you have under 10 years of work, 3 months for 10 to 20 years, and 4 months for 20 years or more. Home-visit leave, marriage and bereavement leave, maternity leave and the paid work-stoppage period for a work injury are not counted as annual leave.
A
Probation has statutory maximum lengths, probation pay may not be below 80%, and probation can be agreed only once
Value for cost High
In plain termsIf the contract is for 1 year or less, probation is at most 1 month. For 1 to 3 years, at most 2 months. For 3 years or more, at most 6 months. The same company can put you on probation only once; transferring you to another post after you become a regular employee and starting probation again is illegal. Probation pay may not be lower than the lowest grade for the same post or 80% of the wage agreed in the contract, and may not be lower than the local minimum wage.
- Cost
- No money. Before you sign, spend a few minutes checking the contract term against the length of the probation period.
No money
Done in passing
No willpower
Benefit size medium
- Benefit
- For contracts of 3 months or more but under 1 year, probation may not exceed 1 month. For 1 year or more but under 3 years, it may not exceed 2 months. For 3 years or more, and for open-ended contracts with no end date, it may not exceed 6 months. Contracts whose term is the completion of a particular piece of work, and contracts totaling under 3 months, may not include a probation period. “The same employer and the same worker may agree on a probation period only once”: the same company can put the same person on probation only once. If the contract states only a probation period, that probation period does not stand, and that period becomes the term of the employment contract. Probation pay “may not be lower than the lowest-grade wage for the same post at the employer or 80 percent of the wage agreed in the employment contract, and may not be lower than the minimum wage standard where the employer is located.” If the agreed probation period exceeds the statutory length and the person actually worked it, the employer must pay an additional compensation for the excess period, at the monthly wage you would earn after probation. If the employer wants to terminate the contract during probation, it may do so only on the grounds listed in the law, and must explain the reason to the worker (nationwide)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- The three most common illegal practices. First, a contract for only 1 year with a 3-month probation period. Second, transferring you to another post after you become a regular employee and starting probation again. Third, “no social insurance during probation”: the social insurance obligation starts on your first day of work and has nothing to do with whether you are on probation; for the employer's side of the obligations, see Section 12, Item 16. Being dismissed during probation does not mean you get nothing; it depends on whether the reason the employer gives is one of the grounds on which the law allows dismissal. If the termination was unlawful, it is calculated as double severance (2N) under Item 6.
A
If you are laid off, first work out N: one month's wage for each full year, half a month for under six months
Value for cost Very high
In plain termsThe severance the company must pay when you are laid off is calculated like this: one month's wage for each full year worked; half a year or more but under a year counts as a year; under half a year gets half a month. The monthly wage here is the average over the 12 months before you leave, and bonuses, allowances and subsidies are all included. If your wage is higher than 3 times the local average monthly wage for the previous year, it is capped at 3 times, and at most 12 years are counted.
- Cost
- No money. Do the calculation once with a calculator: ten minutes.
No money
Done in passing
No willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The severance set by the Employment Contract Law (劳动合同法) is the money the employer owes you when you are laid off; people often call it N. The formula is: “one month's wage for each full year worked... six months or more but less than one year counts as one year; for less than six months, the worker is paid half a month's wage.” If the monthly wage is higher than three times the local average monthly wage of employees for the previous year, it is capped at three times, and years of service are counted up to twelve years at most
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- The monthly wage means the average wage over the twelve months before the employment contract is terminated. Bonuses, allowances and subsidies are all included, not just the base wage. This is the point companies most often push down. For whether this money is subject to individual income tax, see Item 18 (tax on severance)
A
If the company dismisses you without 30 days' notice, it must also pay one more month's wage
Value for cost High
In plain termsIf the company dismisses you because you can't work after an illness, can't do the job, or circumstances have changed drastically, and it did not give you 30 days' written notice, it must pay one more month's wage on top of N; this is what people call N+1. When negotiating, list this one month separately; don't let the company fold it into N.
- Cost
- No money.
