Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q3 2020 Global Guide Quarterly updates   Download full Q3 2020 Global Guide Quarterly

First Batch of Typical Cases of Labor and Personnel Disputes Released

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Nancy Zhang, Special Counsel – Littler United States

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Supreme People's Court jointly issued the first batch of 15 typical labor dispute cases, which are divided into four categories: epidemic-related, labor compensation, labor contract, and others. Among them, seven typical cases are related to COVID-19, including whether the labor contract can be terminated on the ground of force majeure due to the COVID-19 epidemic, how to understand the "payroll cycle" and how to deal with shared employee, etc. In addition, the 15 typical cases also include cases frequently encountered by employers, such as how employers exercise their labor autonomy to legally adjust employees' positions and locations.

Supreme Court: Guiding Opinions on Unifying the Application of Laws and Strengthening Precedents

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Nancy Zhang, Special Counsel – Littler United States

The Guiding Opinions state that, for cases where there is a lack of clear judgment rules or no uniform judgment rules have been formed, the People's Courts should search for precedents for guidance. The judge shall identify and compare the similarity between the pending case and the searching results, determine whether it is within the same category, and explain the search results. If the precedents are similar with the pending case and provide guidance, the courts shall refer to them to make a decision. If the precedents are different from the current case, the court may use it as a reference for making a decision.

Special Support Plan for the Stabilization and Expansion of Jobs

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Author: Nancy Zhang, Special Counsel – Littler United States

In Shanghai, for enterprises who newly recruited “four types of key personnel” (such as individuals with employment difficulties, zero-employment family members, college graduates) within two years of graduation, and registered unemployed persons, the employer is entitled to a RMB 300 subsidy for training those new hires. The maximum subsidy period does not exceed six (6) months, and the maximum subsidy per person is RMB 1,800. The maximum subsidy to be paid to enterprises for job-related-training is not more than RMB 300,000.