According to Chinese labour law, the standard working time is 40 hours per week. In theory, the standard work week in China runs from Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 6pm, but in reality, overtime is the norm and most local companies don’t compensate their workers for it
All workers in China are entitled to three national holidays, each stretching into a week of vacation: Chinese New Year (usually in late January or late February), International Labour Day (first week of May) and National Day (first week of October). While employees get the week off, the government mandates that workers "make up" for the holiday by working through the previous weekend (resulting in only three days off). In any case, employees in China should ensure that their holidays are stated in their employment contract.
2. Minimum wage
As different parts of China have very different standards of living, China does not set one minimum wage for the entire nation. Instead, the task of setting minimum wages is delegated to the local governments. Each province, municipality, or region sets its own minimum wage in accordance with its own local conditions. According to the country's Employment Promotion Plan minimum wages are supposed to increase by at least 13 percent through 2015 and be no less than 40 percent of the average local wages. Minimum wages under such policies have increased by an average 12.6 percent rate from 2008-2012.
The table below lists the minimum wage by province, city, and district. The first column shows the province and the neighboring columns show the minimum wages at the district level. Provinces are divided into different classes of districts
3. Gender issues
One of the key signs that China has reached an inflection point in their development is the fact that gender equality on all fronts is getting worse, not better. Here are some key issue:
Female unemployment in urban areas is rising
The gender wage disparity is rising
The gender gap is still slowly rising
More and more women feel they do not need to work, just find a rich husband
It is nearly impossible for a woman to become Mayor, or Party Secretary, at any committee level of the CCP
While female entrepreneurship is on the rise, there are no female bosses in most companies and industries
Rape, stalking and other violent crime against women is steadily increasing
4. Pay and reward
Employment packages for expatriates in China
Your employment package will depend on whether you are hired as an expat from abroad or locally. If you are employed from oversees, you can expect a salary according to Western European or US-standards and a full range of benefits.
Salaries depend on your position and your industry, but many expatriate salaries in China range from US$ 25,000 – 100,000 per year. Benefits often include standard bonuses, housing allowance, 3-5 weeks paid vacation, a round trip air ticket once a year, full Western standard healthcare, evacuation insurance, tax coverage, coverage of shipping fees and all other expenses and training that you will need as an employee. Sometimes language lessons are also paid for. In high-level positions, you will often get a mobile phone and a car and/or driver, or at least have travel to and from work reimbursed.
Local expat hires
If you are hired locally in China, the picture changes significantly. and you will receive just a fraction of the package that you could expect when being sent to China from a company back home. As an expatriate, you will often get better conditions than your Chinese colleagues, but even so you might not reach the level of benefits that you have been accustomed to at home.
Typical business salaries for local expatriate hires run between US$ 15,000 and 50,000 per year, although they can get higher if you bring significant experience to the company employing you. Salaries for medium-level positions such as translators or assistants range from US$
