Interim Regulations for the Human Resources Market (Mainland China)

2018.5.2
Karl Zhang

The State Council adopted the Interim Regulations for the Human Resources Market (“Interim Regulations”) at the 7th executive meeting on May 2, 2018, and the Interim Regulations will go into force on October 1, 2018.  The Interim Regulations mainly cover the development of the human resources market, human resources service institutions, and the regulation, supervision and administration of human resources market activities in providing rules regarding conduct in the human resources market.  For details, see the following:

1. Human resources market development

In the Interim Regulations the state is seeking to establish a unified, open and orderly competitive human resources market system, so that the market can play a decisive role in the allocation of human resources.  The Interim Regulations also work to improve the mechanisms for developing human resources, stimulate human resources innovation and entrepreneur activity, and vitality, and promotes the prosperity and development of the human resources market.  The people’s governments at or above the county level are required to incorporate human resources market development into their national economic and social development plan, and they shall leverage regional, industrial, and land policies to promote the development of the human resources market, such as the professional and industry human resources markets, encourage and regulate the development of high-end human resources services businesses, and raise the level of development in the human resources services sector.  The state encourages the public to participate in the development of the human resources market.

2. Human resources service institutions

The human resources services institutions set forth in the Interim Regulations include both public and for-profit human resources services institutions.  Public human resources service institutions refer to those established by the people’s governments at or above the county level for providing employment and professional services, while for-profit human resources service institutions refer to those engaging in human resources services and activities.

For public human resources services institutions, the Interim Regulations are requiring them to provide at no cost the following services: (1) announcements regarding human resources availability and needs, market wage guidance, vocational training, etc.; (2) employment referral, occupational guidance and start-up guidance; (3) consultation on employment, entrepreneurship and talent policies, laws and regulations; (4) employment assistance for people with employment difficulties; (5) handle employment registration, unemployment registration matters; (6) handling the acceptance procedures for graduates from colleges and universities, secondary vocational schools, and technical schools; (7) management of human resources files on migrant personnel; and (8) other services determined by the people’s governments at or above the county level.

With respect to for-profit human resources services institutions, the Interim Regulations also stipulate that if a for-profit human resources services institution engages in job intermediary activities, it shall apply to the administrative authorities for human resources and social security for administrative approval and obtain a human resources services license.  For-profit human resources services organizations engaging in the collection and release of information concerning the availability and needs for human resources, employment and start-up guidance, human resource management consultation, human resources evaluation, human resources training, human resources service outsourcing and other human resources services shall record with the administrative authorities for human resources and social security within 15 days after the date of business launch.  If a for-profit human resources service institution engages in labor dispatch, it shall implement the state’s regulations on labor dispatch.

3. Regulation of human resources market activities

With respect to human resources market activities, the Interim Regulations are asking individuals should truthfully provide their basic information and the knowledge, skills, and work experience related to the positions they are applying for.  The recruitment information provided by the recruiting organization or as provided to a human resources service institution, such as the basic profile of the recruiting organization, the number of openings, the employment requirements, the job descriptions, the work location, and the basic labor compensation, shall be true and legal without any form of discrimination based on in ethnicity, race, gender or religion.  If a recruiting organization independently recruits personnel and desires to establish a labor relationship, it shall execute a labor contract and handle the social insurance enrollment and other relevant procedures in accordance with relevant state regulations.  A human resources services institution that has been commissioned by a recruiting organization to recruit personnel should request the recruiting organization to provide recruit brochures, its business license or documents evidencing its establishment as approved by relevant authorities, identification papers of the clerk-in-charge, and a certificate of entrustment by the recruiting organization, and examine the authenticity and legality of the materials so provided.

4. Supervision and administration

Pursuant to the Interim Regulations, the administrative authorities for human resources and social security shall supervise and inspect for-profit human resources services institutions, as well as supervise public human resources services institutions in accordance with relevant national regulations.  For-profit human resources services organizations shall timely submit an annual report on its operating status to the administrative authorities for human resources and social security.  The administrative authorities for human resources and social security may publicize, or cause for-profit human resources services institutions to publicize, the relevant contents of the annual report pursuant to law.

The Interim Regulations also stipulate that the administrative authorities for human resources and social security shall strengthen the development of social credibility in the human resources market by incorporating credit figures and any credit deduction events of recruiting organizations, individuals, for-profit human resources service institutions into the market credit development system, establishing credit incentive and disciplinary mechanisms for loss of credit events, and implementing categorized credit supervision.

In short, the main purpose of the Interim Regulations is to regulate activities in the human resources market, promote the reasonable flow and optimized allocation of human resources, optimize allocation, as well as employment and entrepreneurship.  The Interim Regulations will apply to all those who seek employment, recruitment and human resources services through the human resources market within the People’s Republic of China, and enterprises are advised to pay attention to the rules therein in conducting recruitment.