No money
Done in passing
No willpower
Benefit size medium
- Benefit
- The Employment Contract Law (劳动合同法) provides two ways for an employer to terminate an employment contract under this article. One is to “notify the worker personally in writing thirty days in advance.” The other is that it “may terminate the employment contract after paying the worker an additional month's wage.” If it wants you gone immediately, it has to pay one more month's wage. This extra month is commonly called one month's pay in lieu of notice, a separate payment on top of N. This one month is calculated on your previous month's wage, while N is calculated on the average wage over the 12 months before you leave, so the two have different bases
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- This one month appears only in the three situations in Article 40 of the Employment Contract Law (劳动合同法): illness or a non-work-related injury, where after the medical treatment period ends you can do neither your original work nor other work arranged for you; inability to do the job, still unable after training or a change of post; a major change in the objective circumstances that existed when the contract was signed, with no agreement reached through consultation. Other situations do not include this month: an economic layoff (Article 41) only requires the company to explain the situation to the union or all employees 30 days in advance; a termination proposed by the company and agreed through consultation is N; if you are dismissed for a fault of your own such as a serious breach of discipline, there is no severance; unlawful termination by the company is 2N. If it falls under those three in Article 40, calculate the N and the 1 separately when negotiating; don't let the company fold the extra month into N
A
If the company terminates you unlawfully, the compensation is twice the severance standard
Value for cost High
In plain termsIf the company's termination is unlawful, the compensation is double the severance standard, what people call 2N. Whether a termination is unlawful depends on the specific circumstances. First get clear answers from legal aid or a lawyer, then decide whether to negotiate with the company or go to arbitration.
- Cost
- No money. Arbitration means waiting several months. The hard part is staying with it through those months without giving up midway.
No money
A few hours
Some willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The Employment Contract Law (劳动合同法) provides that where an employer terminates or ends an employment contract in violation of this law, it “shall pay the worker compensation at twice the severance standard set out in Article 47 of this law.” The method is to first calculate one amount using the severance standard, then double it for you
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- This is what is commonly called 2N. What counts as unlawful termination depends on the specific circumstances. Consult legal aid or a lawyer first, then decide whether to negotiate or go to arbitration; for the route, see Section 7
B
Don't sign “resigned voluntarily for personal reasons”: once you sign it, there is no N
Value for cost High
In plain termsIf you sign an admission that you “resigned voluntarily for personal reasons,” severance and unemployment insurance benefits usually both fall through. Leaving at your own request is not one of the situations in which severance is paid in the first place, except where the company is at fault, such as owing wages or not paying social insurance. You don't have to sign that day; take a night to calm down first.
- Cost
- No money. The hard part is withstanding the pressure to sign on the spot.
No money
Done in passing
Lots of willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The Employment Contract Law (劳动合同法) limits the situations in which severance is owed to the categories listed in the law. A worker leaving at their own request is not among them, unless it is because of a statutory fault by the company such as owing wages or not paying social insurance. If you sign “voluntary resignation,” severance and unemployment insurance benefits usually both fall through
- Evidence grade
- B
- Notes
- A line companies often use is “sign first so we can process it, and the compensation will be paid separately.” If you want it, have it written into the agreement on the spot; if it isn't written in, don't sign. Not signing that day has no legal consequences whatsoever; take a night to calm down first
C
Before you leave, save your pay slips, attendance records, employment contract, social insurance records and chat records
Value for cost High
In plain termsOnce you hand back your computer and accounts, you can never again get your pay slips, attendance records, contract, social insurance records and chat records. In arbitration, how much you were paid and whether you worked overtime still depend on the materials in your own hands. What you save is your own employment-relationship material; don't take the company's source code or client lists.
- Cost
- No money. Spend half an hour saving the materials. The hard part is remembering to save them before you go.
No money
Done in passing
Some willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- Once you hand back the computer and accounts, these materials are gone for good. Although who bears the burden of proof in arbitration tilts somewhat toward the employer, matters such as how much you were paid and whether you worked overtime still depend on the evidence in your own hands
- Evidence grade
- C
- Notes
- What you save is your own employment-relationship material. Don't take the company's source code, client lists and technical documents along with it; for the risks of taking them, see Section 11. When you leave, also ask the employer for a separation certificate; see Item 17 (separation certificate)
- Sources
- 作者经验，无直接文献；维权路径见第 7 节
A
Before taking a job with dust, noise or chemicals, check whether the contract states the hazards; the three occupational health exams are arranged and paid for by the employer
Value for cost High
In plain termsWhen you sign the contract, the employer must truthfully write into it what occupational disease hazards the post has, how to protect against them, and what benefits apply. If it hid this from you, you can refuse to do the work, and the employer cannot dismiss you for that. The three occupational health exams, before starting the post, while in the post and when leaving the post, are arranged and paid for by the employer. If you haven't had the exit exam, the employer cannot terminate your contract.
