Flag of the People's Republic of China.
China's overtime policies are governed by a labor contract that took effect Jan. 1, 2008. This 98-article contract, titled Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China outlines employment categories such as types of contracts and contract obligations, definitions of employment, labor rules and regulations and legal liabilities.
The contract sprang from surveys that showed large numbers of employees lacked formal labor contracts and from reports of rampant cases of wage default and forced labor. Typically, overtime in China is defined as a workweek that exceeds 40 hours. Wages are generally time-and-a-half or doubled. According to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the contract was adopted in order to strengthen China's economy, the protection of its citizens and the regulation of workplace conduct.
General Rules
Employers are bound by all work quotas outlined in the labor contract. Should an employee work past this time limit, she must be compensated with overtime with wages that are in compliance with the state. Employers don't have the right, under the policy, to force an employee to work overtime either explicitly or by disguising actual hours worked and manipulating rules and regulations. The People's Republic of China's policy calls for strict adherence to these work quotas, and outlines that any overtime must be arranged with and agreed to between both parties.
Employer Obligations
Any employer who administers overtime must adhere to the following standards: State labor laws pertaining to working conditions must be followed; job requirements and wages must be discussed up front; overtime wages, benefits and performance bonuses must be provided; employees must be properly trained to handle the conditions and skills sets required for overtime work, in the case that overtime work becomes long term, the employee's salary scale must be adjusted accordingly.
Other Circumstances Requiring Overtime
The labor administrative department can require an employer to pay overtime based on circumstances other than the amount of hours worked. Employers must pay these overtime wages or face economic compensations within a time limit given by the department. If this wage happens to be lower than local salary, the employer must pay the shortfall. Employers who don't meet the deadline requirements will be ordered to pay an extra compensation at a rate of time-and-a-half or double. These circumstances in which overtime is required are outlined as follows: The employer fails to compensate an employee with full wages as outlined by the contract or the state in a timely manner; the employer pays a worker less than minimum wage; the employer arranges overtime work but fails to pay overtime wages; or an employee is terminated or discharged and not given proper severance in accordance with the law.
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