China Labour Law Updates: August 2026

Are you aware of the latest labour law updates in China? We highlight the essential legal changes you should pay attention to across the key states in China!

Increase in Minimum Wage

Guangdong Province

Effective 1 September 2026, Guangdong Province revised the monthly minimum wage for full-time employees and the hourly minimum wage for part-time employees. The revised standards are divided into three categories:

• Category I: RMB2,680 per month in Guangzhou and RMB2,700 per month in Shenzhen. The hourly minimum wage for part-time employees is RMB25.4 in both cities.
• Category II: RMB2,300 per month in Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan and Zhongshan, with an hourly minimum wage of RMB21.9 for part-time employees.
• Category III: RMB2,040 per month in Shantou, Shaoguan, Heyuan, Meizhou, Huizhou, Shanwei, Jiangmen, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Zhaoqing, Qingyuan, Chaozhou, Jieyang and Yunfu, with an hourly minimum wage of RMB20.2 for part-time employees.

Where an employee performs normal work, the wages paid after excluding overtime pay, allowances for shift work or special working conditions—including night work, high or low temperatures, underground work and hazardous environments—and statutory employee benefits must not fall below the applicable local minimum wage.

Employers operating a piece-rate wage system must establish reasonable work quotas and piece rates. Where an employee performs normal work during statutory working hours, the wages paid must not fall below the applicable local minimum wage.

Increase In the Contribution Base Cap of Non-Taxable Housing Fund

Updates to Work-Related Injury Insurance Rules

Henan Province       

The Henan Work-Related Injury Insurance Regulations were adopted on 1 August 2026 and will take effect on 1 October 2026. Employers should review the following matters before implementation:

• Employers must enrol all employees in work-related injury insurance and annually disclose internally the insured employee list, contribution wages, contributions and work-related accidents.
• Employers must establish an organisation-wide safety responsibility system, conduct regular risk inspections, implement prevention training and organise at least one emergency response drill each year.
• Employers should generally apply for work-related injury recognition within 30 days after a workplace accident or an employee is diagnosed or assessed with an occupational disease. If the application is submitted late, the employer will be responsible for the relevant benefit costs incurred before the application date.
• Where an employer disputes that an injury is work-related, the employer bears the burden of proof. Failure to submit evidence or fulfill other evidentiary obligations within 20 days of written notice may result in a decision based on evidence provided by the employee, close relatives or trade union.
• Before a determination is issued, the employer must advance the employee’s treatment costs and may settle with the social insurance agency after the injury is recognised as work-related.

Updates to Wage Payment and Overtime Pay Rules

Shanghai Municipality

The revised Shanghai Measures for Wage Payment by Enterprises took effect on 1 August 2026 and will remain valid until 31 July 2031. Key payroll-related provisions include:

• The calculation base for overtime and leave pay is the normal monthly wage corresponding to the employee’s position, excluding year-end bonuses and specified allowances or payments made under special circumstances.
• Where the contractual position differs from the position actually performed, the calculation base should be based on the monthly wage for the employee’s actual position. If neither the employment contract nor the collective agreement specifies the relevant wage, 70% of the normal monthly wage for regular attendance, excluding overtime pay, should be used.
• The calculation base may not be lower than Shanghai’s minimum wage. The minimum overtime rates remain 150%, 200% and 300% for extended weekday hours, rest-day work without compensatory leave and statutory holiday work, respectively.
• Employers must provide employees with a wage statement regardless of the payment method and retain wage payment records as required.

The Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau also confirmed that the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Employee Sick Leave and Safeguarding Employees’ Livelihood During Sick Leave expired on 15 August 2026. Its expiry does not mean that sick leave rights or sick pay obligations have been abolished. Under current national regulations, when an employee is unable to work due to illness or a non-work-related injury and requires medical treatment, the employer should pay sick leave pay or a sickness allowance in accordance with the relevant regulations during the prescribed medical treatment period. While such payments may be lower than the local minimum wage, they must not be less than 80% of the local minimum wage.

Adjustment to Heat Allowance and Heatstroke Prevention Fee

Tianjin Municipality

Tianjin announced its 2026 heat allowance and heatstroke prevention fee standards. The heat allowance is calculated as RMB8,634 divided by 21.75 average monthly paid working days and multiplied by 12%, resulting in RMB47.6 per employee per day. The heatstroke prevention fee is calculated at 3% of RMB8,634, equivalent to RMB259 per employee per month. These standards are adjusted annually based on changes in the city’s average employee wage. Employers should update payroll settings according to employees’ working conditions, eligibility and the applicable payment period.

As a professional HR services provider, Links International regularly releases HR compliance insights to help companies stay informed of labour law changes across Asia and the Middle East regions. Subscribe to our blog or follow Links International on WeChat for more labour law insights.