Answer: Employment law in China tends to protect the security of employment contract of special vulnerable employees.
Article 42 of the Employment Contract Law stipulates that the following types of employees must not be terminated when the employer intends to terminate employment(s) due to health incompetence, ability incompetence, major changes in objective situation of employer, and economic redundancy (that is, termination of employment contracts in accordance with Articles 40 and 41): 1) Female employees in their three protected periods (pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation); 2) Employees with more than 15 years of service and less than 5 years towards retirement age; 3) Employees with occupational diseases or work-related injuries who have lost all or part of their labor capacity; 4) Employees who are in the medical care leave for illness or injury; 5) Employees who have been exposed to occupational hazards and have not undergone off-role occupational health examination; 6) Employees suspected of occupational diseases who are under diagnosis or medical observation.
If terminating an employee in violation of the aforementioned provisions, the employer’s action shall be deemed to be an illegal termination of employment relationship, and the employee shall be entitled to reinstatement to their position (or punitive damages without reinstatement), the loss of wages, and other compensations.
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Mr. Dong Wang has been in practice for over 20 years, specializing in business law, including employment law, commercial law, company law, and intellectual property law. Mr. Wang has earned respect and trust from his clients due to his professionalism, fidielty, and kindness.
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