Hire and pay employees in

China, hassle-free

Hire and pay employees in China, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in China. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.

The average onboarding time frame in China is 7 days with Deel.

Currency

Chinese Yuan (CNY) & Renminbi (RMB)

Capital

Beijing

Official Language

Chinese

Payroll Cycle

Monthly

Onboard, pay and manage employees in China with Deel.

Usually, to hire in China, your business needs an entity. That means a local office, an address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank. All of this, plus navigating regional benefits, payroll, tax, and HR laws, can take months.

Deel lets you hire employees in China quickly, easily, and compliantly. We even automate tax document collection, payroll, benefits, and more. For your existing direct employees, we can manage your entire payroll operation from end-to-end.

Download the Guide

All the necessary benefits for China
built right in

Deel allows you to provide localized benefits for employees in China within minutes. All in one manageable online dashboard.

  • Housing Fund
  • Public Health Insurance
  • Retirement Pension

Our quickstart guide to hiring in China

Navigate the tabs below to learn everything you need to know about hiring an employee in China

Minimum Wage Requirements

In China, minimum wage will vary among the 31 provinces. Shanghai has the highest minimum wage of RMB 2.590 per month.

Some of the minimum wages are: 

  • Beijing RMB 2,320
  • Guangdong
    • Guangzhou RMB 2,300
    • Shenzhen RMB 2,360
  • Shanghai RMB 2,590

Individual Income Tax

The individual income tax in China ranges from 3% to 45%. Income tax is calculated according to progressive rates, where the tax rate increases as the gross annual income increases.

Gross Annual Income Tax Rate (%)
Less than 36,000 3%
36,000.01 - 144,000 10%
144,000.01 - 300,000 20%
300,000.01 - 420,000 25%
420,000.01 - 660,000 30%
660,000.01 - 960,000 35%
Above 960,000 45%

Payroll Cost

The employer cost will vary from province and region. 

Shanghai: the employer cost is generally estimated at 36% of the employee salary.

  • Pension Fund - 16%
  • Health Insurance - 9.50%
  • Unemployment Fund - 0.50%
  • Work Injury Fund 0.16%
  • Maternity Leave - 1%
  • Housing Fund - 7%
  • Disability Fund - 1.50%

Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours

Standard working hours are 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. The standard workweek is from Monday to Friday. However, the work week can be extended to 6 days, and 44 hours per week.

Overtime payment is mandatory. Hours outside of standard work hours are considered overtime. Employees can work a maximum of 3 hours of overtime a day. For additional hours, employees are paid:

  • 150% of the hourly rate, during workdays.
  • 200% of the hourly rate, on weekends.
  • 300% of the hourly rate, on holidays.

Employees can work up to 36 hours of overtime per month.

Maternity Leave

Female employees in China are entitled to 120-158 calendar days of maternity leave, depending of the location. Maternity leave includes 15 days before giving birth. The government pays the employee's average monthly salary during the leave period, and the employer pays any shortfall.

The employee can extend the leave for an additional 15 days for difficult labor and six and a half months of breastfeeding leave if approved by the company. During the breastfeeding leave, the salary will be 80% of the employee's previous monthly actual salary, and the employer is responsible for the payment.

Maternity leave in the main locations

Region Basic Extended
General 98 days 30 days ~ 90 days
Beijing 98 days 60 days
Shanghai 98 days 60 days
Guangzhou & Shenzhen 98 days 80 days
Sichuan 98 days 60 to 90 days 
Shandong 98 days 60 days

Paternity Leave

Employees who have worked for the same employer for at least one year and have a labor contract or a service agreement with the employer are entitled on average to 15 days of paid paternity leave, depending on the location. The leave must be taken within 30 days of the birth of the child. During paternity leave, the employee should receive 100% of the salary, which is paid by the employer.

Extend of paternity leave will depend of the location of the employee.

Parental Leave

Parental leave varies based on the region that the employee is based in. Employees in Beijing and Shanghai are entitled to 5 days of parental leave each year until their child turns 3 years old. Both parents can take this leave and decide how to distribute the time off. For specific salary settlements, most regions provide base salary during statutory parental leave.

Other regions:

Region Number of Days for Leaves
Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Hebei, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Zhejiang, Tianjin, Ningxia, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Hainan, and Guangdong 10 days of childcare leave each year
Shanxi, Qinghai, and Gansu 15 days of childcare leave each year

Sick Leave

Sick leave in China is very complex. Employees are entitled to paid sick leave for up to 180 days. This leave is paid at different rates and by different payers depending upon length and length of service. 

