Opinions on Some Issues of Part time Employment

LSBF [2003] No. 12

Labor and Social Security Departments (Bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government:
In recent years, part-time employment, mainly in the form of hourly labor, has developed rapidly. This form of employment has broken through the traditional full-time employment mode, adapted to the needs of flexible employment of employers and the independent employment of workers, and has become an important way to promote employment. In order to regulate the part-time employment behavior of employers, protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers, and promote the healthy development of part-time employment, according to the spirit of the Notice of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Further Improving the Re employment of Laid off and Unemployed Persons (ZF [2002] No. 12), the following opinions are put forward on part-time employment labor relations and other issues:

1、 On the labor relations of part-time employment

1. Part time employment refers to the form of employment that is paid by hour, and the average daily working hours of workers in the same employer do not exceed 5 hours, and the cumulative weekly working hours do not exceed 30 hours.
A worker engaged in part-time work may establish a labor relationship with one or more employers. When an employer establishes a labor relationship with a part-time worker, it shall conclude a labor contract. Labor contracts are generally concluded in written form. If the term of a labor contract is less than one month, an oral labor contract may be concluded upon mutual agreement. However, if a worker proposes to conclude a written labor contract, it shall be concluded in writing.

2. If a worker provides part-time labor for other units, families or individuals through a legally established labor dispatch organization, the labor dispatch organization shall sign a labor contract with the part-time worker.

3. The contents of a part-time labor contract shall be determined by both parties through consultation, and shall include five essential clauses: working hours and duration, work content, labor remuneration, labor protection and working conditions, but no probation period shall be agreed.

4. The termination conditions of part-time labor contract shall be handled according to the agreement of both parties. In the labor contract, if the parties have not agreed on an advance notice period for termination of the labor contract, either party may notify the other party to terminate the labor contract at any time; If both parties have agreed on the liability for breach of contract, they shall be liable for compensation in accordance with the agreement.

5. When employing workers to engage in part-time work, the employing unit shall go through the formalities of employment filing with the local labor and social security administrative department after employment.

6. The employee files engaged in part-time work can be entrusted by the public employment agency of the labor and social security department in the place where the employee is registered.

2、 Wage payment for part-time employment

7. The employing unit shall pay the wages of part-time workers in full and on time. The hourly wage paid by the employer to part-time workers shall not be lower than the hourly minimum wage standard promulgated by the local government.

8. The minimum hourly wage for part-time employment shall be stipulated by provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and reported to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for the record. The determination and adjustment of the hourly minimum wage standard shall refer to the following factors: the monthly minimum wage standard issued by the local government; The basic endowment insurance premiums and basic medical insurance premiums payable by the unit (if the monthly minimum wage standard issued by the local government does not include the factors of individual social insurance premiums, the social insurance premiums payable by individuals should also be considered); The difference between part-time workers and full-time employees in terms of work stability, working conditions, labor intensity, welfare, etc. The calculation method of hourly minimum wage standard is: hourly minimum wage standard=[(monthly minimum wage standard ÷ 20.92 ÷ 8) × (1+the sum of the basic endowment insurance premium and basic medical insurance premium that should be paid by the unit)] × (1+floating coefficient)

9. The salary of part-time employees can be settled by hour, day, week or month.

3、 Social insurance for part-time employment

10. Workers engaged in part-time work shall participate in basic endowment insurance, which shall be implemented in principle by reference to the insurance methods of individual businesses. For the personnel who have participated in the basic endowment insurance and established personal accounts, the previous and subsequent payment years shall be calculated together. For the transfer across the overall planning areas, the transfer and continuation procedures of the basic endowment insurance relationship and personal accounts shall be handled. When the retirement conditions are met, the basic pension shall be calculated and paid according to the national regulations.

11. Workers engaged in part-time work can participate in basic medical insurance as individuals and enjoy corresponding basic medical insurance benefits according to the principle of linking the treatment level with the payment level. The specific measures for participating in basic medical insurance shall be studied and formulated by local labor and social security departments.

12. The employing unit shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, pay the work-related injury insurance premium for part-time workers who have established labor relations. If workers engaged in part-time work suffer work-related injuries, they shall enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits according to law; If the employee is identified as disabled at level 5-10, the employee and the employer may settle the disability benefits and related expenses in a lump sum upon consensus.

4、 Settlement of labor disputes concerning part-time employment

13. Labor disputes arising from the performance of labor contracts between part-time workers and employers shall be handled in accordance with the national labor dispute settlement regulations.

14. If the laborer directly provides part-time labor to other families or individuals, the dispute between the parties shall not apply to the labor dispute settlement provisions.

5、 Management and service of part-time employment

15. Part time employment is an important form of labor employment system and the main way of flexible employment. The labor and social security departments at all levels should attach great importance to formulating corresponding policies and measures based on local conditions, which are conducive to safeguarding the rights and interests of part-time workers, promoting flexible employment, and regulating the labor relations of part-time workers. We should provide policy guidance and services for part-time employment in the establishment of labor relations, wage payment, labor dispute settlement, etc.

16. Labor and social security departments at all levels should earnestly strengthen labor and social security supervision and law enforcement, and should seriously investigate and deal with the employers' failure to conclude labor contracts, pay wages below the minimum hourly wage standard, and default in withholding wages in accordance with the requirements of the Opinions, so as to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of part-time workers.

17. Social insurance agencies at all levels should provide conveniences for part-time workers to participate in insurance and pay premiums, open special windows, and adopt the method of monthly, quarterly or semi annual payment to timely handle the continuation and transfer of social insurance relationships and personal accounts for part-time workers; Issue social insurance payment statements as required, pay various social insurance benefits in time, and safeguard their social security rights and interests.

18. Public employment agencies at all levels should actively provide part-time workers with services such as file keeping and social insurance agency to promote the smooth development of this work.
Ministry of Labor and Social Security
May 30, 2003