Annual Leave, Overtime, and Time Records in China for Foreign Employees

Leave and overtime problems often start as recordkeeping problems. A manager says a late night will be exchanged for time off, a holiday schedule changes, or an attendance system shows an unexplained absence. Months later, nobody has the same evidence.

This guide offers general workplace planning information, not legal advice. Employment rules, approved working-hour systems, contracts, collective arrangements, and local practice can affect a specific case. Confirm important decisions with HR, the competent human-resources authority, a union where applicable, or a qualified local lawyer.

Collect the rules that apply to your role

Keep a current copy of your employment contract, staff handbook, leave policy, overtime approval workflow, work calendar, and any notice describing your working-hour system. Ask HR which legal entity employs you and which office handles attendance and payroll.

Do not assume an overseas parent-company policy overrides the local contract or applicable requirements. If an English translation differs from the Chinese document, ask which version controls and obtain advice before accepting a material change.

Verify the annual-leave balance

At onboarding and each calendar-year boundary, ask HR for the balance and the calculation method. Relevant questions include:

• What evidence of prior cumulative service is accepted?
• Is leave credited annually, monthly, or after a qualifying date?
• How are partial years, probation, transfer, and termination handled?
• Which absences affect the balance?
• What is the carryover or scheduling process?
• Where can you see approved, used, expired, and remaining days?

Submit requests through the official system and retain the approval. If a manager agrees verbally, follow up with a concise written confirmation.

Distinguish the work calendar from overtime

China’s annual public-holiday schedule can move working days to weekends. Check the official yearly notice and your employer calendar before labeling a weekend shift as overtime or treating a weekday as ordinary leave.

Also ask whether your position operates under standard, flexible, or comprehensive working hours and whether any special arrangement has the required approval. Do not infer the legal effect from job title alone.

Our guide to public holidays and adjusted workdays helps decode the calendar, while the employment contract guide identifies clauses worth checking.

Create a contemporaneous time record

Use the employer’s attendance and overtime system exactly as instructed, then keep your own lawful record. For each exception, note the date, scheduled hours, actual hours, location, task, person requesting the work, approval reference, and whether payment or compensatory time was proposed.

Preserve relevant rosters, access logs, meeting invitations, work submissions, travel instructions, and emails without taking confidential material you are not entitled to retain. A personal spreadsheet is useful for reconciliation but does not by itself determine legal entitlement.

Reconcile attendance and payroll monthly

Compare the attendance statement, leave balance, overtime or compensatory-time record, and payslip soon after each pay date. Look for unexplained absences, missing hours, expired time off, or a calculation basis you do not recognize.

Raise a discrepancy with HR in writing. State the date, expected entry, actual entry, approval reference, and requested correction. Keep the response. The payslip guide explains common lines to reconcile.

Escalate without losing the evidence trail

If a manager and HR disagree, ask for the employer’s final written position and the policy or arrangement relied upon. Avoid secretly recording or exporting protected company data without obtaining advice on privacy, confidentiality, and evidence rules.

For significant unpaid amounts, repeated forced off-the-clock work, retaliation, or a termination dispute, speak promptly with a qualified local lawyer or the competent authority. Deadlines and procedures can matter.

Leave and overtime checklist

• I saved my contract and current attendance and leave policies.
• I know which working-hour arrangement HR says applies.
• I checked the official adjusted-workday calendar.
• Leave and overtime requests use the approved workflow.
• My record includes dates, hours, tasks, requester, and approval.
• I reconcile attendance, leave balances, and payslips monthly.
• Discrepancies are raised promptly and factually in writing.
• I protect employer confidentiality while preserving lawful records.
• I will seek local advice for a material entitlement dispute.

Official reference points

• Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security
• State Council policy documents
• National Laws and Regulations Database

Use official national and local sources for the current year, and ask HR to identify the rule and approved arrangement applied to your position.