Short answer: in China a workplace dispute usually has to go through labor arbitration before a court will hear it, and you must apply within one year of the day you knew, or should have known, that your rights were infringed. The arbitration itself is free.

The order of steps: negotiate, mediate, arbitrate, then sue

Article 5 of the Law on Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration sets the sequence. If you do not want to negotiate, or negotiation fails, you may apply to a mediation organisation. If mediation fails, you apply to the Labor Dispute Arbitration Committee. Only if you are unhappy with the award can you go to court, and only after arbitration.

Two points are easy to miss:

  • Some awards are final. Under Article 47, certain disputes are “one-arbitration-final”: claims for wages, work-injury medical costs, or severance and compensation up to 12 times the local monthly minimum wage, plus disputes over working time, rest, holidays and social insurance. Even then, the worker may still sue within 15 days of receiving the award (Article 48).
  • Arbitration is free (Article 53), and if the other side refuses to comply you can ask a court to enforce the award (Article 51).

Deadline and what you can claim

Article 27 gives a one-year limitation period, counted from the date you knew or should have known of the infringement; the clock is interrupted if you assert your rights. Importantly, for unpaid wages while you are still employed there is no one-year cut-off, but once the employment ends you must apply within one year.

On money: under Article 47 of the Labor Contract Law, severance is one month’s pay for each full year of service, and half a month for under six months. If your monthly wage is more than three times the local average, the payout is capped at three times and at 12 years. If the employer never gave you a written contract, it owes double wages for the period from one month to one year (Article 82). If you were dismissed unlawfully, the compensation is double the severance figure (Article 87).

Keep your contract, payslips, work chat logs and dismissal notice. Article 6 puts the burden on the employer to produce evidence it controls, and if it does not, the committee may rule against it.

Scenario (hypothetical): You have worked at a company for 18 months with no written contract and are dismissed without notice. You could claim double wages for up to 11 months (Article 82) plus compensation equal to two months’ pay (Article 87), but you must file the arbitration application within one year of the dismissal.

The takeaway: you cannot jump straight to court – file at the Labor Dispute Arbitration Committee within one year, keep your evidence, and remember the process is free.

Wang Guan | Co-founder, Beijing Haolue Law Firm | +86 17813108512