Points for attention before the employer signs the contract with the foreign expert

1. The employment contract shall be concluded in written form. An oral agreement will not meet the requirements for employing a foreign expert.
2. The contract shall be signed before the foreign expert enters China or, in the event the foreign expert is already in China, before she/he takes up the assigned post.
3. The signer of the contract must be a legal person or one authorized by him. The authorized must have a letter of authorization, and the contract signed by any other person will not be accepted.
4. Each contractual period is advised to be one year, and the added contractual duration for each international expert shall not exceed five years.

SAMPLE CONTRACT
1. __________________ (the employer henceforth referred to as Party A) wish to engage the service of _________________ (nationality), ______________ (foreign name) ____________ (translated name) lady/ gentleman (the employee henceforth referred to as Party B) as ______________________. Both parties, in the spirit of friendly cooperation, agree to enter into this contract under the terms, conditions, and provisions specified as follows.

2. The period of service will be from _____ /_____/_____ (day/month/year) to _____ / _____ / _____ (day/month/year).

3. Party B's Obligations (see attached pages)

4. Party B's monthly salary will be _________ RMB per month, _______% of which can be exchanged into foreign currency on a monthly basis.

5. Party A's Obligations
1) Party A shall introduce to Party B the laws and relevant regulations enacted by the Chinese government and Party A's operation system and regulations concerning the administration of international experts.
2) Party A shall conduct instruction, supervision, and evaluation of Party B's work performance.
3) Party A shall provide Party B with necessary working and living conditions.
4) Party A shall provide co-workers.
5) Party A shall pay Party B's salary regularly by the month.

6. Party B's obligations
1) Party B shall observe the laws, decrees, and relevant regulations enacted by the Chinese government and not interfere in China's internal affairs.
2) Party B shall observe Party A's work system and regulations concerning administration of foreign experts and accept Party A's arrangement, instruction, supervision, and evaluation concerning his or her work. Without Party A's consent, Party B shall not work elsewhere or hold concurrently any post unrelated to the work agreed on with Party A.
3) Party B shall complete the tasks as scheduled and guarantee the quality of his or her work.
4) Party B shall respect China's religious policy and not conduct religious activities incompatible with his or her capacity and identity as an expert.
5) Party B shall respect the Chinese people's moral standards and customs.

7. Revision, Cancellation, and Termination of the Contract
1) The parties to this contract shall abide by it and not revise, annul, or terminate it without mutual consent.
2) The contract may be revised, canceled, or terminated with mutual consent, but if none of these occur, it shall be strictly adhered to.
3) Party A is allowed to annul the contract with a written notice to Party B under the following conditions:
a. Party B does not abide by the contract, i.e., proceed according to the stipulated terms, and has failed to make correction after Party A has pointed it out; or
b. Based upon a doctor's diagnosis, Party B is unable to resume the performance of his or her service after a continuous 30 days sick leave.
4) Party B is allowed to annul the contract with a written notice to party A under the following conditions:
a. Party A has not provided Party B with the necessary working and living conditions as stipulated in the contract; or
b. Party A has failed to pay Party B as scheduled.

8. Breach Penalty
When either of the parties fails to fulfill the contract or fails to fulfill the obligations specified in the terms of the contract, there is a breach of the contract. Such party must pay a breach penalty of US0 to US,000 (or the equivalent in RMB);
If Party B seeks to annul the contract due to circumstances beyond his/her control, he/she must provide evidence, obtain Party A's consent, and pay his/her own return expenses. If Party B annuls the contract without a valid reason, he/she must not only pay his/her own return expenses but also a breach penalty to Party A.
If Party A seeks to annul the contract due to circumstances beyond his/her control, with the consent of party B, he/she must pay Party B's return expenses; if Party A annuls the contract without a valid reason, he/she must pay both Party B’s return expenses and a breach penalty to Party B.

9. The appendix to this contract is an indispensable part of it and has equal effect

10. This contract will take effect from the date signed by both parties and will automatically expire at the end of the contracted period stipulated in the contract. If either of the two parties asks for a new contract, he/she shall forward the request to the other party 90 days prior to the expiration of the contract and sign the new contract with mutual consent. Party B will bear all expenses incurred when staying on after the contract expires.

11. Arbitration
Both parties shall consult with each other and mediate any disputes which may arise concerning the contract. In case all efforts fail, the parties hereto may appeal to the organization of arbitration for foreign expert affairs in the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and seek an award.
This contract is signed in duplicate at ________ (place) on _____ /_____/_____ (day/month/year) in the Chinese and English languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Party A Party B

(Signature) (Signature)



Appendix to the Standard Contract for Employing Foreign Cultural and Educational Experts: A Sample for Reference

The employer and the foreign cultural and educational expert shall, when signing the appendix to the contract, comply with the provisions of the Administration of International Experts Affairs and the Ministry of Finance (WZF No.247 (1996)) and decide the salary and living standard on the basis of the specific circumstances of the employer and the foreign cultural and educational expert.

APPENDIX TO THE STANDARD EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT NO.1001
(A Sample for Reference)

1. Workload and Job Description

(The employer shall list in details the work that the employee is supposed to undertake. There shall be requirements on the quality of the work the employee undertakes.)

