Household Service Contracts in China: A Guide for Foreign Families

Keep in mind
Rules and procedures can change. Check the linked official sources before acting on time-sensitive information.

Quick answer

What you need to know

Set up recurring household services in China with a written scope, verified provider channel, safe access, payment records, privacy boundaries, and an orderly ending.

Define tasks, schedule, exclusions, supplies, fees, cancellation, and damage reporting in writing.
Verify the provider through a reputable agency or service channel and confirm who is responsible for employment and insurance matters.
Limit home, key, device, document, and child access to what the agreed work requires.
Keep attendance, payment, incident, and handover records and obtain advice for any employment-law question.

Recurring household help can make long-term life in China easier, but vague arrangements create avoidable problems. “Cleaning” may or may not include cooking, laundry, shopping, child supervision, pet care, or access when nobody is home. A short written scope protects both the family and the service provider.

This guide covers practical service management, not employment or tax advice. The legal relationship depends on the contract and actual working arrangement. Confirm employer, insurance, tax, injury, termination, and dispute questions with the agency, local authority, or a qualified professional.

Household service agreement and safe home access checklist in China

Choose a traceable provider channel

Ask neighbors, property management, an established agency, or a verified platform for providers that operate in your area. Record the agency’s legal name, service contact, complaint channel, and invoicing method. Confirm who verifies identity, qualifications, references, and health documents where relevant.

Ask plainly who is the contracting party and who handles pay, scheduling, replacement staff, insurance, workplace injury, and complaints. Do not rely only on a salesperson’s verbal description.

Write the service scope

List each included task and frequency: floors, kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, ironing, cooking, shopping, windows, deep cleaning, or supply restocking. Identify exclusions such as exterior windows, high ladders, hazardous chemicals, lifting, electrical work, driving, childcare, medical care, or handling valuables.

Record the schedule, start date, trial period if any, hourly or monthly fee, overtime, holiday arrangements, transport cost, supplies, meals, cancellation notice, absence, substitute-worker rules, and payment date. For childcare-specific planning, see Childcare and Nannies in China.

Control access and privacy

Decide whether work occurs only when an adult is home. If keys or access codes are necessary, log what was issued, forbid copying without permission, and arrange return or code changes at the end.

Store passports, bank cards, seals, contracts, medicine, work devices, and confidential documents securely. Explain camera locations and household privacy expectations in a lawful, transparent way. Do not ask a provider to use your phone, payment account, identity document, employer system, or signature unless a controlled task truly requires it.

Plan safety and incidents

Show safe use of appliances and products. Keep incompatible chemicals separate, label containers, and provide gloves or other agreed equipment. Explain fire exits, gas and electricity shutoffs, property-management contacts, pet behavior, allergy risks, and what to do if something breaks.

For injury, smoke, gas odor, water leak, missing property, or a child-safety concern, prioritize safety and emergency help, then document facts and contact the responsible agency or insurer. Avoid accusations before checking the evidence.

Pay and review consistently

Use a traceable payment method and note the service period. Keep receipts or fapiao if issued. Maintain a simple attendance and task-change log, especially for overtime, holiday work, shopping advances, or reimbursements.

Give specific feedback privately and allow reasonable clarification. If the scope expands, update the fee and instructions rather than letting extra duties accumulate informally.

End the arrangement cleanly

Follow the agreed notice and obtain advice if the relationship may legally be employment. Reconcile payments and advances, collect keys and access cards, change codes, return personal property, and write a short completion note. Tell property management when recurring access should stop.

Household service checklist

Provider and agency identity recorded.
Contracting and employment roles clarified.
Tasks, exclusions, schedule, and fees written.
Childcare, medicine, driving, and pet duties separately agreed.
Key and access-code handover logged.
Valuables, records, and devices secured.
Safety and incident contacts explained.
Attendance and payments documented.
Scope changes confirmed in writing.
Final payment and access return completed.

Official resources

Business registration information does not guarantee service quality, and the correct legal classification depends on the facts. Verify the provider, read the agreement, and seek local professional advice when responsibilities are unclear.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

Should a household service arrangement be written?

A clear written agreement or service order reduces misunderstandings about tasks, schedule, fees, cancellation, supplies, access, and responsibility, even when the arrangement is informal in daily practice.

Is an agency always the employer?

Not necessarily. The legal relationship depends on the contract and actual arrangement. Ask who employs, supervises, pays, insures, and replaces the worker, and obtain professional advice if uncertain.

What records should a family keep?

Keep the agreement, provider identity and agency details, schedule, attendance, payment receipts, task changes, key handover, property inventory, incident reports, and ending confirmation.

Can a housekeeper supervise children or give medicine?

Do not assume these tasks are included. Childcare, transport, medicine, elder care, pet care, and emergency duties require explicit agreement, suitable competence, instructions, contacts, and risk planning.