⚖️ Labor Law Theory v1

What is this?

This is not a general textbook on labor law. It is a reasoning skeleton for a labor-law consultant agent — an attempt to turn scattered statutes into a structure that a machine can recognize, reason over and invoke. It contains 7 chapters, 4 rulers, 11 typical scenarios and a three-step workflow.

Created on 2026-08-03, the full Chinese text focuses on Chinese labor law. Its guiding idea is that most real disputes can be handled by a small set of tools: first identify whether the relationship is employment at all, then apply the protection floor, dismissal rules, collective bargaining and dispute procedure.

This page describes the framework, not legal advice. Rules and figures should be checked against the current law and local practice in a real case.

Three core propositions (first chapter)

1. Subordination — an employment relationship is defined by the worker's subjection to the employer's management, not merely by the label on the contract.
2. Tilted protection — because the parties are unequal, the law leans toward the worker in evidence and interpretation.
3. Survival first — labor remuneration sits at the base of all other rules and is protected before ordinary claims.

These three propositions are the "axiom ruler" of the framework: every later judgment should be consistent with them, and any conclusion that contradicts them is suspect.

Four-element identification

Before applying any rule, the framework asks whether the case is an employment relationship at all. The check has four elements:

The timing element matters because limitation periods, contract terms and compensation calculations all depend on it. Misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor invalidates the rest of the analysis.

The four knives + one bottom line

The recommended call order is: baseline → dismissal → collective → dispute → bottom line. If a case does not touch the first three, it still always passes through dispute resolution and the survival floor.

Contracts and baseline standards

The baseline ruler is expressed as four "must not fall below" standards:

The theory stresses that no agreement or contract can waive these floors. It also warns against "soft" circumvention: unilateral pay cuts, reassignment to a dead-end role, complex points systems that reduce pay, and "last place elimination" rankings that produce a seemingly lawful exit. Each is treated as a possible disguised breach rather than a legitimate management choice.

Overtime pay

The practical prompt in the source: when a user says "I worked overtime and was not paid," first ask whether it was a weekday, a weekend or a statutory holiday — the three situations map to three different multipliers.

Dismissal: three gates

A lawful dismissal must pass all three gates at the same time:

Lawful ground + Lawful procedure + Compensation paid

• Ground — a statutory ground exists (fault-based, non-fault-based, or economic layoff).
• Procedure — notice, union involvement and filing requirements are met.
• Compensation — N, N+1 or 2N is paid as applicable.

Failing any gate makes the dismissal unlawful. The remedy is either reinstatement or payment of 2N as unlawful-termination compensation.

The source also lists 12 situations in which dismissal is prohibited, including pregnancy, maternity and nursing periods; medical treatment periods; occupational disease or work-injury cases; employees with 15 years of service who are within 5 years of retirement; and union or employee-representative duties.

Compensation standards

• N counting: six months or more counts as a full year; less than six months counts as 0.5.
• Monthly wage: average of the 12 months before termination, including bonuses, allowances and subsidies.
• Worked example from the source: 3 years and 4 months → N = 3.5; average wage 8,000 → 8,000 × 3.5 = 28,000; unlawful dismissal → 2N = 56,000.

Dispute resolution and the survival floor

The path is mediation → arbitration → litigation. Arbitration is a mandatory pre-step: a court will not accept a labor dispute that has not first been arbitrated. Key facts from the source:

• Limitation: one year from the date the worker knows the right was infringed.
• Jurisdiction: the place where the contract is performed or the employer is located.
• Final arbitration: for claims such as unpaid wages, work-injury medical costs and severance below 12 months of local minimum wage, the worker may still sue, while the employer generally can only apply to set the award aside.
• Burden of proof: evidence controlled by the employer must be produced; failure to produce it leads to an adverse inference.

The bottom line is that labor remuneration is not ordinary debt. In bankruptcy, liquidation, tax arrears or debt disputes, wages, social insurance and severance are paid before ordinary claims. Refusing to pay labor remuneration can also be a criminal offense.

Key takeaways

• Identify first. Four elements decide whether labor law applies before any substantive rule is used.
• Contracts cannot go below the floor. Minimum wage, hours, leave and insurance are non-waivable.
• Overtime has three prices. 1.5× weekday, 2× weekend without compensatory rest, 3× statutory holiday.
• Dismissal needs all three gates. A valid ground, correct procedure and correct compensation.
• Compensation is formulaic. N for service years, N+1 for notice in lieu, 2N for unlawful termination.
• Arbitration comes first. Litigation without prior arbitration will not be accepted.
• Wages sit at the top of the queue. Survival priority overrides ordinary claims.

Who it is for

People building or evaluating a labor-law consultant agent, and readers who want a structured map of Chinese labor law rather than a list of statutes. The project explicitly says it does not replace a lawyer; it is designed to identify typical scenarios, apply the four knives and follow a three-step workflow.