- Cost
- No money. When you sign the contract, read the “notice of occupational disease hazards” part clause by clause. Keep your own copy of the report from every exam. The hard part is asking in person and getting the materials into your hands in person.
No money
Done in passing
Some willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases (职业病防治法) provides that when the employment contract is signed, the employer must make four things clear: what occupational disease hazards the work may produce, what consequences they may lead to, how to protect against them, and what benefits apply. The statutory text is “truthfully inform the worker and state it in the employment contract, without concealment or deception.” If, after the contract is signed, you are transferred to hazardous work the contract did not cover, the employer must again inform you truthfully and consult you on changing the contract terms. If the employer fails to do so, “the worker has the right to refuse work involving occupational disease hazards, and the employer may not for that reason terminate the employment contract concluded with the worker.” There are three exams in all: before starting the post, during the post, and when leaving the post. “The cost of occupational health examinations is borne by the employer”: the employer pays, and the results must be given to you personally in writing. The employer may not assign anyone who has not had a pre-employment exam to work involving exposure to occupational disease hazards. Nor may it assign people whose physical condition makes them unsuited to such work (those with occupational contraindications) to the contraindicated work. If health damage related to this work is found, the person must be transferred out of the original post and properly resettled. “The employer may not terminate or end the employment contract of a worker who has not undergone a pre-departure occupational health examination”. When you leave, you “have the right to obtain a copy of your own occupational health surveillance file, which the employer shall provide truthfully and free of charge, signing and stamping the copy provided.” The employer must faithfully copy this occupational health surveillance file for you free of charge, and stamp the copy (nationwide)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- Ask three questions at the interview and you can roughly judge whether the place is above board: does this post involve occupational disease hazards, is that written into the contract, and who pays for the pre-employment exam. If they can't answer, or say “just start working and we'll see,” weigh the risk yourself. The exit exam is the one most often overlooked: if you haven't had it, the employer cannot terminate or end your employment contract. This exam is also a key document if you later apply for an occupational disease diagnosis, and the same goes for the copy of the file; get them into your hands before you go. Occupational diseases themselves are handled as work injuries; for the benefits, see Item 11 onward.
A
Damage from dust, noise and chemical toxins is irreversible: the employer must provide protective equipment, and you can refuse work without protective measures
Value for cost High
In plain termsPneumoconiosis, noise-induced deafness and chemical eye burns are all statutory occupational diseases; once your lungs and hearing are damaged, they cannot be cured. You have the right to know what hazards the post has, and the right to have the employer provide protective facilities and protective equipment. You can refuse work without protection. If the employer cuts your pay or dismisses you for this, none of it counts.
- Cost
- No money. The hard part is wearing a particulate-filtering mask, earplugs and goggles all the time, and refusing work without protection, at the price of possibly being called “difficult” by coworkers.
No money
Done in passing
Lots of willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- Since August 1, 2025, statutory occupational diseases number 135 diseases in 12 categories, including 4 open-ended clauses. First on the list is occupational pneumoconiosis. It includes silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, graphite pneumoconiosis, carbon black pneumoconiosis, asbestosis and talc pneumoconiosis. There are also cement pneumoconiosis, mica pneumoconiosis, potters' pneumoconiosis, aluminum pneumoconiosis, welders' pneumoconiosis and foundry workers' pneumoconiosis, plus one open-ended clause. Occupational ear, nose, throat and oral diseases include noise-induced deafness and blast deafness. Occupational eye diseases include chemical eye burns and electric ophthalmia. All of this damage is irreversible; no treatment can repair the lungs and hearing. The law gives you four rights you can invoke on the spot. One, to know what occupational disease hazards exist in this workplace, what consequences they may lead to, and what protective measures should be taken. Two, to require the employer to provide compliant protective facilities and personal protective equipment and to improve working conditions. Three, to criticize, report and file complaints about practices that violate occupational disease prevention laws and regulations, and about practices that endanger life and health. Four, to “refuse orders that violate regulations and refuse being forced to carry out work without occupational disease protective measures”: you can refuse non-compliant orders and work without protection. Moreover, “where an employer lowers a worker's wages, benefits or other treatment, or terminates or ends the employment contract concluded with the worker, because the worker lawfully exercised legitimate rights, such conduct is invalid.” If you are given a pay cut or reduced benefits, or dismissed, because you used these rights, none of it counts (nationwide)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- Get the right mask: only particulate-filtering masks block dust; ordinary gauze masks and disposable surgical masks do not. If your employer doesn't hand out earplugs in a noisy post, buy your own; they cost a few yuan a pair, and lost hearing can't be made up. “Work two years, save enough, then leave” does not hold for pneumoconiosis. Silicosis can develop many years after you stop working with dust, and it keeps getting worse. That is why the exit exam is especially important (see Item 9: the three occupational health exams are arranged and paid for by the employer). The new list also adds two categories. One is occupational musculoskeletal disorders, which contains carpal tunnel syndrome, limited to manufacturing workers who use their wrists repetitively for long periods or work with force. The other is occupational mental and behavioral disorders, which contains post-traumatic stress disorder, limited to emergency rescue personnel taking part in handling emergencies, such as people's police, medical and health workers, and fire and rescue workers. For what to do on the spot when chemicals splash on you, see Section 13, Item 21.
