Hiring Your First Employee in China: Roadmap
The first China employee is a Labour Contract Law file, not merely a headquarters offer letter. Identify the legal employer, localise the contract, price statutory employment costs and control the start date.
Workflow guide
Name the lawful employer before approving salary or issuing the offer.
A China company hires directly; a representative office generally uses a qualified dispatch route for local staff. Use a China-compliant written contract, complete social-insurance and housing-fund steps, maintain the personnel record and run work authorisation in parallel for a foreign hire.
Build the employment file in five stages.
City contributions and administration differ; confirm the local requirements.
Record which legal person signs the labour contract and bears payroll, social-insurance and management obligations. Foreign-parent payroll is not itself a China employing structure.
An headquarters offer letter does not replace the China labour contract. Probation is not at-will employment, and paying an individual informally while the entity is prepared can create additional risk.
Complete the first-hire control sheet.
Selections remain in this browser.
Common first-hire questions.
Structure and local rules matter.
Can an employer-of-record arrangement replace a WFOE?
It may serve as a bridge in some circumstances, but the provider is then the legal employer and the arrangement still creates China employment, tax and operational questions.
Can overtime simply be included in salary?
Only where a lawful and documented working-hours arrangement supports the treatment. A sentence in an offer letter is not enough.
When can an open-term contract arise?
Long service and consecutive fixed-term renewals can create open-term issues. Plan the second term under current law and the employee facts.
Source station
Use current employment law and local contribution rules.
Continue into the connected workstream.
Entity, immigration and ongoing employment controls remain separate files.
Choose the China Entity
Use before selecting the employing vehicle.
Open specialist route →02 · Immigration routeWork and Residence Timeline
Use for a foreign employee.
Open specialist route →03 · Employment routeChina Employment Guide
Use for the wider lifecycle.
Open specialist route →Escalate before the offer creates an expectation.
Employer structure, probation, working hours and foreign-worker status need fact-specific review.
No China employer existsThe proposed payroll route may not create lawful employment.
The worker is foreignWork authorisation and residence must align with Day 1.
Non-standard hours are expectedOvertime and working-hours approvals require local analysis.
Educational information only — not legal advice. Laws, rates, deadlines and local practice can change; obtain current fact-specific advice.
Topic counsel
Counsel shortlist for this guide
Profiles matched by practice to this topic. A shortlist for consultation — not an endorsement of any filing, clearance or legal outcome.
Practice-matchedVerified status shown per profileFree initial consultation
Jianbing Huang
VerifiedShanghai Haokun Law Firm · Baoshan · Languages: Chinese, English
Yu Tan
VerifiedGuangdong Zhicheng Law Firm · Shenzhen · Languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese
Hui Li
VerifiedGuangdong Zhiqiao Law Firm · Guangzhou · Languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese
Wei Tu
VerifiedBeijing Yingke (Chengdu) Law Firm · Chengdu · Languages: Chinese, English