Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors : Article 38

LAW DETAILS

LINK TO FULL TEXT OF LAW:

http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c30834/202010/82a8f1b84350432cac03b1e382ee1744.shtml

SUMMARY OR KEY PROVISION OF THE LAW

Units and individuals employing minors who have reached the age of 16 shall implement the provisions of the state in respect of types of work, hours of work, intensity of work and protective measures, and shall not assign them to engage in work that is excessive, toxic or harmful or hazardous, endangering the physical and mental health of minors.

SUMMARY OF INTERPRETATIONS VARIANCE

N/A

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

Article 68 of Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors. An organization or individual that illegally hires minors who have not reached the age of sixteen or minors who have reached the age of sixteen to do overly strenuous jobs, jobs exposed to toxic or hazardous substances or other jobs that imperil their physical or mental health, or to engage in dangerous operations, shall be instructed by the Department of Labour and Social Security to rectify and shall be fined. If the circumstances are serious, its/his business license shall be revoked by the Administrative Department for Industry and Commerce.

Article 23 of Regulation on Labour Security Supervision. Where an employing entity has any of the following acts, it shall be ordered by the Labour Security Administration to make a correction, and be imposed upon a fine of no less than 1,000 Yuan but no more than 5,000 Yuan for each aggrieved labourer:

Arranging underage labourers to undertake work under wells at mines, poisonous or harmful work, work with Grade IV physical labour intensity as prescribed by the state, or any other labour that the state prohibits.

IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPROVEMENT GUIDANCE

COMPLIANCE IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPROVEMENT STEPS

Evaluate The Condition:

1. Create a list of all jobs and tasks that are completed in the factory and assigned to juvenile workers.

2. Identify those tasks that require the use of highly dangerous chemicals, or that require a lot of physical labour including heavy lifting, or other aspects of the job that may negatively affect the health of juveniles including overtime work.

3. Review any and all existing policies, procedures and/or practices (formal or informal) with applicable staff responsible for work assignments and schedules for juvenile workers.

Take Action:

1. Review the jobs and tasks that are assigned to each juvenile and confirm that they don't include aspects that are restricted by the law. If a juvenile is found to be assigned to an inappropriate job then they must be assigned to a new job immediately.

2. Assign a responsible person to making sure that any new juvenile workers are not assigned to jobs not suitable as per the law requirement. This includes temporary workers.

4. Create or update existing formal policies procedures that cover the job assignments and working schedules for minors and ensure responsible staff understand the update requirements.

COMMON CHALLENGES

The factory may have limited human resources to dedicate to the task, financial limitations or constraints, or a lack of written programs and employee training that commit to performing the task to ensure compliance.

BUSINESS CASE AND/OR OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

 Penalties for employing underage workers outside of the applicable regulations are high. Liability risks for the factory also are high in the event of the young worker sustaining injury or death in the workplace.

COMMON JOB FUNCTION: Human Resource Manager

COMMON JOB, SUB-FUNCTION: Production Manager

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 Nil

RELATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Young Workers - Hiring, Medicals and Work Assignments

ASSOCIATED INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

ILO CLUSTER: Child Labour

ILO COMPLIANCE POINT: Child Labour

SDG RELEVANCE 4, 8, 12

Mosaic ID: Mosaic00873354