A
If you're injured at work or hit on your commute, the first thing to do is a work-injury determination; if the employer doesn't file, file it yourself
Value for cost High
In plain termsGetting injured at work counts as a work injury. Being hit on the way to or from work, when you are not mainly at fault, also counts as a work injury. But without a work-injury determination, medical costs, the wages paid as usual while you recover and the disability grant all fall through. The employer should file within 30 days. If the employer doesn't, you, your family or the union can file yourselves with the social insurance administrative department within one year.
- Cost
- No money; one trip to the social insurance administrative department. Bring three documents: the work-injury determination application form, proof of the employment relationship, and the medical diagnosis certificate.
No money
A few hours
No willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- Without a work-injury determination, medical costs, the wages paid as usual while you recover (wages for the paid work-stoppage period, 停工留薪期工资) and the disability grant all fall through. If the employer has not filed after 30 days, the work-injury benefit costs due during that time are paid by the employer itself
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- Take the 1 year seriously; don't delay. But time lost for reasons not your own does not count toward the 1 year: force majeure, restricted personal liberty, reasons on the employer's side, an inadequate registration system at the social insurance department, and applying for arbitration or going to court to establish the employment relationship. So if the employer stalls and doesn't file until past the deadline, apply anyway, and bring evidence of the employer's delay. If the social insurance department won't accept your application, or you disagree with the determination, you can apply for administrative reconsideration or sue directly. If the employer says it isn't a work injury, the employer must prove it. But keep your own materials too: photos from the day of the incident, coworkers' contact details, medical records, attendance records. Article 16 of the regulations lists three situations that are not recognized: intentional crime, drunkenness or drug use, and self-harm or suicide. Article 15 also provides for “deemed work injury”: dying of a sudden illness during working hours and at the work post, or dying within 48 hours despite emergency treatment.
- Sources
- 国务院 (2010 修订). 工伤保险条例（国务院令第 586 号）第十四条列了七种「应当认定为工伤」，含「（六）在上下班途中，受到非本人主要责任的交通事故或者城市轨道交通、客运轮渡、火车事故伤害的」；第十七条「所在单位应当自事故伤害发生之日或者被诊断、鉴定为职业病之日起30日内，向统筹地区社会保险行政部门提出工伤认定申请」「用人单位未按前款规定提出工伤认定申请的，工伤职工或者其近亲属、工会组织在事故伤害发生之日或者被诊断、鉴定为职业病之日起1年内，可以直接向用人单位所在地统筹地区社会保险行政部门提出工伤认定申请」「用人单位未在本条第一款规定的时限内提交工伤认定申请，在此期间发生符合本条例规定的工伤待遇等有关费用由该用人单位负担」；第十九条「职工或者其近亲属认为是工伤，用人单位不认为是工伤的，由用人单位承担举证责任」；第二十条「自受理工伤认定申请之日起60日内作出工伤认定的决定」；第五十五条，对「工伤认定申请不予受理的决定不服的」「对工伤认定结论不服的」，「可以依法申请行政复议，也可以依法向人民法院提起行政诉讼」. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2011/content_1778064.htm；最高人民法院 (2014). 关于审理工伤保险行政案件若干问题的规定（法释〔2014〕9 号）第七条：「由于不属于职工或者其近亲属自身原因超过工伤认定申请期限的，被耽误的时间不计算在工伤认定申请期限内」，所列情形为「（一）不可抗力；（二）人身自由受到限制；（三）属于用人单位原因；（四）社会保险行政部门登记制度不完善；（五）当事人对是否存在劳动关系申请仲裁、提起民事诉讼」. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/6775.html
A
Don't believe “hold out until you reach your desk and it counts as a work injury”: if you suddenly feel unwell, call 120 (ambulance) first, don't rush to clock in
Value for cost Very high
In plain termsRushing to the company when you suddenly feel unwell won't get you any extra money. A deemed work injury requires that you fall ill during working hours and at your work post; falling ill on the way without reaching your post doesn't count in the first place. And if emergency treatment lasts more than 48 hours, it actually doesn't count either. The few dozen minutes lost trying to meet the conditions are paid for with your own chance of survival.
