Employment Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China

The following translation was retrieved from the National People's Congress Web site on January 24, 2013. The Chinese text was retrieved from the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China Web site on January 23, 2013.

Employment Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China

Table of Contents

Chapter I - General Provisions

Chapter II - Policy Support

Chapter III - Equal Employment

Chapter IV - Employment Service and Management

Chapter V - Vocational Education and Training

Chapter VI - Employment Assistance

Chapter VII - Supervision and Inspection

Chapter VIII - Liability

Chapter IX - Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1. This law is enacted for the purpose of promoting employment, coordination between economic development and job growth, and social harmony and stability.

Article 2. The state shall place job growth at a prominent position in economic and social development, implement a proactive employment policy, uphold the government's employment promotion principle which allows workers to choose their own jobs and lets the market regulate employment, and increase employment through a variety of channels.

Article 3. By law, workers enjoy equal employment and the right to choose their own jobs. Workers should not be discriminated against because of nationality, race, gender, or religious belief.

Article 4. The people's governments at or above the county level shall regard job growth as an important goal of economic and social development, include it in national economic planning and social development planning, and draw up mid-term and long-term plans and annual work plans for employment promotion.

Article 5. The people's governments at or above the county level shall create employment conditions and increase jobs through implementing such measures as promoting economic growth, adjusting industrial structures, standardizing labor markets, improving employment services, stepping up vocational education and training, and providing employment assistance.

Article 6. The State Council shall set up a national coordination mechanism to promote employment, study major employment issues, and coordinate and push for the work of employment promotion throughout the nation.

Labor administrative departments under the State Council shall be responsible for employment promotion throughout the country.

Provincial, autonomous, and municipal people's governments shall set up coordination mechanisms to promote employment based on the needs of employment promotion, and they shall coordinate and resolve major employment issues emerging in their own administrative regions. Relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall also make joint efforts to promote employment in accordance with their duties.

Article 7. The State shall guide workers in establishing a correct mentality toward choosing a job and raise their ability to obtain a job or start an enterprise; it shall encourage workers to start undertakings independently and seek jobs on their own.

The people's governments and relevant departments at all levels shall simplify procedures, raise efficiency, and provide conveniences for workers who try to start undertakings independently or seek jobs on their own.

Article 8. Hiring units enjoy the right to hire personnel independently according to the law.

Hiring units shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of workers according to the stipulations of this law and other laws and regulations.

Article 9. Trade unions, the Communist Youth League of China, women's federations, associations of the disabled, and other social organizations shall help the people's governments promote employment and protect the rights of workers according to the law.

Article 10. The people's governments and relevant departments at all levels shall give recognition and rewards to units and individuals who have made outstanding achievements in promoting employment.

Chapter II Policy Support

Article 11. The people's governments at or above the county level shall regard job growth as an important responsibility, and they shall plan and coordinate industrial policy and employment policy.

Article 12. The state shall encourage all kinds of enterprises to add jobs within the scope of laws and regulations, by setting up new sectors or expanding operations.

The state shall encourage the development of labor-intensive industries and the service industry, support small- and medium-sized enterprises, and add jobs through a variety of channels and ways.

Article 13. The state shall expand domestic and foreign trade and international economic cooperation and broaden channels of employment.

Article 14. As the people's governments at or above the county level make government investment arrangements and set major construction items, they shall give expression to the role of investment and major construction items in promoting employment and adding jobs.

Article 15. The state shall implement fiscal policies conducive to employment promotion, increase funding, improve the employment environment, and expand employment.

The people's governments at or above the county level shall, based on the employment situation and employment objectives, arrange special employment funds in their fiscal budgets to promote employment.

The special employment funds shall be used as subsidies for job referrals, vocational training, public service [gong yi xing] jobs, vocational skill certification, specific employment policies, social insurance, small loan guarantee funds and discounts for low-interest, small secured loans, and public employment service. The usage and management measures of the special employment funds shall be stipulated by financial departments and labor administrative departments under the State Council.

Article 16. The state shall establish a sound unemployment insurance system, ensure the basic livelihood of the unemployed according to the law, and help the unemployed to become re-employed.

Article 17. The state shall encourage enterprises to add jobs, help the unemployed and the disabled get jobs, and give tax breaks to the following enterprises and personnel according to the law:

1) enterprises which meet prescribed requirements for taking in unemployed personnel in line with conditions stipulated by the state;

2) small- and medium-sized enterprises founded by the unemployed;

3) enterprises which meet the prescribed ratio for making job arrangements for the disabled or which mostly hire disabled people;

4) unemployed personnel who are self-employed and who meet the conditions stipulated by the state;

5) disabled people who are self-employed;

6) other enterprises and personnel given tax breaks by the State Council.

