Labor Contract Puzzles in China: E-Labor Contract
- Apr 30, 2024
- Posted by: sinovestconsulting
- Category: Legal & Regulation
E-Labor Contract: Accepted VS Not Accepted in the view of Labor Bureau in China?
The electronic labor contracts are valid in China. According to “Letter Regarding Issues Related to the Establishment of Electronic Labor Contracts” issued by the Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on March 4th 2020, which explicitly states that upon the agreement of both the employer and the employee, written labor contracts can be concluded in electronic form.
The Chinese government recognizes electronic contracts as legally binding, including those related to labor agreements. However, there are certain requirements and procedures that must be followed to ensure the validity of electronic contracts.
What is an electronic labor contract in China?
Establishing a labor contract in electronic form, data messages must meet the requirements of China’s Electronic Signature Law as reliable electronic signatures.
The definition of an electronic signature in the Electronic Signature Law refers to data contained in a data message in electronic form, used to identify the signatory and indicate the signatory’s acceptance of the content therein. A data message refers to information generated, sent, received, or stored by electronic, optical, magnetic, or similar means.
Contracts NOT considered to be E-labor contracts
Not all labor contracts presented in electronic form belong to electronic labor contracts:
- Scanned copies or photos of paper labor contracts are not considered as electronic labor contracts. The generation, transmission, and storage of electronic labor contracts should be in compliance with the Electronic Signature Law;
- Labor contractsregistered online in Electronic Information System administrated by the Labor Bureau are not considered as electronic labor contracts;
- Confirmed labor relations through social media platforms like WeChat, WhatsApp etc. conversations are not considered as signing an electronic labor contract.
Choose an E- signature provider in China
How to choose an electronic signature provider in China?
Choosing an unrecognized third-party platform may result in invalid electronic signatures. It’s the most possibly happened problem in the practical application of electronic labor contracts. When choosing to sign or manage an electronic labor contract system, the employers should firstly select a qualified Electronic Signature service provider, which means this 3rd party platform has obtained the license from the Chinese authority to conduct this business and been recognized in the list of electronic signature service providers. If the employer uses an overseas platform to deliver the electronic signing of the labor contract, according to the Article 16 of the Electronic Signature Law of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that an electronic signature requires third-party authentication, this overseas platform cannot provide authentication services in China if this platform has not obtained the license in China or established any cooperation with a qualified platform in China.
For more insights and updates on China’s Labor regulations, stay tuned for our upcoming series of articles. We’ll delve deeper into the implications and progress of these significant reforms. Follow us for the latest developments, and don’t hesitate to reach out to Sinovest-Consulting for expert consultation on navigating these dynamic changes.