Termination Requirements

Terminations must respect complex rules and the rules of an employee’s employment country. The off-boarding is always handled by the Employer with the primary stakeholders. It may include ad-hoc fees as well as required or recommended steps on specific termination cases.

Terminations in China can be complex. There is no at-will termination in China for employers, outside the probation period, and termination must be done for just cause.

Terminations will vary on the province and region. 

In Shanghai, China can be complex, there is no at-will termination for employers, and termination must be done for just cause.

Compliant terminations in Shanghai include:

  • Voluntarily by the employee: An employee can resign from their job at any time by providing notice to the employer.
  • By mutual agreement: An employer and employee can mutually agree to terminate the employment relationship.
  • Unilaterally by the employer based on:
    • Probation period: During the probation period, an employer can terminate the employee providing reasoning and cause.
    • Objective grounds: An employer can terminate an employee for objective reasons, such as redundancy or restructuring.
    • Disciplinary dismissal: An employer can terminate an employee for disciplinary reasons, such as serious misconduct.
    • Performance due to unsuitability for the job: An employer can terminate an employee if they are found to be unsuitable for the job after an evaluation process.
  • By expiration of the contract: If the employment contract has a fixed term, the employment relationship will automatically terminate upon expiration of the contract, unless it is renewed or extended by mutual agreement.

Notice Period

The minimum notice period for termination is 3 days during probation and 30 days after the probationary period. Additional local regulations can apply based on the location of the employee.

Severance for Employees

In China, severance pay is based on the length of employment with the same employer, and can have variations based on the province and region.

Severance pay in Shanghai will depend on the reason for termination and the employee's years of service.

  • Termination without cause:
    • Less than six months: half a monthly salary.
    • More than six months: one month's salary for each full year of service, up to a maximum of 12 months' salary.
  • Termination for serious breach of employment contract by the employee: no severance pay is required.
  • Termination due to mutual agreement between the employer and the employee: severance pay is negotiable.

For fixed-term contracts, severance pay is calculated at the rate of one day's salary for each completed year of service.

To protect you from unforeseen financial risks arising from terminations, Deel applies a Severance Accrual to all employment agreements in this country.  Deel has extensive expertise in managing litigation risk globally and our Severance Accrual calculation is based on the prevailing common-law or statutory entitlements and local best practices. In the event your employee resigns or is not entitled to severance, all unused amounts will be returned to you.

Paid Time Off

Both full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 5 working days of paid time off (PTO) a year. PTO accrues monthly at 0.42 days per month.

Employees are entitled to their time off after one year of employment.

Paid time off can increase based on the employee’s cumulative working years, which will include hours worked for the same or different employers:

  • Less than 10 years, 5 days working days
  • More than 10 years, and less than 20 years, 10 working days
  • More than 20 years, 15 working days

Public Holidays

China celebrates both 7 national holidays, over 11 days. National public holidays include:

  • New Year Holiday
  • Spring Festival
  • Ching Ming Festival
  • Labour Day Holiday
  • Dragon Boat Festival
  • Mid-Autumn Festival
  • National Day Holiday

China also contemplates additional holidays based on religion and region.

Onboarding

Onboarding takes 7 business days. The hiring process includes registering the employee in social insurance and housing fund centre.

Employment Contract Details

Contracts must be in English and/or  a national language (Chinese) and can be bilingual. They must be in writing and signed by both parties.

Language and conditions of employment agreements will vary based on the location of the employee. 

A contract must include:

  • Name
  • Start date
  • Length of the employment
  • Position and responsibilities
  • Working hours
  • Remuneration, labor protections, and labor insurance
  • Termination conditions

 

In Shanghai, it is permissible to establish employment agreements in English provided that both parties consent to it.

Probation Period

In China, probation periods in China will vary on the length of the employment: 

    • Less than 1 year: probation may not exceed one month.
    • 1-3 years: probation may not exceed two months.
    • 3 or more years: probation may not exceed six months.

Probation period details can vary depending on the location where the employee is hired.

Termination during Probation: if the employer decides to terminate during probation, a cause with prove will be required.
btn_download

Download the complete guide to hiring in China

Simply fill out your details below to gain access to our complete guide to hiring in China.

Hiring in China, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in China with our EOR solution. If you have an entity, our Global Payroll solution takes care of payroll and compliance for your direct employees. Our 250+ in-house experts handle everything from managing local laws, complex tax systems, or your payroll in China and 150+ countries.

Group (8)

Starting at 599 USD

Management fee

Group (9)

36%

Estimate Employer Cost

*of employee salary

Want to learn the cost of hiring an employee in China?

View our Employee Cost Calculator

Deel makes growing remote and international teams effortless. Ready to get started?

+

Countries

+

Customers

+

Legal experts

+

Currencies