China Employment Law 2025: 996 Is No Longer Okay - Harris Sliwoski LLP
China Employment Law 2025: Working Hours Compliance Guide for Foreign Companies
Could a Single Employee Complaint Derail Your China Operations?
Imagine this: your Shanghai HR manager picks up the phone. A local employment bureau officer is on the line. Within days, inspectors arrive at your offices, your company name is in the Chinese press, and your expansion permits are suddenly “under review.”
For years, the 996 work culture (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week) was worn like a badge of honor in China’s tech and manufacturing sectors. But 2025 is different. Beijing has had enough. In a very public campaign, regulators are now enforcing long ignored limits: a 44 hour workweek with capped overtime. Some of China’s biggest companies are locking their doors earlier to prove compliance. Foreign firms that don’t move now risk becoming the next cautionary headline.
The Legal Reality: 996 Changed in 2025
Major Chinese employers are scrambling to show compliance with China employment law. Tech giant Tencent now requires employees to leave by 6:00 p.m. Midea has set a 6:20 p.m. cutoff, DJI locks its offices at 9:00 p.m., and Haier now promotes a five day workweek. These are not wellness perks. They are labor law compliance strategies. Regulators and state media have turned excessive hours into a political issue, and companies are moving fast to avoid being singled out. For more information on this crackdown, I urge you to read the following:
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