Regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on the Promotion of the Employment of Residents

(Adopted at the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Third Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on February 23, 2001)

Chapter I General Provisions

       Article 1 In order to rationally develop and use the labor resources of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Special Zone), and promote the employment of residents, these regulations are hereby formulated in accordance with the basic principles of the related laws, regulations and in the light of the practical conditions of the Special Zone.

       Article 2 The resident referred to in these regulations shall mean the person who reaches the age to be a laborer, is capable of labor, and has the registered permanent residence or the blue-seal registered residence in the Shenzhen City.

       The employing units referred to in these regulations shall mean those enterprises, institutions, government offices, social organizations and individual-owned economic organizations which recruit employees in the Special Zone.

       The employment of the public servants and the persons administered by referring to the administration of public servants shall be carried out according to the related rules of the state.

       Article 3 The Special Zone shall practice the principle that the market adjusts the employment, the governments promote the employment, and the residents choose their jobs on their own.

       Article 4 The employment of residents shall be carried out under the system of employment registration, the system of job-demand forecast, the system of employment preparation, the system of proportional employment of residents, and the system of work relief.

       Article 5 The municipal, district people’s governments (hereinafter referred to as the municipal, district governments) shall bring the plan of resident employment into the plan of economic and social development, formulate the industrial policies to promote the employment of residents, and increase the posts for employment.

       Article 6 The administrative departments of labor of the municipal, district governments (hereinafter referred to as the departments of labor) shall be the departments in charge of the promotion of the employment of residents. The administrative departments of planning, statistics, personnel, education, civil administration, etc. shall execute the duties according to these regulations.

       Article 7 The Municipal government shall establish a working committee of resident employment to discuss the major issues of the employment of residents. The working committee of resident employment shall consist of the members from the related functional departments of the municipal government.

Chapter II Adjustment and Control of Employment

       Article 8 The municipal department of labor shall, jointly with the municipal departments of planning, statistics, etc., establish the system of job-demand forecast, and regularly publish the forecast of job demands. The municipal government shall make and adjust the policy of resident employment according to the forecast of job demands.

       The forecast of job demands shall include the following items:

(1)   the quantity, distribution, structure, quality and the trend of changes of laborers of the society (including residents and persons coming from other places);

(2)   the distribution and the trends of development of posts for employment;

(3)   the post vacancy of the employing units and the demands for employees;

(4)   the vocational education;

(5)   the investigation and analysis of the state of employment;

(6)   the other information on the labor market.

Article 9 The municipal department of labor shall establish the system of

unemployment pre-warning, determine the pre-warning level of the unemployment rate of residents. If the unemployment rate of residents exceeds the pre-warning level, the municipal government shall promptly adjust the employment policy and industrial policy.

       Article 10 When the investing unit of a project of production and operation applies to the administrative department of planning of the municipal government for setting up the project, the project analysis of the invest plan shall include the forecast report on the increase in new posts for employment after the completion of the project.

       After the project has been approved to be set up, the administrative department of planning of the municipal government shall submit the forecast on the posts for employment to the municipal department of labor.

       Article 11 The municipal government shall formulate the policy of the proportional employment of residents in accordance with the economic and social development and the supply and demand of labor, determine and adjust the trades of the proportional employment of residents and the specific proportions.

       Article 12 The employing units shall recruit and hire residents according to the rules of the municipal government on the proportional employment.

       Article 13 When an employing unit accepts student-trainees from other cities, their number shall not exceed 30% of the total number of the employees of the unit, the term of training for a group of trainees shall not exceed 6 months.

Chapter III Employment Registration and Training

       Article 14 The resident who is employed for the first time shall go for employment registration at the department of labor of the locality where the resident has the registered residence.

       When employing a resident, an employing unit shall go through the formalities for the employment at the department of labor.

       The resident who has not been employed after being unemployed for one month may go through the formalities of unemployment registration at the department of labor of the locality where the resident has the registered residence.

       Article 15 The department of labor and the related government departments shall provide guidance for the residents who are employed for the first time and the residents who are unemployed.

       Vocational schools, training institutions, and universities and colleges shall open the courses of employment guidance, provide the employment guidance education and service for the graduates and the students who have completed courses.  

       Article 16 The departments of labor shall adopt a variety of forms to provide the employment preparation training for the graduates of regular junior and senior middle schools of the current year who cannot be admitted to the educational institutions of a higher level.

       Article 17 The departments of labor shall provide the re-employment training for unemployed residents, the unemployed residents shall participate in the training.

       Article 18 Before an employee takes up a post, the employing unit shall provide the training in the professional knowledge related to the post, the laws and regulations on labor, and professional ethics.

       The employees who are engaged in the technical type of work shall take up their posts only after obtaining the corresponding certificates of professional qualifications.

Chapter IV Security and Service of Employment

       Article 19 The municipal, district governments shall formulate preferential policies and measures to encourage employing units to hire unemployed residents, and support unemployed residents to find jobs through a variety of forms and channels.

       Article 20 The departments of labor shall set up the non-profit employment agencies and establish the job information network in order to provide services for residents, the expenses shall be entered into the budget of the governments at the same level.

       Article 21When hiring people as employees, an employing unit shall follow the principle of resident first, non-resident laborer second, if they all meet the employment requirements of a post.

       If the government offices, institutions, and social organizations and their subordinate organs funded by the appropriation from the public finance need to hire people as employees, they shall hire the residents first through the departments of labor; if there are not enough residents available for employment, the employing units may hire by themselves.

       Article 22 The departments of labor shall give priority to recommending for employment those residents who are receiving the unemployment benefits.