2. Salary and Treatment
1)Salary
Monetary remuneration: __________ RMB/month. The salary will be paid in RMB on a monthly basis from the first day of work to the expiration of the contract. If the payment period is shorter than a whole month, the payment shall be counted by days. The daily wage shall be 1/30 of the monthly salary (the same with February). 70% of the salary may be exchanged into foreign currencies each month. The employee shall pay his or her individual income tax in accordance with the Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic China.
2) Indirect remuneration
The employer will guarantee the provision of the essential living conditions for the employee in China. The employer will:
a. Providing lodging with furniture, bedding, telephone, television, refrigerator, toilet, and heating and cooling facilities. (The lodging provided for an employee whose employment term is longer than half a year (or one semester) shall be equipped with a kitchen.);
b. Providing free medical care. (The employer will pay all the medical cost for the employee. Considering the current salary level of the foreign cultural and educational experts working in China and the medical care fees charged by Chinese hospitals for foreigners, they shall not be expected to cover any part of the medical care expenses.) The employee shall receive medical treatment in a hospital or hospitals designated by the employer. If the employee receives treatment at another hospital, she/he must pay for it herself/himself. Expenses for registration at the clinic, transportation, tooth inlaying, face lifting, massage, glasses, meals in hospital, tonics not for medical purposes, and doctor's house calls must be covered by the employee himself/herself;
c. (For the employee whose work place is far from residence) Providing the employee's transportation to and from work or provide a proper transportation allowance;
d. Providing an international economy class air ticket for the nearest distance between China and the employee's home country; and
e. Providing luggage transportation expenses. If the employee comes to China by air, the expenses shall be calculated by the cost of separate transportation of 24 kilograms, not by that of accompanying luggage. Alternatively, the expenses can be paid in RMB to the employee with at 1/5 of the international air ticket price (roughly equivalent to the cost for separate transportation of 24 kilograms.) Since airlines between China and the United States allow passengers to carry two large pieces of luggage of 64 kilograms for free, the employee from the United States will not be paid luggage transportation expenses.

3. Work Time, Rest, and Holidays
1) The employee shall work five days each week and eight hours each day.
2) If the employer arranges overtime work for the employee, he or she must pay the employee a salary higher than that in normal work time according to legal standard.
3) The employee is entitled to the following holidays and festivals in China: New Year's Day, Spring Festival, May Day, National Day, and other holidays by laws and regulations.
4) The employee is entitled to the following festivals corresponding to their nationalities and religions: two days for Christmas, three days for Corban, one day for Lesser Bairam, and one day for Songkran Festival.
5) The employee is entitled to paid vacation. The employee with a contract of less than one year is entitled to a four-week paid vacation. The employee in an educational institution with a contract of less than one academic year is entitled to one paid (winter or summer) vacation.
6) As a rule the employee is supposed to work in China not longer than five continuous years. The next employment in China shall be two years later.

4. Sick leave and private affairs leave
1) When asking for sick leave, the employee must present a certificate from a physician of a hospital designated by the employer. If total leave time amounts to less than 30 days within one contract term (one year or one academic year), the employee will be paid 100% of the salary. If the total leave time exceeds 30 days, the employer may terminate the contract or, if the contract is not terminated, only 70% of the salary will be paid until the normal work is resumed.
During the time covered by the contract, injury or illness of the employee occurring while on errands in service of the employer, if treated at hospitals designated by the local government, will be treated at the employer' expense; medical expenses incurred during private travels must be covered by the employee him/herself.
During the term of the contract, medical expenses incurred in Taiwan province, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and places outside China must be covered by the employee him/herself.
2) Private affairs leaves of the employee will be scrutinized and approved by the employer who will reduce the salary on a daily basis. For the duration of the contract (one year or one academic year), private affairs leaves shall not exceed 10 days total. A continuous private affairs leave shall not exceed three days, and in that case there will be a deduction of two days'salary.
In case of absence from work without employer' permission, three days' salary will be deduced for each day's absence. For serious circumstances, the employer has the right to terminate the contract and investigate the liability of the employee for breaching the contract.

5. The Probation period of the Contract and the Credit Bail
1) The probation period of the employee will be 60 days. In the probation period, if the employer finds out that the employee is unqualified for the workload specified in the contract for reasons of health or professional ability, the employer is allowed to terminate the contract.
2) The employee engaged through self-recommendation or others' recommendation must pay a certain amount of credit deposit (US0 to US,000, or any amount decided by the employer) before entering China so as to prove his or her good faith for employment. The employer will handle the formalities for the employee to enter China after payment the deposit. The deposit will be returned to the employee after the completion of the employment contract.
Where the employer provides the employee with the international air ticket to China, the employee may purchase the ticket by him/herself (with the traveling expenses serving as the credit deposit), and the expenses will be reimbursed before the expiration of the contract.

6. (Other items that the two parties deem relevant that are not covered in the standard contract.)

7. Confirmation and alteration of any terms in the appendix to the contract must be made in written form through negotiation between the two parties. An oral agreement will not meet the requirements of the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

This appendix has the same force as the contract and comprises an integral part of it.

Signature of the employer      Signature of the employee

Source: english.gz.gov.cn

Editor: Jessie Hwang