China Labour Law Updates: October 2023

Are you aware of the latest labour law updates in China? We highlight the essential changes that took place in October 2023 that you should pay attention to across the key states in China!

1. New Minimum Wage

Effective from October 2023, the minimum wage standards have been increased across several cities in the Shandong Province.

2. Increase in the Maximum Amount of Taxable Housing Provident Fund

3. The Work Injury Insurance

Jilin Province

Jilin Province has issued a notice regarding the adjustment of the work-related injury insurance for the year of 2023. It is specified that starting from January 1, 2023, the work-related injury insurance for the entire province will be adjusted.

The scope of this adjustment includes workers who suffered work-related injuries before December 31, 2022, and are entitled to disability allowances, living care expenses, and death grant. Individuals whose work-related injury insurance relationships were terminated before the implementation of this notice are not included in the scope. The adjustment standards are as follows:

Minimum Disability Allowances

• Disability Grade 1 increases by RMB182 per month
• Disability Grade 2 increases by RMB174 per month
• Disability Grade 3 increases by RMB166 per month
• Disability Grade 4 increases by RMB158 per month
• Disability Grade 5 increases by RMB150 per month
• Disability Grade 6 increases by RMB134 per month

For those whose disability allowance is adjusted to be less than RMB3004, an additional RMB30 will be added.

Living Care Allowances

• An individual who is entirely unable of self-care receive an additional RMB136 per month
• An individual who has limited ability of self-care receive an additional RMB109 per month
• An individual who is partially unable to self-care receive an additional RMB82 per month

Death Grant

• The spouse receives an additional RMB99 per month
• Other relatives receive an additional RMB90 per person per month
• Elderly widows or orphans receive an additional RMB9 per person on top of the above-mentioned standards

Jiangxi Province

Jiangxi Province announced the amendment to its “Work-Related Injury Insurance Regulations” on September 12, 2023, and these amendments came into effect from the date of announcement. The key adjustments are as follows:

One-time Disability Employment Subsidy

For employees with occupational diseases, the one-time medical subsidy for work-related injury is increased by 30% based on the standards mentioned above.

For employees with work-related injuries at grade five to grade ten who are less than five years away from the statutory retirement age, the one-time disability employment subsidy will be calculated according to the following criteria:

• Less than one year: 10% of the full amount
• One year or more,  but less than two years: 20% of the full amount
• Two years or more,  but less than three years: 40% of the full amount
• Three years or more,  but less than four years: 60% of the full amount
• Four years or more,  but less than five years: 80% of the full amount

No one-time disability employment subsidy will be paid to those who exceed the statutory retirement age.

Medical Benefits in Work Injury Leave

For employees with work-related injuries who are unable to care for themselves and require nursing during the work injury leave period, a medical institution providing treatment should issue a certificate. The employer is responsible for sending someone to provide care. If the employer does not provide care, they will pay a care fee to the injured employee at a rate of 70% of the average monthly salary of urban non-private sector employees in the province from the previous year.

Sichuan Province

Sichuan Province has issued a notice regarding the adjustment of benefits for employees who have suffered work-related injuries in 2023. It is specified that from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, adjustments have been made to the benefits for employees who have suffered work-related injuries, including disability allowances (or disability pensions, basic pension, the same below), living care fees, and death grants.

The recipients of this adjustment include individuals who were receiving disability allowances, living care fees, and death grants monthly before December 31, 2022, as well as former temporary workers who had basic loss of working capacity and were receiving disability allowance fees monthly. This adjustment does not cover employees who have suffered work-related injuries who had already passed away before December 31, 2022, and those who had terminated their work-related injury insurance relationships and received long-term benefits according to relevant regulations. The latest adjustment standards are as follows:

(1) Disability Allowance: Disability grade one to four (including complete loss of working capacity) will see an increase of RMB168 per month. Employees who have suffered work-related injuries at disability grade five and six, who receive disability allowances from social insurance agencies, will receive an additional RMB122 per month. For those paid by employers, they can follow this standard.

(2) Living Care Fee: Adjusted into three grades – complete, significant, and partial inability to self-care, at 50%, 40%, and 30% of the average monthly wage for all urban employed personnel in the province in 2022. This corresponds to RMB3,538, RMB2,830.4, and RMB2,122.8, respectively.

(3) Death Grant: The family members of deceased employees who have had work-related injuries receiving death grants will see an increase of RMB67 per month. For those receiving occupational injury protection family support pensions monthly, the pension for spouses will increase by RMB57.4 per month, and for other family members, it will increase by RMB43.05 per month.

(4) According to the “Interim Measures for the Treatment of Temporarily Disabled Workers Due to Work-Related Injuries” in Sichuan province, the former temporary workers who have experienced a basic loss of working capacity and are receiving monthly disability allowance fees will see an increase of RMB90 per month in their disability allowance.

When implementing this notice and the “Notice on Adjusting the Basic Pension for Retired Personnel in 2023,” local authorities should ensure that employees who have had work-related injuries do not simultaneously benefit from both work-related injury and retirement benefit adjustments. The total adjustment amount specified in both notices should be compared, and the principle of “the higher amount prevails” should be applied.

Hebei Province

Hebei Province has issued a notice regarding the adjustment of disability allowances for employees who have had work-related injuries and family support pensions for deceased employees. The province decided to implement a unified adjustment of disability allowances and death grant for work-related injury employees and families of deceased employees in Hebei Province starting from January 1, 2023.

This applies to employees with grade 1 to 6 work-related injuries who receive disability allowances in accordance with the “Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance” before December 31, 2022, and the family members of employees who died on the job who receive the death grant. The latest adjustment standards are as follows:

Minimum Disability Allowance

• Disability Grade 1 increases by RMB380 per month
• Disability Grade 2 increases by RMB360 per month
• Disability Grade 3 increases by RMB340 per month
• Disability Grade 4 increases by RMB320 per month
• Disability Grade 5 increases by an amount not less than RMB300 per month.
• Disability Grade 6 increases by an amount not less than RMB260 per month.

For disability allowances that are adjusted to be below RMB2,200, it will be paid at the standard of RMB2,200.

Death Grant

• Spouses receive an additional RMB210 per month
• Other family members receive an additional RMB180 per month

To effectively safeguard the basic livelihood of low-income employees who have had work-related injuries and their family members, for those whose benefit grades remain low after the adjustment, grade 1-4 disability allowances, grade 5-6 disability allowances, and death grant will be guaranteed at RMB2200 per month, the local minimum wage standard, and RMB930 per month, respectively, by the original work-related injury benefit channels.

Liaoning Province

Liaoning Province has completed the distribution of the 2023 adjustment for the “Three Benefits” of work-related injury insurance. The “Three Benefits” refer to the security benefits that employees who have had work-related injuries receive, including monthly disability allowances, living care fees, and death grants.

Minimum Disability Allowances

Living Care Allowances

Death Grant

• The spouse receives RMB1,280 per month
• Other family members receive RMB1,280 per person per month
• Elderly widows or orphans receive an additional RMB20 per person on top of the above-mentioned standards

4. Latest Heating Allowance Policy

The standard heating allowance for Dalian, Liaoning Province in 2023 is RMB26 per square meter. The distribution period is from November 5, 2023, to April 5, 2024, with monthly disbursements.

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