- Cost
- No money.
No money
Done in passing
No willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- A deemed work injury requires that the person die of a sudden illness “during working hours and at the work post,” or die within 48 hours despite emergency treatment. Delaying medical care to meet these two conditions costs you your own chance of staying alive, and the compensation you get in exchange may not even be paid
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- Both conditions must be met at the same time: during working hours, and at the work post. It does not apply if you fall ill on the way and haven't reached your post. If you fall ill at your post, are taken home or to a hospital, and die within 48 hours despite emergency treatment, it may still apply. What matters is where you were when you fell ill, not where you finally died. Short videos present this as “hold out until you reach the company and there's money,” which is exactly backwards. What can change the outcome is whether you get to a hospital in those few dozen minutes after falling ill. Also, 48 hours is a hard line; if emergency treatment lasts more than 48 hours, it actually doesn't count.
A
If your employer didn't pay work-injury insurance for you, you still get work-injury benefits, paid in full by the employer at the same standards
Value for cost High
In plain termsIf your employer didn't pay work-injury insurance for you, you still get work-injury benefits. The only change is that the employer pays them in full, with the same items and standards, not a cent less. Not being insured means extra penalties for the employer: it is ordered to pay the arrears, a late fee of five ten-thousandths is added per day, and if it still hasn't paid after the deadline it is fined 1 to 3 times the amount owed. “The company didn't buy work-injury insurance, so it can't compensate you” is a lie.
- Cost
- No money. If the employer won't accept it, you'll have to go to arbitration or even to court, which takes several months at least. The hard part is staying with it through those months.
No money
A few hours
Some willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The regulations state it explicitly: if an employer did not enroll its employees in work-injury insurance and an employee suffers a work injury, this employer pays the money according to the items and standards set by the regulations. Which payments are due and how much each one is are exactly the same as for insured workers; the only difference is that the employer pays out of its own pocket
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- “The company didn't buy work-injury insurance for you, so it can't compensate you” is the most common lie in these cases. Not being insured only means extra penalties for the employer; your benefits are not reduced.
A
Once your injury has stabilized, get a work-capacity assessment; the disability grade converts directly into money
Value for cost High
In plain termsOnce your injury has stabilized, get a work-capacity assessment; the grade converts directly into money. The one-time disability grant is calculated on your own wage: grade 5, 18 months; grade 6, 16 months; grade 7, 13 months; grade 8, 11 months; grade 9, 9 months; grade 10, 7 months. Until the assessment result is out, don't sign a “one-time full settlement” agreement.
- Cost
- No money. You go through the work-capacity assessment process once, which means waiting a while from start to finish.
No money
A few hours
No willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The one-time disability grant converts the disability grade into a number of months' wages, paid in a single lump sum. Grade 5: 18 months of your own wage; grade 6: 16 months; grade 7: 13 months. Grade 8: 11 months, grade 9: 9 months, grade 10: 7 months of your own wage
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- At grades 5 and 6 the employment relationship is kept: you still count as an employee of this employer, and you receive a monthly disability allowance. For people at grades 7 to 10, when the contract expires or they themselves propose terminating it, there are two more payments: the one-time work-injury medical grant, paid by the fund, and the one-time disability employment grant, paid by the employer; the amounts are set by the province. Until the assessment result is out, don't sign a “one-time full settlement” agreement.
A
Keep the three payments for a work-related death distinct: the funeral grant, the pension for supported dependents, and the one-time work-related death grant
Value for cost High
In plain termsA work-related death brings three payments; don't negotiate over just one of them. The funeral grant is 6 months of the local average monthly wage of employees for the previous year. The pension for supported dependents is paid monthly based on the deceased's own wage: 40% a month for the spouse, 30% a month for each other relative. The one-time work-related death grant is 20 times the previous year's national per capita disposable income of urban residents, and there is just this one figure for the whole country.
