China: Employment and HR

China's Supreme People's Court has issued new guidance that fundamentally changes how non-compete clauses are enforced, shifting the focus from job titles and contract language to whether employees actually had access to confidential information. The interpretation, effective September 2025, requires employers to demonstrate that restrictions are proportionate and necessary, potentially invalidating broad standard-form clauses applied across entire workforces.

Offshore equity incentive plans are commonly used by multinational groups, offshore holding companies and overseas-listed issuers to align the interests of mainland China-based employees with the wider group.

China's Interim Provisions on the Protection of Basic Rights and Interests of Workers Beyond Statutory Retirement Age (the “Interim Provisions”) took effect on 1 July 2026. Introduced against the backdrop...