Summary of Law Updates:

Labour

1. < Measures on Wages Payment in Shanghai City > (2016-08-01)

The newly amended Measures on Wages Payment in Shanghai City (hereinafter referred to as Measures) has been gazetted by the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Shanghai on 27th June, 2016 and it will come into force on 1st August, 2016. The period of validity is 5 years. The main changes of the newly amended Measures are as follows:

• A new requirement is added that wages shall be paid to employees for the periods that they are quarantined for taking measures of public health prevention and control and within the period of observation, or during the period of labour dispute mediation.
• It is allowed that an enterprise may legally and reasonably agree with its employees on the wage payment date when the labour contract is terminated or rescinded according to law. This actually provides flexibility to enterprises.
• The clauses about registration, when wages cannot be paid on time temporarily by the employer due to difficulties in production and operation or cash flow, were removed from the newly amended Measures. It simplifies the formalities for enterprises in some extent.
• The clause about "25% of wages as compensation" for an enterprise is failed to pay wages to employees according to provisions was removed from the newly amended Measures. If an enterprise paid wages within ordered time limit from administrative department of Human Resources and Social Security, it is not required to pay additional compensation. This provides buffer time for an enterprise to avoid penalty. However, it is required to pay compensation to employees by 50% to less than 100% of the amount of payable wages if the enterprise fails to pay wages within the ordered time limit. This actually increases the penalty for those enterprises failing to meet the ordered time limit of rectification.

Health and Safety

1. < Decision on Optimization for Permission to Lightning Protection System in Construction Projects > (2016-06-28)

The Decision on Optimization for Permission to Lightning Protection System in Construction Projects (hereinafter referred to as Decision) was gazetted by the State Council on 28th June, 2016 and it has come into force on the same day. The main contents of the Decision are listed as follows:

• The permission of lightning protection systems for building construction engineering and municipal infrastructure engineering which was undertaken by meteorological departments is integrated and incorporated into the review for working drawing and registration for completion acceptance check of construction engineering, and it is regulated by the administrative Departments of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
• To abrogate the permission from meteorological departments to qualification on design and construction entities engage in professional engineering of lightning protection system; to lower the threshold for market access to testing entities on lightning protection system; to completely open the market of testing on lightning protection system.
• The process in applying permissions for lightning protection system could be shortened by around 40 days by means of a series of innovated measures including abrogating the above two qualifications and integrating the permission on engineering of lightning protection systems, as well as strengthening in-process and after-event supervision. The burden on enterprises is feasibly mitigated.

2. < Administrative Measures on Emergency Response Plan for Production Safety Accident > (2016-07-01)

The amended Administrative Measures on Emergency Response Plan for Production Safety Accident (hereinafter referred to as Measures) was gazetted by the State Administration of Work Safety on 3rd June, 2016 and it has come into force on 1st July, 2016. The main changes of the amended Measures are listed as follows,

• Focus on advance preparation: The newly amended Measures requires the entity to carry out risk assessment on accidents and survey on emergency resources prior to compiling the emergency response plan.
• Reverse formalism: The officer in charge of a production and business entity shall organize to compile and implement the emergency response plan of their own entity and be responsible for its authenticity and practicality; Sub-layer managers in charge shall carry out their duties according to the assignment of responsibilities defined in the emergency response plan.
• Emphasize reality and practicability: the newly amended Measures explicitly requires compiling realistic and practical emergency response plan according to the specific situations in the entity.

Environment

1. < National Catalogue of Hazardous Wastes > (2016-08-01)

The National Catalogue of Hazardous Wastes (hereinafter referred to as Catalogue) was amended and adopted in the conference of department affairs of Ministry of Environmental Protection on 30th March, 2016, and will come into force on 1st August, 2016. Highlights of the amendment are as follows:

1. The waste classification on Catalogue was adjusted. There were 49 main categories and 400 kinds of hazardous wastes in the Catalogue of version 2008. Hazardous wastes are adjusted to 46 main categories and 479 kinds in this amendment (newly added 117 kinds of hazardous wastes in addition to the 362 from the previous version). Thereinto, HW06 organic solvent waste, HW41 waste halogenated organic solvent and HW42 waste organic solvent from the previous version of Catalogue were merged into HW06 waste organic solvent and solvent-containing waste; HW43 PCDFs-containing waste and HW44 PCDDs-containing waste on the previous version of Catalogue were removed; and HW50 catalyst waste was added.

2. An Exemption Management List of Hazardous Wastes was added. Totally 16 categories/kinds of wastes were included in the exemption management list. In any of the listed exemption links, if relevant conditions are met, exemption management can be implemented according to the provisions on exemption. For example, the whole process on disposal of waste oily rags and PPEs (personnel protection equipment) is not required to follow the requirements of hazardous waste management if they are mixed with domestic garbage. And, it is not required that the waste PCB (printed circuit board) to be transported as hazardous waste if the means of transportation meet the requirements of rain-proof, anti-leakage, anti-littering.

3. It is defined explicitly that electronic wastes and waste electric wires or cables are not hazardous waste.

4. It is defined explicitly on how to judge the nature of waste if the hazardous waste mixes with other solid waste.

• It is a hazardous waste if one or more toxic / infectious hazardous wastes (including leaching toxicity, acute toxicity and other toxicity) mixes with another solid waste.
• It is not a hazardous waste if a corrosive / inflammable / reactive hazardous waste mixes with another solid waste and the mixed waste is identified to be without any hazardous characteristic according to the national standards GB 5085.1, GB 5085.4 and GB 5085.5.
• It shall be managed as radioactive waste if any kind of hazardous waste is mixed with radioactive waste.

5. The asterisk “*” which was marked to the codes of 33 kinds of hazardous wastes in the version of 2008 of the Category were removed. The asterisk “*” mark means that there is uncertainty on hazardness on those wastes and identification is required.

China Minimum Wage Standard Update – July 2016

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