- Cost
- No money; one set of procedures to go through.
No money
A few hours
No willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- A work-related death brings three payments. The first is the funeral grant, which is 6 months of the previous year's average monthly wage of employees in the area where the person was insured (the pooling area). The second is the pension for supported dependents, paid monthly based on the deceased's own wage: 40% a month for the spouse, 30% a month for each other relative. The third is the one-time work-related death grant, which is 20 times the previous year's national per capita disposable income of urban residents; there is only this one figure for the whole country, with no regional differences. For a work-related death in 2026, this payment is about 1.13 million yuan (1130040 yuan). It is calculated as the previous year's national per capita disposable income of urban residents, 56502 yuan, times 20.
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- The one-time work-related death grant is uniform nationwide, and the amount is updated each year with the figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics. When negotiating compensation, don't accept the claim that “our local standard here is low.”
B
If you are bullied, verbally abused or deliberately given a hard time at work over a long period, don't just grit your teeth: first keep records as evidence, then, depending on what it is, complain, call the police or go to arbitration
Value for cost Standard
In plain termsPeople who are bullied at work later have about a 60% higher risk of heart disease and stroke, and the more they are bullied, the higher the risk. The odds that bullied people develop suicidal thoughts a few years later are about twice those of others. Being yelled at and mistreated is not a small thing that passes if you just put up with it.
- Cost
- No money. It takes time to keep records: dates, who was present, the other person's exact words; keep the originals of chat screenshots and emails. Arbitration or a lawsuit takes several months. Changing jobs costs the most; whether to leave is your own calculation.
No money
A few hours
Lots of willpower
Benefit size medium
- Benefit
- On health: three cohorts from Sweden and Denmark combined, 79,201 working people aged 18 to 65. None had cardiovascular disease at the start, and they were followed for an average of 12.4 years. 9% said they had been bullied at work in the past year. Those who were bullied had about a 59% higher risk of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease) (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.28–1.98). Those who had experienced violence at work had about a 25% higher risk (HR 1.25, 1.12–1.40). For both, the more often it happened, the higher the risk. In a Norwegian follow-up survey of a national random sample, 1846 working people were measured once every two to three years, three times in all. Those who were bullied had about 2 times the odds of others of later developing suicidal thoughts (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.08–3.89). Conversely, people who had suicidal thoughts first were not more likely to be bullied later. On the law: China has no law specifically governing “workplace bullying,” so you have to match the specific conduct to a provision. An employer that insults, physically punishes, beats, illegally searches or illegally detains workers is subject to administrative penalties, must pay compensation for any harm caused, and bears criminal liability if it amounts to a crime. If the employer forces you to work through violence or threats, you can terminate the contract immediately, without prior notice, and still get severance. Employers must take measures to prevent and stop sexual harassment carried out by using authority or a superior-subordinate relationship. The victim can hold the harasser liable under civil law. Labor arbitration must close a case within 45 days from the day it is accepted; for complex cases, the extension is at most 15 more days.
- Evidence grade
- B
- Notes
- Why grade B: the health figures come from follow-up records, not experiments with assigned groups, and “being bullied” was self-reported. There are four steps you can take first. Step one, start keeping records today; for recording audio, see Section 8, Item 41 (recording). Step two, raise it in writing through the employer's internal channels and keep a record that you did. Step three, if you are hit, confined or publicly insulted, call the police. Step four, if you are being forced out through unpaid wages or unpaid social insurance, follow Item 7 (don't sign a voluntary resignation) and Item 8 (save evidence before leaving). For how severance is calculated, see Item 4 (if laid off, work out N first). Plain cold-shouldering, exclusion and petty obstruction mostly don't match any provision of law; the main routes available are internal complaints, a change of post and a change of job. Arbitration takes at most 60 days from acceptance; a first-instance lawsuit takes 6 months or more, and you pay your own lawyer's fees. If you are already at your limit, call the 12356 mental-health hotline first; see Section 1, Item 25 (12356). This is not advice to quit the moment you are mistreated; the cost of changing jobs is yours to weigh.
