The Chinese court system is a valuable tool for expats in China. There are several obstacles for expats in China to overcome when it comes to working and living in China. As a result, it is necessary for expats to understand the advantages of the Chinese court system in case arbitration is needed in order to enforce the terms of a contract with your Chinese employer.

Understanding the Chinese Court System

The main advantage for employees is that the Chinese court system has clearly defined rules for providing evidence. Also, the burden of proof lies with the employer.

The Supreme People’s Court’s 2001 Labour Dispute Interpretation (最高人民法院关于审理劳动争议案件适用法律若干问题的解释), for example, states that the employer shall have the burden of proof in cases where the dispute arises from an employer’s decision to terminate an employee, reduce remuneration or re-calculate length of service.

Labor disputes are handled by civil courts. Therefore, all labor disputes must adhere to civil procedures. Accordingly, litigants need to apply for arbitration before the actual trial begins. An arbitration application may be accepted or rejected. Still, once an application is accepted, there is usually a judgment on the case within the following 6 months. If the verdict is unsatisfactory, both parties can appeal the decision within 15 days. This appeal will be handled by an intermediate municipal court.

What you should do if your employer does not honor the terms of your contract

If you are living in China and your employer breeches the terms of your contract you have two options for protecting yourself. Firstly, you can write a complaint letter to the local Minister of Justice or to your local Procuriate’s Office. Unfortunately, complaints are useless in China. However, when formal complaints are filed by foreigners most workers will respond accordingly because problems with expats tend to attract lots of attention and possibly cause many problems. In the event that trouble result from your complaint, local workers don’t want to be accused of not doing their job.

Give your employer a chance to comply

Unofficially speaking, the fastest way to influence your employer to settle a contract dispute is to request a copy of the company’s business license and tax identification. Requesting these documents causes problems because Chinese employers know that visits from tax authorities often result in bribe payments as high as 50,000RMB or more. In the case of ESL teachers, a large number of ESL centers are not actually licensed to hire foreigners. If this is the case, your employer will probably settle the dispute with you before the matter escalates.

​The worst case scenario

Attorneys are only used as a last result when settling disputes in China. Attorney fees are expensive and there is no way to determine who will be the winner.

The win percentage for employers has not changed much over the years. However, after the introduction of the Labour Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law, the win percentage for employees has declined from 44.5 percent in 2008 to 32.5 percent in 2013. This decline means that a growing number of workers are accepting settlements in which the employer receives less than they are legally entitled to have.

At the end of the day

Taking your employer to court should only be considered once all other options have been exhausted. Court proceedings are costly and can take several months to resolve. Nevertheless, its a good idea to understand what your options are in case you are a victim of a breeched employment contract in China.

Source： Foreign foot steps