Announcement of the State Council on the Regulations of Paid Annual Leave of Employees

Order of the State Council [2007] No. 514

December 14, 2007

The Regulations of Paid Annual Leave of Employees adopted at the 198th General Meeting of the State Council on December 7, 2007 are hereby promulgated and shall be effective as of January 1, 2008.

Primer: Wen Jiabao,

Appendix: Regulations of Paid Annual Leave of Employees

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Labor Law and the Public Servants Law in order to protect the rights to rest days and annual leave of employees and deploy employees to actively discharge their duties.

Article 2 The employees of units such as authorities, organizations, enterprises, institutions, private non-enterprise units and individually-owned commercial and industrial businesses with employees that have been worked continuously for more than one year are entitled to paid annual leave (hereinafter referred to as "annual leave"). Units shall guarantee that employees are entitled to annual leave. Employees taking annual leave are entitled to the wages of a normal working day.

Article 3 Where an employee has served one full year but less than 10 years accumulatively, he is entitled to five days of annual leave. If he has served 10 full years but less than 20 years, annual leave is 10 days. If he has served for 20 full years, annual leave is 20 days.

Article 4 An employee is not entitled to annual leave for the current year if he is under any of the following circumstances:
1. The employee is entitled to summer and winter vacations in accordance with the law and the number of days of such vacations is more than that of his annual leave;
2. The employee has taken more than 20 days of casual leave accumulatively and his unit does not deduct wages in accordance with provisions;
3. The employee has served one full year accumulatively but less than 10 years and has taken more than two months of sick leave accumulatively;
4. The employee has served 10 full years accumulatively but less than 20 years and has taken more than three months of sick leave accumulatively;
5. The employee has served more than 20 full years and has taken more than four months of sick leave accumulatively.

Article 5 Units shall coordinate and arrange for the annual leave of employees on the basis of the specific conditions of production and work and the individual preference of employees.

Annual leave may be centrally arranged within one year or in several periods and does not span more than one year in general. Units may make such arrangement that spans more than one year if they have a genuine need for such arrangement due to production and job specialties.

Units that cannot arrange for annual leave for employees due to job requirements, they may not arrange for annual leave with the consent of such employees. In respect of the annual leave that should have been taken but otherwise, units shall pay wage remuneration to such employees at the rate of 300% of the daily wage income of such employees.

Article 6 The personnel department and the labor security department of people’s governments at the county level or above shall actively conduct supervision and examination on the implementation of these Regulations by units in accordance with their authority.

Labor organizations shall protect the rights to annual leave of employees in accordance with the law.

Article 7 Where a unit fails to arrange for annual leave for employees and pay wage remuneration on annual leave in accordance with the Regulations, the personnel department or the labor security department of people’s governments at the county level or above shall order rectification within a time limit. If no rectification is made within the time limit, such unit shall be ordered payment of wage remuneration on annual leave and also make additional compensation to employees on the basis of the amount of the wage remuneration of annual leave. Where no wage remuneration on annual leave or compensation is made, and the personnel of such units are public servants or administered with reference to the Public Servants Law, the person-in-charge that is directly responsible and other directly responsible personnel shall be punished in accordance with the law, if such unit belongs to other categories, the labor security department, the personnel department or the employee shall apply for compulsory implementation by a people’s court.

Article 8 Where employees and units have dispute over annual leave, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant laws and administrative regulations of the state.

Article 9 The personnel department of the State Council and the labor security department of the State Council shall formulate implementing procedures of the Regulations respectively in accordance with their respective authority.

Article 10 The Regulations shall be effective as of January 1, 2008.