A
When you leave, ask the employer for a separation certificate stating the contract term, separation date, post and years of service
Value for cost Standard
In plain termsWhether you are dismissed, your contract expires or you resign, the employer must give you a separation certificate when you leave, and transfer your personnel file and social insurance within 15 days. The certificate must state the contract term, the separation date, your post and how many years you worked there. You need it to register as unemployed. If the employer doesn't give it, the labor department will order it to correct this, and if it caused you a loss it must compensate you.
- Cost
- No money. Ask for it in person before you go, or ask in a written message, and keep a record that you asked. The hard part is having to ask even after relations have soured. If the employer stalls and won't give it, you'll need to file a complaint or apply for arbitration, which takes a few dozen days to a few months in all.
No money
Done in passing
Some willpower
Benefit size medium
- Benefit
- The Employment Contract Law (劳动合同法) provides that the employer must issue a certificate when the employment contract is terminated or ends. The statute doesn't distinguish who initiated it: a contract that expires without renewal, your own resignation and dismissal are all included. The employer must also complete the transfer procedures for your personnel file and social insurance relationship within 15 days. The implementing regulations (实施条例) require the certificate to state four things: the term of the employment contract, the date of termination or ending, the post, and the years of service at this employer. The Regulations on Unemployment Insurance (失业保险条例) provide that after losing their job, workers must promptly take this certificate issued by the employer to the social insurance agency to register as unemployed. Unemployment insurance benefits are counted from the day of unemployment registration. If the employer doesn't issue a written certificate, the labor administration department orders it to correct this. If this causes you harm, the employer must pay compensation. The law also provides that a new employer that hires someone who has not yet terminated their contract with the previous employer, and thereby causes the previous employer a loss, bears joint and several liability for compensation. The separation certificate is your written proof that you have terminated your contract with the previous employer (nationwide)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- The statute does not tie issuing the certificate to the work handover; what is paid once the handover is done is the severance. If the employer stalls, first send a written message asking again. If it still doesn't give it, call 12333 or file a complaint with labor inspection at the human resources and social security bureau. Complaints are free; once a case is opened, the investigation is finished within 60 working days, extendable by another 30 working days for complex cases. To claim compensation for losses from the employer, go to labor arbitration, which is also free; you must apply within 1 year. Arbitration closes the case within 45 days of acceptance, with at most 15 more days of extension. You must prove the loss with your own evidence, for example that not having the certificate delayed your unemployment registration or that a new employer turned you down. If you disagree with the award, go to court; a first instance under ordinary procedure takes 6 months or more. The court's acceptance fee for a labor dispute is 10 yuan per case; lawyer's fees are not part of litigation costs, and you pay them yourself. The four things the regulations require do not include the reason for leaving. If the certificate says “resigned voluntarily for personal reasons” and that isn't true, raise it on the spot; for why, see Item 7 (don't sign a voluntary resignation). For how to claim unemployment insurance benefits, see Section 7, Item 1 (unemployment insurance benefits).
A
When you receive severance, check the individual income tax first: the part within 3 times the local average employee wage for the previous year is tax-exempt, and the excess is taxed separately, not added to that year's wages
Value for cost Very high
In plain termsFor the one-time compensation you receive because an employment contract is terminated, the part within 3 times the local average employee wage for the previous year is not subject to individual income tax. The excess is taxed separately, not added to that year's wages. If the employer added the whole amount to that month's wages and withheld tax on it, first ask the employer to explain, then call 12366 and ask the tax bureau.
- Cost
- No money. Look up the local average employee wage for the previous year, then spend a few minutes checking how the employer withheld the tax. The Individual Income Tax app shows the filing details for each item of income.
No money
Done in passing
No willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- A document from the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration provides that one-time compensation income an individual receives on terminating the employment relationship with an employer includes severance, living allowances and other allowances. The part within 3 times the local average employee wage for the previous year is exempt from individual income tax. The part above 3 times is not added to that year's comprehensive income; tax on it is calculated separately using the comprehensive income tax rate table. On this table, the portion of annual income up to 36000 yuan is taxed at 3%, the portion from 36000 yuan to 144000 yuan at 10%, and above that the rate rises in steps to 45%. For example, if the local average employee wage for the previous year is 100,000 yuan, 3 times that is 300,000 yuan. If you receive 360,000 yuan in compensation, tax is calculated only on the 60,000 yuan excess, which comes to 3480 yuan. If the same 360,000 yuan were taxed in full on this table, it would be 58080 yuan. This rule has applied since January 1, 2019, with no end date written in (nationwide)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- In the same document, the item on the annual one-time bonus did have an end date, later extended to December 31, 2027. The item on compensation for terminating the employment relationship has no end date written in, and does not follow the bonus item. The document names only severance, living allowances and other allowances; it does not separately name one month's pay in lieu of notice or the compensation for unlawful termination. If you're unsure whether these two count, call 12366 and ask the local tax bureau. Which figure to use for “the local average employee wage for the previous year” is also for the local tax bureau to decide. For how the compensation itself is calculated, see Item 4 (if laid off, work out N first), Item 5 (no 30 days' notice) and Item 6 (compensation for unlawful termination). One-time allowances received for early retirement or internal early retirement are calculated differently, and this item doesn't apply to them.