Article 18. Relevant departments shall give preferential treatment to personnel mentioned in the fourth and fifth provisions of Article 17 of this law in areas like venues of operation and exempt them from administrative and business fees.

Article 19. The state shall implement financial policies conducive to employment promotion and increase the financing of channels for small- and medium-sized enterprises; it shall encourage financial institutions to improve financial services, broaden credit support to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and provide small loans to people who start their own businesses within a certain time limit.

Article 20. The state shall implement an employment policy which gives consideration to both urban and rural workers, establish and perfect an equal employment system for urban and rural workers, and guide orderly changes of employment for the redundant agricultural labor force.

Local governments at or above the county level shall promote the construction of small towns and expedite the development of the county-based economy, and guide orderly changes of employment for the redundant agricultural labor force in nearby places; as they draw up planning for small cities and towns, they shall regard changes of employment for the redundant agricultural labor force in their own regions as an important item of content.

Local governments at or above the county level shall guide orderly changes of employment for the redundant agricultural labor force in cities and far away places; the people's governments importing and exporting labor forces shall coordinate with each other and improve the employment environment and conditions for rural workers who come to cities for jobs.

Article 21. The state shall support the development of the regional economy, encourage regional cooperation, and make overall plans and coordinate balanced job growth among different regions.

Article 22. The people's governments at all levels shall do a good job of making overall plans for the employment of additional urban labor force, changes of employment for the redundant agricultural labor force, and the employment of the unemployed.

Article 23. The people's governments at all levels shall take measures to gradually improve and implement labor and social security policies compatible with flexible employment like part-time hiring, and provide assistance and service to job seekers with flexible hours.

Article 24. The people's governments and relevant departments at all levels shall step up guidance for the unemployed on becoming self-employed and provide such services as policy consultation, employment training, and business guidance.

Chapter III Equal Employment

Article 25. The people's governments at all levels shall create a fair employment environment, eliminate job discrimination, and draw up policies and take measures that give support and assistance to people encountering employment difficulties.

Article 26. When hiring units hire workers and intermediary vocational agencies engage in intermediary vocational activities, they shall provide equal employment opportunity and equal employment conditions to workers and shall not practice employment discrimination.

Article 27. The state shall guarantee that women enjoy the same right to work as do men.

Except for the types of work and positions stipulated by the state, hiring units cannot refuse to hire women or raise the employment standards for women based on their sex.

When hiring female workers, hiring units are not allowed to set marriage and childbirth restrictions on female workers in the labor contract.

Article 28. Workers of all ethnic groups enjoy the equal right to work.

When hiring employees, hiring units shall give appropriate preferential treatment to workers of minority nationalities.

Article 29. The state shall guarantee disabled people the right to work.

The people's governments at all levels shall make overall plans for the employment of disabled people and create employment conditions for them.

When hiring employees, hiring units are not allowed to discriminate against the disabled.

Article 30. When hiring employees, hiring units cannot refuse to hire carriers of infectious diseases. However, carriers of infectious diseases identified by medical science are not allowed to engage in jobs liable to spread infectious diseases prohibited by laws, administrative regulations, or provisions of health and administrative departments under the State Council before they are cured or are no longer suspected of being contagious.

Article 31. Rural workers who go to cities for employment enjoy the same right to work as do urban workers, and discriminatory restrictions shall not be placed on rural workers who go to cities for employment.

Chapter IV Employment Service and Management

Article 32. The people's governments at or above the county level shall cultivate and perfect a labor market which is unified, open, competitive, and orderly and provide employment services to workers.

Article 33. The people's governments at or above the county level shall encourage all quarters of society to launch employment service activities by law, step up guidance and supervision over public employment services and intermediary vocational services, and gradually improve the employment service system covering cities and villages.

Article 34. The people's governments at or above the county level shall improve information networks about labor market build up in relevant facilities, establish and perfect an information service system for the labor market, and improve the system for releasing market information.

Article 35. The people's governments at or above the county level shall establish and perfect the public employment service system, set up public employment service institutions, and provide the following free services to workers:

1) consultations about employment policies and regulations;

2) release of information about job supply and demand, information about labor market prices, and information about vocational training;

3) giving occupational guidance and job referrals;

4) providing employment assistance to people facing employment difficulties;

5) handling affairs like employment registration and unemployment registration;

6) other public employment services.

Institutions providing public employment services shall constantly improve their quality and efficiency of service and are not allowed to engage in profit-based activities.

Funding for public employment services at a given level shall be included in the fiscal budget for the same level.

Article 36. Local people's governments at or above the county level shall subsidize intermediary vocational agencies which provide public employment services according to regulations.

The state shall encourage all quarters of society to make donations and financial aid to public employment services.

