

Hire & manage teams remotely in China without a local entity. We handle HR compliance, payroll & taxes so you can focus on your business.
Chinese
Chinese Yuan (CNY)
39.50% - 41.20%
Monthly
UTC +8
Beiing
Recruiting process outsourcing – including but not limited to resume screening, shortlisting candidates, coordination for interviews, and assistance for salary negotiation.
Hiring and termination of employees/local labor contracts (contract administration – engagement, extension termination and conversion to permanent hire).
On-boarding and off-boarding employees following labor law practice.
Complete payroll solution and benefit administration
Employee management – employee record retaining, time keeping, bonus and allowance management, expense and claims, and leave employee database management accordingly to the local law.
Mandatory insurance compliance (i.e. pension, labor and health insurance) according to the local labor laws.
Payment management (Invoicing customers/clients and vendor payments).
Work VISA application assistance, if needed.
Local individual income tax reporting.
Registering the necessary company and personnel information for payroll calculation in the payroll software and system
Monthly Payroll Processing
Year-End Adjustment and Annual Declaration
Individual income tax in China is levied on both resident and non-resident taxpayers. A resident taxpayer who has the obligation to pay taxes in full must pay individual income tax on all income derived from sources within or outside China. The non-resident taxpayer shall pay individual income tax only on the income derived or sourced from China.
Employers must pay income taxes based on the salary of their employees:
16%: Pension (capped at 26,500 CNY)
10%: Medical Insurance (capped at 29,700 CNY)
2%: Trade Union fee (if company has over 25 employees)
12.00%: Housing Fund (capped at 29,700 CNY)
8%: Pension
2%: Medical Insurance
12%: Housing Fund
The social insurance system in China is a mandatory system of contributions from both employers and employees. The employer is responsible for withholding the employee’s contribution each month. The amount of the employer’s and employee’s contributions can vary depending on the city in which the contributions are being made.
The purpose of the social insurance system is to provide social security for employees in case of sickness, injury, work-related accidents, unemployment, or retirement. The system also provides benefits for families of workers who die while working.
There are several different types of social insurance funds in China, including the Basic Pension Fund, the Basic Medical Insurance Fund, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund. Contributions to these funds are used to pay for benefits such as pensions, medical insurance, and unemployment insurance.
The Basic Pension Fund is used to provide pensions for retired workers. The Basic Medical Insurance Fund is used to pay for medical expenses not covered by the social security system. The Unemployment Insurance Fund provides benefits for unemployed workers.
Employers are required to contribute to the social insurance system on behalf of their employees. The amount of the employer’s contribution is based on a percentage of the employee’s salary. The employee’s contribution is also a percentage of their salary, but the amount they pay can vary depending on their income level.
Both the employer’s and employee’s contributions are deducted from their salaries each month. The social insurance system is administered by the government and managed by local social insurance agencies.
It is mandatory for Chinese employees to receive health insurance, a housing fund and a pension fund paid for by both the employee and the company.
Employees in China benefit from a pension fund. This is an employer cost set at 16 % of the employee’s salary (capped at 26,500 CNY per year).
The China pension system is composed of a number of different state-administered retirement benefits programs. The basic retirement benefits program is designed to provide retirees with a basic level of income to meet their needs in retirement.
The base pension portion of the benefit is equal to (the average of Social Average Annual Salary of the year prior to retirement time and the insured’s indexed salary) × years of contributions (including those regarded as contribution period) × 1%. The individual account pension portion is equal to the retiree’s individual retirement account balances divided by the number of months stipulated by the Government.
In order to receive these benefits, workers must have made contributions to the pension fund for a certain number of years. The normal retirement age is 60 for males and 55 for female workers.
China’s pension system is designed to provide retirees with a basic level of income to meet their needs in retirement. However, retirees should be aware that the benefits may not be enough to cover all of their expenses. Therefore, it is important to plan for retirement by saving additional money outside of the pension system.
Healthcare insurance is a mandatory employer cost set at 10% of the employee’s salary (capped at 29,700 CNY per year)
China’s health insurance system is a two-tiered system that includes both state-administered and pooled public medical care benefits. The state-administered benefits are for normal clinical expenses, copayments of critical illness and hospitalization expenses. The pooled public medical funds are used for reimbursement of critical illness and hospitalization expenses. There is a threshold of 10% of the local social average annual salary for reimbursement from the pooled public medical funds. The maximum benefits from the pooled public medical funds are four times the local social average annual salary. China’s health insurance system provides good coverage for citizens’ health care needs.
