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Contracts, Disputes, and New Jobs: An Overview of China’s New Labour Laws

The beginning of this year saw the introduction of a series of laws that have an immense effect on the labour market in the PRC. Many of their provisions have been expected and prepared for, while other areas of employment law remain unclear for many employers operating in the PRC. Therefore, knowledge of their content is essential for every market player with the need for hiring workers within the country.

Date: May 2008

Keywords (click to search): [labour] [employment] [EPL] [worker]

In 2008, three laws regulating the labour market of the PRC came into force: The PRC Employment Contract Law, effective from January 1 2008, the PRC Law on the Mediation and Arbitration of Employment Disputes, effective from May 1 2008 and the PRC Employment Promotion Law, effective from January 1 2008. This triad of laws, together with the PRC Labour Law of 1995, forms the statutory basis of Chinese Labour Law as a whole.

PRC EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT LAW (ECL)

The centerpiece of the revised labour laws is the PRC Employment Contract Law [ECL]. Due to the vital significance of the ECL in practice, there already have been numerous articles providing an overview of the ECL.1 As such, this article will concentrate on analyzing selected critical provisions of the ECL and their implementation in practice.

Scope of Application

The ECL governs the establishment of contractual relationships between employers and their...

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