Article 37. Local people's governments at all levels and relevant departments are not allowed to sponsor or jointly sponsor profit-based intermediary vocational agencies.

No fees shall be collected from workers who attend job fairs sponsored by local people's governments at any level, relevant departments, and public employment service institutions.

Article 38. The people's governments at or above the county level and relevant departments shall step up management over intermediary vocational agencies, encourage them to improve their quality of service, and give expression to their role in promoting employment.

Article 39. In performing intermediary vocational activities, the principles of legitimacy, good faith, fairness, and openness shall be obeyed.

If hiring units hire employees through intermediary vocational agencies, they shall provide accurate information about job demand to intermediary vocational agencies. No organization or individual may infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of workers by means of intermediary vocational activities.

Article 40. The following requirements shall be met in setting up intermediary vocational agencies:

1) explicit regulations and a management system;

2) fixed locations, office facilities, and a fixed amount of operating capital necessary for business operations;

3) a certain number of full-time workers with corresponding vocational qualifications;

4) other requirements stipulated in laws and regulations.

It is necessary to obtain an administrative license according to the law in setting up an intermediary vocational agency. Licensed intermediary vocational agencies shall register with industrial and commercial administrative departments.

Unlicensed or unregistered intermediary vocational agencies are not allowed to engage in intermediary vocational activities. As for intermediary vocational agencies invested in by foreign businesses and intermediary vocational agencies providing employment services to workers abroad, the state has separate regulations, and these regulations shall be followed accordingly.

Article 41. Intermediary vocational agencies are not allowed to engage in the following activities:

1) providing false employment information;

2) providing intermediary vocational services to hiring units lacking a legitimate license;

3) counterfeiting, altering, and transferring intermediary vocational licenses;

4) holding workers' resident identification cards and other credentials or collecting deposits from workers;

5) other acts in violation of laws and regulations.

Article 42. The people's governments at or above the county level shall establish an unemployment early warning system to prevent, regulate, and control potential large-scale unemployment.

Article 43. The state shall establish a survey and statistics system for the labor force and an employment and unemployment registration system, conduct surveys and compile statistics on labor resources and the conditions of employment and unemployment, and release survey and statistics results.

When statistics departments and labor administrative departments conduct surveys and compile statistics on the labor force and engage in employment and unemployment registration, hiring units and individuals shall provide accurate information needed for the surveys and statistics as well as for registration.

Chapter V Vocational Education and Training

Article 44. The state shall expand vocational education according to the law, promote the launching of vocational training, and encourage workers to improve their professional skill and to enhance their ability to obtain employment and start an undertaking.

Article 45. The people's governments at or above the county level shall draw up and implement vocational capability development plans in the light of economic and social development and market demand.

Article 46. The people's governments at or above the county level shall step up making overall, coordinated plans and encourage and support all kinds of vocational schools, vocational skill training institutions, and hiring units to launch pre-employment training, on-the-job training, re-employment training, and entrepreneurship training according to the law; they shall also encourage workers to take part in all types and all forms of training.

Article 47. Local people's governments at or above the county level and relevant departments shall encourage and guide enterprises to step up vocational education and training based on market demand and the direction of industrial development.

Vocational schools, vocational skill training institutions, and enterprises shall maintain close ties, practice the combination of production and teaching [chan jiao jie he], service economic construction, and cultivate useful personnel and skilled workers.

Enterprises shall draw money from the workers' educational fund according to relevant state regulations and provide vocational skill training and continuation education and training to workers.

Article 48. The state shall take measures to establish a sound labor reserve system, and local people's governments at or above the county level are to provide vocational education and training to middle school and high school graduates with employment demand within a certain time limit and enable them to receive vocational qualifications or master certain vocational skills.

Article 49. Local people's governments at all levels shall encourage and support the launching of employment training, help unemployed personnel raise their vocational skills, and enhance their ability to take up an occupation and start an undertaking. They shall give training subsidies to unemployed personnel for attending employment training according to relevant regulations.

Article 50. Local people's governments at all levels shall take effective measures, organize and guide rural workers who come to cities for jobs to attend technical training, encourage all sorts of training institutions to provide technical training for rural workers who come to cities for jobs, and enhance their ability to obtain employment and start an undertaking.

Article 51. For workers who work in special types of work involving public safety, personal health, and life and property safety, the state shall practice a vocational qualification certification system, and the State Council shall stipulate the specific measures.

Chapter VI Employment Assistance

Article 52. The people's governments at all levels shall establish and perfect an employment assistance system, take such measures as tax reduction or exemption, loans at discount rates, social insurance subsidies, and job subsidies, and give preferential treatment and priority assistance to people with employment difficulty by arranging for them to work in public service jobs.

