China special working hours: approval scope and overtime checks

1. Choose the system from the work, not the title

The national Approval Measures, Lao Bu Fa [1994] No. 503, distinguish irregular working hours from comprehensive calculation of working hours. Article 4 identifies potentially suitable irregular-hours roles, including senior management, field and sales staff and certain other jobs that cannot be measured by standard hours. Article 5 covers work suited to a defined calculation cycle, including continuous operations and work constrained by seasonal or natural conditions. Eligibility is a starting point, not proof that a particular employee is lawfully covered.

Prepare a short description of when and how the work must be done, who controls the schedule, whether attendance is fixed and why standard hours cannot meet the operational need. A high salary, a manager label or occasional cross-time-zone calls does not by itself settle classification. Flexible start times within a standard-hours arrangement are also different from the legally recognized irregular-hours system.

2. Match the approval to the entity, posts and dates

Article 7 leaves local-enterprise approval procedures to provincial-level rules. Obtain the actual decision and attachments, not only an application receipt. Check the named employing entity, covered establishment and posts, personnel scope, effective dates, expiry and the approved cycle. Do not assume that approval obtained for one group company or sales team covers another entity or a different role. Put renewal and job-change reviews on the HR calendar.

Check genuine local exceptions before making a blanket statement that every role needs approval. Beijing’s Measures, Jing Lao She Zi Fa [2003] No. 157, Article 16 exempt enterprise senior management implementing irregular hours from approval formalities. This is a local exception for the qualifying category, not a nationwide exemption for everyone called a manager. Confirm actual duties and status, the employment terms and the way hours are managed. Article 17 requires reapplication in specified cases, including changes to the legal-entity name, expiry and changes in covered types of work or posts.

3. Keep the calculation cycle and holiday rules separate

For approved comprehensive calculation, total actual hours must be reconciled with the statutory standard for the approved cycle. Article 13 of the Interim Provisions on Wage Payment treats excess hours as extended working time. Shanghai’s current Wage Payment Measures, Hu Ren She Gui [2026] No. 10, Article 13 require at least 150% of the applicable hourly wage basis for the excess and at least 300% of the applicable daily or hourly basis for employer-arranged work on statutory holidays. Do not offset statutory-holiday work simply by scheduling a quieter week later.

Irregular hours also need a local payroll check. Although national Article 13 excludes irregular-hours employees from its preceding overtime provisions, Shanghai Article 13 expressly retains statutory-holiday overtime pay for employees approved to use irregular hours. That Shanghai rule has applied under the revised Measures since 1 August 2026. Do not export a single no-overtime-pay rule across cities, or describe either system as unlimited working time.

Check departures before the cycle ends separately. For example, Beijing Article 9 requires the cycle not to exceed the remaining employment-contract period and, on termination before cycle end, refers excess actual hours to Labor Law Article 44(2), the rest-day pay rule. Do not mechanically use the ordinary cycle-end 150% calculation for every early exit. Confirm the applicable local rule, the shortened period and the wage basis before final settlement.

4. Align employee procedures and actual management

Article 6 of the national Approval Measures requires protection of health, full consideration of employee views and suitable rest arrangements. Beijing Article 14 also requires consultation with the union, employee congress or employees and publication of the work-and-rest system. Keep the implementation plan, consultation records, communications and any agreed contract changes together. Administrative permission should not be treated as automatically rewriting a contract that promises standard hours.

Give China HR and overseas managers one consistent scheduling rule. Monitor actual workload, rest and holiday assignments; preserve the records needed to explain payroll. If a supposed irregular-hours role is managed through rigid daily attendance and frequent compulsory evening work, investigate the mismatch instead of relying on the title alone. Special working hours do not remove health, rest or applicable protections for female and underage employees.

5. Assemble a coverage file before changing payroll

Collect the employer registration, workplace cities, job descriptions, employment terms, approval decision and attachments, employee roster, consultation evidence, actual schedules, holiday work and payroll calculations. Build a coverage table showing each role’s system, legal basis, valid period, calculation cycle and reviewer. Mark missing or expired approvals as unresolved; do not backdate documents or assume a later approval cures earlier periods. Preserve the old records while separately assessing historical pay and future correction.

For an initial legal review, share a non-confidential outline of the China entity, cities, affected roles, current system and intended change date. Then arrange secure review of approvals and personnel records. The practical decision is whether the proposed scheme lawfully covers the relevant people and periods, what payroll treatment follows and which gaps must be closed before implementation.