1. Establish the deadline and the reason for non-signing
Articles 7 and 10 of the PRC Labor Contract Law tie the employment relationship to the commencement of work and require a written contract within one month where it was not signed at the start. Use actual work records, not merely the planned onboarding date. A delay in headquarters approval, translation or use of the company seal does not move that deadline. Identify the China employing entity and the person responsible for completing execution.
Check whether HR actually delivered a complete, lawful text, whether the terms match the agreed role and pay, and what the employee said in response. Disagreement about an added pay cut, an unlawful clause, a missing attachment or an inaccessible signing system is different from an evidenced refusal to conclude a lawful contract. Preserve each version and the employee’s explanation; do not reduce all outstanding signatures to a spreadsheet label saying “employee refused”.
2. Within the first month: two written steps matter
Article 5 of the Implementing Regulation of the PRC Labor Contract Law addresses an employee who, within one month of starting work, does not conclude a written contract after written notice from the employer. The employer must then give written notice terminating the employment relationship. In that situation, economic compensation is not required, but remuneration for the time actually worked must be paid according to law. A verbal reminder or an unsigned draft sitting in HR’s folder does not demonstrate this sequence.
The signing notice should identify the contract supplied, a practical way to sign and a clear response date within the remaining statutory window. Keep evidence of delivery, any response and subsequent communication. Review the facts and timing before issuing a separate termination notice. Do not assume that sending a reminder during the first month preserves the same no-compensation route indefinitely if employment continues beyond it.
3. After one month: signing and termination carry different consequences
For more than one month but less than one year without a written contract, Regulation Article 6 requires execution of the missing contract and addresses double wages under Labor Contract Law Article 82. If the employee will not conclude the contract, the employer must give written termination notice and pay economic compensation under Article 47. Keep that compensation assessment separate from the additional wage claim. Do not substitute an accusation of misconduct or a supposed voluntary resignation for the applicable legal route.
The Regulation sets the double-wage period from the day after one month of employment has elapsed to the day before the written contract is concluded. Article 6 of the 2025 SPC Interpretation (II) provides for monthly calculation and, for less than a month, calculation by actual working days in that month. Assess the applicable wage base, amounts already paid, relevant period and any proved exception before quantifying exposure. A later signature does not automatically erase the earlier gap. Record the real signing date and the actual employment start date separately; do not backdate execution.
4. The 2025 exception requires proof, not a waiver
Article 7 of SPC Interpretation (II), effective from 1 September 2025, places the proof burden on the employer relying on an exception to double wages for non-signing. It lists force majeure, non-signing caused by the employee’s own intentional conduct or gross negligence, and other circumstances provided by laws or administrative regulations. Mere delay, silence or HR’s conclusion that the employee was “uncooperative” does not by itself establish intentional conduct or gross negligence causing the absence of a contract.
Build the evidence around causation: the lawful text offered, accessible signing arrangements, dated notices, delivery records, responses and the company’s efforts to resolve identified obstacles. A signed statement saying the employee does not want a contract or will not claim double wages cannot replace this assessment or the statutory duty to contract. Article 26 of the Labor Contract Law addresses terms excluding employer obligations or employee rights. Even a successful defense to double wages does not automatically excuse economic compensation, unpaid ordinary wages or an unlawful termination.
5. At one year, reassess the relationship before acting
Labor Contract Law Article 14 and Regulation Article 7 deem an open-ended contract to exist when one year passes without a written contract and require immediate written execution. Under Interpretation (II) Article 9, the employee may seek a written contract, but a further double-wage claim solely for failure to reduce that deemed open-ended relationship to writing is not supported for that period. This does not erase liability for the earlier period or permit the employer to end the relationship at will. Renewal disputes and statutory extensions also require separate analysis rather than automatic use of these new-hire steps.
Before the next notice, prepare the start-date evidence, contract versions, offer and pay terms, signing invitations, delivery and refusal records, payroll, current employment status and proposed action date. For an initial employer enquiry, state the China entity and city, elapsed employment time and the specific signing obstacle in a non-confidential outline. Legal review can then address whether to complete signing, repair the process or pursue a lawful termination, and how to assess the separate payment risks. Consultations are available in Chinese and English.
Legal sources
Official sources · Checked 2026-10-18. Translations are for reference and are not official legal texts.
- PRC Labor Contract Law (2012 amendment) ↗
Articles 7, 10, 14, 16, 26, 47, 69 and 82: written contracts, open-ended status, invalid terms, compensation and double wages.
- Implementing Regulation of the PRC Labor Contract Law, State Council Order No. 535 ↗
Articles 5–7: refusal to sign, written notices and consequences at different stages of employment.
- SPC Interpretation (II) on Labor Disputes, Fa Shi [2025] No. 12 ↗
Articles 6–9 and 21: calculation, employer-proved exceptions, statutory extensions and deemed open-ended contracts; effective 1 September 2025.
General information about mainland China. The facts, applicable dates and local rules require individual review.
Partner, Beijing ChangAn Law Firm
China-qualified since 2019 · Beijing & Shenzhen
Review an unsigned China employment contract
Check the timeline, contract and refusal evidence before sending the next notice.
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