A
When you change cities for work, transfer your pension and medical insurance (医保) to the new place where you are insured, keep accumulating contribution years, and don't cash out your insurance
Value for cost Very high
In plain termsWhen you change cities for work, both your pension and medical insurance can follow you, and the years you have already paid keep adding up. Until you reach the age for drawing a pension, you can't cash out your insurance and take the money. If your medical insurance lapses for more than 3 months, you may have to wait up to 6 months in the new place before you can be reimbursed, so don't leave too long a gap in between.
- Cost
- No money. After you are enrolled and paying contributions in the new place, the new employer or you submit a transfer application, with one trip to a service window or online. On the pension side it takes a few dozen working days in all; medical insurance takes about 15 working days.
No money
Done in passing
No willpower
Benefit size large
- Benefit
- The Social Insurance Law (社会保险法) provides that when you take a job in a different place (formally, across pooling areas), your pension insurance relationship transfers with you, and contribution years are counted cumulatively. Employee medical insurance is the same: the relationship follows you and the years are counted cumulatively. At retirement, the pension is calculated in segments and paid in a unified way. Transferring a pension relationship across provinces follows the transfer and continuation measures forwarded by the General Office of the State Council. Before reaching the age for drawing benefits, you may not end the pension relationship or cash out the insurance. The Social Insurance Law also states that the individual account may not be withdrawn early. All the money in the individual account, principal plus interest, is transferred. The part paid by the employer, called the pooled fund, is transferred at 12% of your actual contribution wage for each year from 1998 onward. When you draw your pension, it is calculated from your contribution wage in each year, your contribution years, and the average wage in each year in the place where you draw it. The procedure: after you are enrolled and paying contributions in the new place, the employer or you apply in writing to the new insured location. The new location reviews it within 15 working days, and the original location completes the transfer out within 15 working days of receiving the letter of consent to accept. After the new location receives the relationship and the funds, it completes the process within another 15 working days. Under the 2020 list of services to be handled across provinces, this was to be made available across provinces by the end of that year. You just apply to the receiving location; you don't have to go back to the original location. For employee medical insurance, the original location must first stop your coverage and you must already be insured in the new place before you can apply for a transfer. You can apply online on the National Healthcare Security Service Platform, or at a window. The original location transfers you out within 10 working days and the new location transfers you in within 5 working days, with the individual account balance moved along with you. If your contributions lapsed for 3 months or less before the transfer, after you make up the payments under the new place's rules there is no waiting period: you can be reimbursed from the month you pay, and the gap can also be reimbursed retroactively. If your contributions lapsed for more than 3 months, the waiting period follows each place's rules and is in principle no more than 6 months (nationwide)
- Evidence grade
- A
- Notes
- If you move to a province that is not where your household registration (hukou) is, and you are a man aged 50 or over or a woman aged 40 or over, your pension relationship stays at the original insured location. The new place only opens a temporary account that records all the contributions by the employer and you. Where you draw your pension at retirement follows these rules. If the relationship is in your hukou province, you draw it in your hukou location. If it is not in your hukou location but you have contributed a cumulative 10 years where the relationship is, you draw it there. If neither reaches 10 years, it transfers back to the last place where you contributed a full 10 years, and you draw it there. If every place is under 10 years, everything is consolidated in your hukou location and you draw it there. Different drawing locations use different average wages to calculate the pension. How to transfer between cities within a province is set by each province's own measures; ask the local social insurance agency. People already drawing a pension no longer transfer the relationship. For how years are counted after a lapse in contributions and which entitlements require continuous contributions, see Section 7, Item 18 (gaps in social insurance). If you aren't with an employer and pay social insurance yourself, see Section 31, Item 11 (flexible employment).
