According to Chinese labor law, a weekly shift is 40 hours. Any working hours beyond this amount is considered overtime. White-collar workers in China generally work five days a week. However, some businesses operate six days a week by regulating their daily working hours. In any case, employees are entitled to at least one day off per week. 

Except for the limitation placed on the weekly working time in China, the daily working time is eight hours. Overtime for hourly workers is subject to daily and monthly restrictions.

· Overtime in China is a maximum of three hours on weekdays.

· Overtime is limited to 36 hours during the month (total of overtime on weekdays and weekends). 

Overtime Pay

Overtime pay is 1.5 times the standard hourly rate for each hour worked more than 40 hours per week. If overtime occurs on the weekend, the hourly rate is doubled. Overtime during holidays is multiplied by three. 

Concerning overtime pay, employees are divided into three categories who work under different systems

· The standard working hour system,

· The comprehensive working hour system,

· The non-fixed working hour system. 

Conditions for Overtime Practice

In 2020, China's Ministry of Labor simplified the process by revising the fluctuating workweek under the law. 

Accordingly, the obligations employers must meet in order for workers to be eligible for the Chinese overtime method are:

1. There should not be a standard weekly working hour.

2. Employees should receive a fixed salary that is not dependent on the number of hours worked in a work week.

3. The hourly wage calculation should be calculated not to be lower than the minimum wage standards.

4. The worker and employer must declare in writing that they mutually agree that the working week will not change the fixed salary. 

Fluctuating Workweek Method (Calculating Overtime Payment)

The main purpose of this method is to calculate overtime hours over a standard price and to provide a fixed salary to the employee.

The floating workweek method is only suitable for businesses where working hours are irregular due to the nature of the business. 

For example, for an employee who earns $500 per week and works 50 hours, the calculation is as follows:

500/50 = $10 for each hour

For 10 hours overtime ($10/2)* $10= $50

Therefore, the worker receives a weekly wage of $550, including 10 hours of overtime. 

This method requires payment of the standard wage even if the employee works less than 40 hours that week. 

Overtime for Day Rate Employees

The overtime wage of an employee working with a daily wage is calculated based on his or her hourly wage. Then the daily working hours are multiplied by the number of days of the week. Finally, you have to divide the number you found by the number of hours the employee worked during the week. When calculating overtime pay, half of the standard hourly rate is calculated. 

For example, suppose you are charged $100 per day

$100 x 5days = $500 per week

Assume this worker works 50 hours a week. The overtime wage for 10 hours exceeding 40 hours is calculated as follows.

$500 / 50 hours per week = $10hour rate

For 10 hours of overtime ($10/2) * $10= $50

As a result, the worker receives a weekly wage of $550, including 10 hours of overtime. 

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