The housing fund is a mandatory employer cost set at 12% of the employee’s salary (capped at 29,700 CNY per year)
Full time employees in China typically work 40 hours per week and must have at least 1 day off per week at the minimum, although the typical 2 day weekend is the norm.
Overtime in China is allowed and must be compensated unless otherwise stated in the employment contract depending on the industry and type of work. The legal maximum overtime per day is 3 hours per day and no more than 36 hours per month.
996 in China:
The 996 working hour system is a work schedule that is practiced by some companies in China. The name comes from the requirement that employees work from 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days per week, totaling 72 hours of work per week. This type of schedule has been adopted by many internet companies in China as their official work schedule. However, this system has been criticized because it violates Chinese Labour Law and has been referred to as “modern slavery.”
Severance is mandatory in the case of termination of contract and in the event that a contract is not renewed. The severance package payout is 1 month’s salary per year of service and half a month’s pay if the employee has been employed for less than a year.
It is illegal for the employer to terminate labor contracts with laborers without a legal a procedure. If the employer proposes to terminate the labor contract through negotiation, the employer shall pay compensation. If the employer illegally terminates the labor contract, it shall offer the severance package.
Employers in Australia must provide employees with a minimum statutory notice period between 1-4 weeks in the event of termination.
Employed for 1 year = 1 week’s notice
Employed for 1-3 years = 2 weeks notice
Employed for 3-5 years = 3 weeks notice
Employed for more than 5 years = 4 weeks notice
Mutual Agreement Termination:
Termination through mutual agreement in China is when the employer and employee mutually agree to terminate the relationship, but the employer generally provides severance payment to the employee in order to obtain employee consent on separation. For example, if an employer needs to downsize or restructure their business, they may reach a mutual agreement with employees to terminate their contracts. In these cases, employers will often provide severance payments as well as other benefits, such as outplacement services, to employees.
It is important to note that even in cases of mutual agreement, employees are still entitled to severance pay and other benefits under Chinese law.
Termination due to Fault:
Termination due to fault or misconduct occurs when the employer terminates the employment relationship based on the employee’s material breach or other stated causes. This may include:
-If the employee has not satisfied employment conditions during the probation period.
-If the employee has severely violated the company’s rules or procedures.
-If the employee has committed a crime.
When an employer terminates an employee for fault or misconduct, notice and severance are not required. Depending on the company and situation, there may be different types of misconduct that warrant termination.
The contract must include aspects like employer and employee information, salary, working hours, leaves, employee’s responsibilities, duration of the contract, social insurance, work-related safety. The main type of contract used are: fixed-term employment contract and non-fixed term employment contract. The main difference is related to the duration of the contract.
Employers can put their employees on a probationary period to assess if employees are suitable for the role and business.
The maximum probation time allowed are as follow:
1 month for a 3 month to 1 year contract
2 months for a 1 to 3 year contract
6 months for a 3 to indefinite year contract
Employees in China are entitled to 5 days paid annual leave after working for their employer for 1 year. Employees who have worked less than 10 years are entitled to 5 days paid annual leave. Employees who have between 10 – 20 years of experience are entitled to 0 days paid annual leave. Employees with over 20 years of experience are entitled to 15 days of paid annal leave.
The number of annual sick leaves allowed is pre-decided and written in the employment contract of the employee. In case of severe illness, employees with 1 year of employment are entitled to a sick leave of 3 months with an additional month of sick leave for every year working for the company, up to a total of 24 months of sick leave.
Maternity leave in China is normally 128 days with extra days in the following situations: In the case of a difficult or complicated delivery, 15 days are added. For each additional baby, 15 days are added.
Miscarriage:
In the case of a miscarriage in the first 4 months of pregnancy, the maternity leave is 15 days. In the case of a miscarriage after the first 4 months, the maternity leave is 42 days.
Prenatal Leave:
After the 7th month of pregnancy, the employee is entitled to a one hour break from work per day, usually going home one hour earlier.
Full-time employees who are new fathers are entitled to 10-15 days of unpaid leave (depending on the city) starting from the birth of their newborn child.
There are seven official public holidays in China. The General Office of the State Council is responsible for announcing the holiday schedule about three weeks before the start of the year.
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