Employer of Record in China

How hiring through an employer of record works in China

The Labour Contract Law applies to employers inside China, so the contract is held by an organisation registered there. Under an employer of record, a local employer holds the contract and runs payroll and insurance while your managers direct the work. Toku confirms the structure for each role before an offer.

Employer costs and contributions in China

Insurance is charged on the previous year's average monthly pay, within city floors and ceilings (Shanghai from July 1, 2026: RMB 7,546 to RMB 37,731). The employer pays 16% for pension insurance in Beijing and Shanghai, plus medical insurance (maternity included) at the city's rate. Unemployment insurance costs 0.5%, and work injury insurance, from 0.2% to 1.9% by industry, falls wholly on the employer.

In Shanghai the pension, medical, supplement and unemployment lines come to 25.5% before work injury insurance and the housing fund; other cities differ. A written contract is due within a month of starting, with double wages for late months, and registration for insurance and the housing fund within 30 days. Since September 1, 2025 any promise to skip social insurance is invalid.

Hours, leave, minimum wage and pay rules in China

• Hours: 8 a day and 40 a week, though the Labour Law text still says 44. Overtime is capped at 36 hours a month and paid at 150%, 200% on rest days without time off, and 300% on statutory holidays.
• Minimum wage is local: RMB 2,740 a month in Shanghai from July 1, 2025, and RMB 2,540 in Beijing from September 1, 2025.
• Leave: 5, 10 or 15 days of annual leave by cumulative work years, 13 public holidays, and 98 days of maternity leave.
• No 13th month: the Labour Law and Labour Contract Law do not require one.

Probation, notice and termination in China

Probation may not exceed one month for contracts of three months to under a year, two months for one to under three years, and six months for three years or more or open-ended ones; contracts under three months cannot include probation. Only one is allowed, pay cannot fall below 80% of the contract wage, and the employer needs a listed ground to end it.

A worker gives 30 days' written notice, or three days in probation; an employer's no-fault termination needs 30 days' notice or one extra month's pay. Severance is one month per year of service, with six months to a year counted as a year and less than six months as half a month; for employees paid above three times the local average monthly wage, the monthly figure is capped at three times it and service counts for at most 12 years. Unlawful dismissal costs double severance, or reinstatement.

Getting paid in stablecoins, USDC, USDT, tokens and crypto in China

Short answer: No. Chinese wage law requires pay in renminbi, and an eight-body notice of February 2026 led by the central bank says virtual currencies, including stablecoins, cannot be used as money, so a USDC payout is not available for employees in China.

What the law says about the form of pay

Article 50 of the Labour Law requires wages to be paid to the worker in money every month, and Article 5 of the Interim Provisions on the Payment of Wages requires legal currency, not goods or securities. The renminbi is the legal currency, and foreign currency may not be used for pricing and settlement inside China unless the state provides otherwise (Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, Article 8).

What it means for employee salary

A salary for work in China must therefore be paid in RMB, and USDC, USDT or other stablecoins cannot replace any part of it. An eight-body notice led by the People's Bank of China (Yinfa [2026] No. 42, February 6, 2026, replacing the 2021 notice) says virtual currencies have no legal-tender status and cannot be used as money in the market, that currency-pegged stablecoins perform part of the functions of legal currency, and that banks and payment institutions may not open accounts, move funds or settle for virtual-currency business. No official source permits wages in crypto or stablecoins. What applies to a specific hire is confirmed when Toku checks the arrangement.

Contractors

We found no official source allowing contractors in mainland China to be paid in crypto or stablecoins, and the same notice bars banks and payment institutions from serving such business.

Tax on crypto and tokens

We found no State Taxation Administration page on how stablecoins or crypto received as pay are taxed. Its rules tax wages, value non-cash income at market price and make the payer withhold. A 2008 reply taxes profit from reselling players' online game currency as property transfer income, but it predates the 2026 notice and does not make crypto pay lawful.

How Toku handles it

Official rules in China restrict or prohibit using or offering crypto and stablecoins as a means of payment, so this page does not offer stablecoin payroll, USDC or USDT payouts or token grants for China. Toku confirms what, if anything, applies to a specific hire before an offer.

Reviewed November 7, 2026 against the official sources listed below. General information, not legal or tax advice. Tax on crypto or tokens received depends on local rules and where the person is resident, so confirm it with a local adviser.

How hiring through Toku works in China

1. Share the role, location, salary and start date.
2. Toku confirms coverage, the contract type and the right to work.
3. The local employer issues the contract and onboards the person.
4. Payroll, contributions and filings run each cycle.

Toku checks the role, work city and contract structure before a start date is agreed. Prepare the employee's ID, an RMB bank account and the agreed RMB salary. Your quote confirms the onboarding timeline for China.

What an employer of record costs in China

Toku’s published employer of record pricing starts at $599 per employee per month in the countries it supports. Because Toku has not confirmed that it can support hires in China, read that as the general starting price, not a quote for China. Coverage, the arrangement and the itemized quote are confirmed before any offer. See the published pricing.

More on hiring in China

• Employer of record coverage in 100+ countries