Working time in the People’s Republic of China

Introduction

The main laws are the Labour Law, the Employee Working Time Regulation, the Provisions on Paid Annual Leave for Employees. Standard working time in the PRC is eight hours per day and 40 hours per week.

Minimum working time

No minimum limits apply. Part time employees have different statutory entitlements.

Maximum working time

Full time employees are generally entitled to overtime payment if they work more than eight hours per day and/or 40 hours per week, unless they are registered with the Labour Bureau under a flexible working hours system or a comprehensive working hours system. Overtime rates vary among 150%, 200% and 300% of regular hourly rates depending on when the overtime is worked ie, work on working days, weekends or public holidays.

Employers can ask employees to work overtime after consulting the relevant employees and the trade union (if any); the time extended should normally not exceed one hour per day. If there are special reasons where an extension of working hours is required, the extra time should not exceed three hours per day and the employer must safeguard the employee’s health. The maximum overtime permitted is 36 hours per month.

The above limits on overtime do not apply where it is necessary to:

• take emergency action following a natural disaster, accident or other incident, which threatens employees’ life or health or endangers the safety of their property, and
• carry out repairs in good time to equipment, transport routes or public facilities where there has been a breakdown affecting production and the public interest.

Flexible working hours system/comprehensive working hours system

The flexible working hours system may apply to certain categories of employees. At present, there is no precise definition of the staff categories that qualify and generally local Labour Bureau approval is needed for each position to which an alternative working hours system may apply. The district-level Labour Bureau receives and approves applications on a case by case basis.

Employees under a flexible working hours system may still be entitled to overtime compensation for work performed on a public holiday in Shanghai and Shenzhen, though this is not the case in Beijing.

The comprehensive working hours scheme applies to employees working on a seasonal or flexible basis due to the nature of the position or work. An employer does not have to pay overtime to employees if their average working hours over a longer cumulative period do not exceed eight hours in a given day or 40 hours in a given week. Applications for a comprehensive working hours system must usually be approved by the local district-level Labour Bureau.

Rest period

Workers are entitled to at least one rest day per week. Workers under the standard working time scheme normally are entitled to two days off per week.

Statutory leave

Details in relation to annual leave entitlements are available here

Failure to comply with the law

If an employer fails to comply with the working time regulations, fails to pay overtime or fails to allow employees to take their statutory leave the labour administrative authorities can issue the employer with a warning requiring them to compensate employees or impose a fine. An employee who does not receive overtime compensation in full and in good time can terminate employment without notice and with severance.

Employees can bring claims to the labour arbitration tribunal if an employer breaches the working time regulations, refuses to provide statutory leave, or fails to pay them overtime or payment in lieu of annual leave as required by law.

Restrictions on contracting out

Any provision restricting employees’ rights on working hours and rest in an agreement/contract is void in so far as it purports to exclude or limit the operation of the law and to infringe the rights and interests of employees.

Further information on working time in the PRC is available from our International Employment Issues microsite