Personnel with employment difficulty refers to people who have difficulty in obtaining employment due to physical conditions, skill level, family reasons, or loss of land, as well as people who are unable to obtain employment after being unemployed for a certain period of time. The specific scope of personnel with employment difficulty shall be stipulated by provincial, autonomous, and municipal people's governments based on the actual conditions of their own administrative region.

Article 53. Providing that job requirements are met, public service jobs created and invested in by the government shall be given first to personnel with employment difficulty. Those for whom work in public service jobs is arranged shall be given job subsidies according to state regulations.

Article 54. Local people's governments at all levels shall step up grassroots employment assistance service, give priority assistance to personnel with employment difficulties, and provide targeted employment services and public service job assistance.

Local people's governments at all levels shall encourage and support all quarters of society to provide such service as skill training and job information to personnel with employment difficulties.

Article 55. The people's governments at all levels shall take special assistance measures and help the disabled become employed.

Hiring units shall make job arrangements for the disabled according to state regulations, and the specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 56. Local people's governments at or above the county level shall take various employment forms, expand the scope of public service jobs, create jobs, and ensure that at least one person in every urban household with a need for employment can obtain employment.

Urban households can apply for employment assistance to neighborhood and community public employment service agencies where they reside, providing that all members above the legal working age in the household are unemployed. After the conditions are verified, neighborhood or community public employment service agencies shall provide appropriate jobs to at least one person in these families.

Article 57. The state shall encourage the development of independent mining areas and cities oriented toward resource exploitation as well the development of industries in line with the market demand, and guide workers in changing jobs.

For areas with a high concentration of personnel with employment difficulties due to resource depletion or economic structural readjustment, the people's governments at the higher level shall give them necessary support and assistance.

Chapter VII Supervision and Inspection

Article 58. The people's governments at all levels and relevant departments shall establish a goal accountability system for employment promotion. The people's governments at or above the county level shall assess and supervise relevant departments under them and the people's government at the next level according to the requirements of the goal accountability system for employment promotion.

Article 59. Audit authorities and financial departments shall supervise and check on the management and use of special employment funds according to the law.

Article 60. Labor administrative departments shall supervise and check on how the law is implemented, establish a reporting system to accept reports of acts in violation of this law, and verify and handle them in a timely manner.

Chapter VIII Liability

Article 61. If relevant departments like labor administrative departments and their staff abuse their powers, neglect duties, and commit wrongs so as to serve friends or relatives in violation of the provisions of this law, disciplinary action shall be taken according to the law against personnel directly in charge of these departments and staff and other personnel of direct responsibility.

Article 62. Workers can file lawsuits at the people's court against those who violate the provisions of this law and practice employment discrimination.

Article 63. Responsible authorities at high levels shall order local people's governments at various levels, relevant departments, and public employment service agencies which violate the provisions of this law and run profit-based intermediary vocational agencies, engage in profit-based intermediary vocational activities, or collect fees from workers to correct their violations within a specified time, return illegally collected fees to the workers, and take disciplinary action against personnel directly in charge and other personnel of direct responsibility according to the law.

Article 64. Labor administrative departments or other departments in charge shall shut down agencies which violate the provisions of this law and engage in unauthorized intermediary vocational activities without a license or registration; illegal proceeds shall be seized if any, and a penalty ranging from 10,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan shall be issued.

Article 65. Labor administrative departments or other responsible departments shall order intermediary vocational agencies which violate the provisions of this law and provide false employment information, provide intermediary vocational services to hiring units lacking a legitimate license, or forge, alter, or transfer intermediary vocational licenses to correct their violations; illegal proceeds shall be seized if any, and a penalty ranging from 10,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan shall be issued; in serious cases, intermediary vocational licenses shall be revoked.

Article 66. Labor administrative departments shall order intermediary vocational agencies which violate the provisions of this law and hold workers' credentials like resident identification cards to return such credentials to workers within a specified time and it also shall punish the agencies according to the provisions of relevant laws.

Labor administrative departments shall order intermediary vocational agencies which collect deposits from workers to return the deposit to the workers within a specified time and they shall issue a penalty ranging from 500 yuan to 2,000 yuan for every worker from whom a deposit was collected.

Article 67. Labor administrative departments shall order enterprises which collect workers' educational funds without following state regulations or divert workers' educational funds in violation of the provisions of this law to correct their violations and they shall also punish the enterprises according to the law.

Article 68. Those who infringe upon workers' legitimate rights and interests in violation of the provisions of this law and cause property damage or other kinds of damage shall assume civil liability according to the law; criminal responsibility should be investigated according to the law for those who committee a crime.

Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions

Article 69. This law shall become effective starting 1 January 2008.