China Law & Practice

Change font size:   

Withholding wages is a punishable crime

Amendment to criminal law targets malicious employers

Issue: May 2011

Keywords (click to search): criminal law amendment withholding wages crime Runming

Avoid trouble by resolving wage payment disputes with employees through arbitration, say counsel.

On February 25 2011, the National People’s Congress promulgated the Amendment Act for the PRC Criminal Law (8) (中华人民共和国刑法修正案
(八)) (the Amendment), which will take effect on May 1 2011. Article 41 of this amendment addresses criminal liabilities for employers that fail to pay wages.

The Amendment stipulates that employers that withhold wages by means of transferring assets, going into hiding or simply refusing payment and failing
to heed government correction orders could be subject to criminal punishment. This includes fines or imprisonment,
or both.

Beijing-based Run Ming Law Offices partner, Gao Song recommends: “If a dispute involving payment of a large amount of wages arises between an employer and its employees, the employer should resolve the dispute through...

Please login or register below to read this article.




Forgotten your password?

Take a Free Trial now to read the rest of this article and sample other stories from the latest issue for 1 week (excludes full text translations).



Subscribers have UNLIMITED ACCESS to Full Text Translations and archive contents dating back to 1999.

Subscribe to China Law & Practice now


Enquiry Hotlines: email subscriptions@alphk.com or call (Hong Kong) +852 2842 6929/6910, (UK) +44 (0) 20 7779 8999.



China Law & Practice Events

IFLR India Outbound Investment Forum 2012
05 July 2012
Location: Mumbai