       Article 23 If there is a need to hire people for the management, maintenance of the municipal public facilities built by the government investment and for the activities organized by the government, the unemployed residents shall be employed first.

       Article 24 The departments of labor shall give priority to recommendation of the unemployed residents, who have difficulties to find a job, to participate in the labor for public welfare which is arranged by the government, the unit in charge of the arrangements for the labor shall provide pay for them and their unemployment benefits shall be stopped.

        Article 25 The unemployed residents, without proper reason, may not refuse the post for employment and the labor for public welfare recommended by the departments of labor.

       Article 26 When hiring people as employees, an employing unit shall not have discrimination based on sex, age, marriage.

       The residents employed by different enterprises shall have the same rights of remuneration for labor, job training, rest (vacation), labor protection, and social security, etc. prescribed by laws, regulations.

       Article 27 If the store space of a residential quarter developed by the government investment or other public properties needs to be leased or sold, the related information shall be made public, and the residents have the preemption to buy or to lease if the other conditions are equal.

       Article 28 The municipal, district governments shall encourage to develop the posts and trades in community services, housekeeping, etc. which suit the women, who have the registered residence in the Shenzhen City, for employment, and promote the employment of women.

       Article 29 The municipal, district governments shall, according to the rules of the state, give priority to the placement of the demobilized servicemen, veterans, who have the registered residence in the Shenzhen City, and also the family members of servicemen, who meet the requirements to accompany the servicemen in the armed forces, when they are looking for employment for the first employment.

       The employing units shall make the employment arrangements according to the rules of the state for the demobilized servicemen, veterans and the family members of servicemen who meet the requirements to accompany the servicemen in the armed forces.

       If the demobilized servicemen, veterans are required to participate in the training in basic vocational skills for the first-time employment, the government shall provide the training free of charge.

       Article 30 If the family members of a martyr who have the non-urban registered residence meet the requirements for employment, the municipal, district governments shall make arrangements for one of them to be employed.

       The employing units shall give priority to the employment of the family members of the martyrs of this city and the children of the revolutionary wounded, disabled servicemen of the special class and the first class.

       Article 31 The municipal, district governments shall provide the employment guidance and service for the returned overseas Chinese and the relatives of the overseas Chinese. When hiring people as employees, the employing units shall give priority to the employment of the returned overseas Chinese and the relatives of the overseas Chinese if the other conditions are equal.

       Article 32 The municipal, district governments shall provide the vocational training for the handicapped persons who are capable of labor (hereinafter referred to as the handicapped), and improve their ability for employment.

       The Special Zone shall put into practice the system of proportional employment of the handicapped, the municipal government shall formulate the other rules on the specific proportion and the implementation methods based on the quantity of the employed population of this city and also of the people handicapped but still capable of labor.

       Article 33 When laying off employees for economic reasons, an employing unit shall give priority to the employment security of the residents.

Chapter V Legal Liabilities

       Article 34 If an employing unit violates Article 12 of these regulations, the department of labor shall order it to correct by a deadline, to check and lay off the non-resident laborers whose employment exceeds the proportion; if the refusal of checking and laying off is given, a fine of 500 RMB per person shall be imposed on the employing unit every month based on the number of the non-resident laborers whose employment exceeds the proportion; if the employment is shorter than one month, it shall be calculated as one month.

       Article 35 If an employing unit violates Article 13 of these regulations, the department of labor shall order it to check and lay off by a deadline; if the refusal of checking and laying off is given, a fine of 500 RMB per person shall be imposed on the employing unit every month based on the number of the student-trainees whose acceptance exceeds the proportion or whose training goes beyond the term; if the training is shorter than one month, it shall be calculated as one month.

       Article 36 If an unemployed resident violates Article 17 of these regulations by having refused to participate in the re-employment training twice without proper reasons, this person’s unemployment benefits shall be stopped.

       Article 37 If the government offices, institutions, and social organizations funded by the appropriation from the public finance violate the second section of Article 21, the department of labor shall order them to correct; if the refusal to correct is given, the related responsible persons shall be criticized.

       Article 38 If an unemployed resident violates Article 25 of these regulations, this person’s unemployment benefits shall be stopped.

       Article 39 If an employing unit violates Article 26 of these regulations, the department of labor shall order it to correct; if the refusal to correct is given, a fine of more than 5,000 but less than 20,000 RMB shall be imposed.

       Article 40 If an employing unit violates the second section of Article 29 of these regulations, the department of labor shall order it to correct by a deadline; if the refusal to correct is given, the department of labor shall not assign the quota of employment and transfer of laborers in 3 years.

       Article 41 If an employing unit violates Article 33 of these regulations, the department of labor shall order it to correct by a deadline; if the refusal to correct is given, a fine of 3,000 RMB per person shall be imposed on the employing unit based on the number of the resident-employees who have been laid off.

       Article 42 If the personnel of the departments of labor or other related administrative departments abuse power, neglect duties, practice favoritism and irregularities in their work to promote the employment of residents, administrative sanctions shall be imposed on the chief officers in charge or the directly responsible persons according to law; if a crime is constituted, the judicial office shall investigate into the criminal responsibility according to law.

      Article 43 If the party concerned has an objection to the penalty decision of the municipal, district departments of labor, a legal action may be taken directly at the people’s court, and an application for a review may be also filed to the people’s government  at the same level or the department of labor at a higher level; if there is an objection to a review decision, a legal action may be taken at the people’s court.

       If the party concerned fails to apply for review, to take a legal action, and to carry out the penalty decision, the department of labor or the review office shall apply to the people’s court for coercive enforcement.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions