A contract of employment can not be established orally but in written form. Similarly, Chinese language is compulsory.5 Foreign companies have to encounter the challenge in terms of labor contract. Plus, contract of employment need to be defined accurately, with accordance with Chinese laws, otherwise labor disputes and problems easily occur. Therefore, to better describe what the employer should be aware of in employing Chinese staff and how to do it, three aspects will be illustrated, namely, before, during and ending of employment relationship.
3.What should be noticed in advance?
Foreign companies need to recognize the information of employees, including their health position or legal condition, in order to evade potential legal trouble and cost.
Before labor contract is formed, background of employee need to be examined. Firstly, applicant cannot be employed when he has a bad legal record, such as economic disputes or bribery record, bringing hidden danger to company. Secondly, health examination is definitely required. But the foreign company should appoint a medical center to make such examination, in order to prevent a false certificate from doctor who maybe is applicant’s friend. When health examination disqualified that his illness can not apply for this job, then company can not contract with labor. In that case, company will afford more cost when need to cancel employment contract. Thirdly, foreign companies need to carefully check when applicants are teenagers or woman. According to Chinese Labor Law,6 company cannot employ those who are under sixteen and pregnant woman .
To evade implicative duty, foreign companies, before hiring, need to check the information of applicant about the ending and applying for the job
Firstly, applicant should prove that he is not involved in an unterminated employment contract with former employers. If he does, then companies have to compensate economic damage to them with amount of not less than seventy percent of total damage.7 Secondly, foreign company cannot employ applicants who hold effective contract of keeping trade secrets with other company. When the applicants make violation to the agreement or, against the owner requirement of keeping trade secrets,8 disclose, utilize or allow another person to use such trade secrets he possesses, foreign companies shall view as infringement upon trade secrets, because according to Chinese law, they have to clearly knows or ought to know employees’profiles.9
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