Contract expiry and severance in China

The basic Article 46 rule

Article 44 treats expiry of the agreed term as one way a labor contract ends. Article 46 then requires economic compensation for fixed-term expiry, except where the employee refuses renewal even though the employer maintained or improved the prior contractual conditions.

• Employer decides not to renew: statutory N is generally the starting point.
• Employer offers renewal on the same or better terms and the employee refuses: the Article 46 exception may mean no statutory severance.
• Employer offers worse terms and the employee refuses: the exception's same-or-better condition is not satisfied on its face, but the terms and evidence still need review.
• No clear renewal offer or refusal: emails, drafts, meeting notes, and delivery dates become important evidence.

Expiry can be postponed in protected situations

Article 45 says a contract that reaches its expiry date during specified Article 42 circumstances must be extended until the relevant circumstance ends. Those circumstances include certain occupational-disease checks, work injury, a prescribed medical-treatment period, pregnancy and maternity stages, and specified long-service proximity to retirement. Work-injury cases have their own special treatment.

This means an employer's calendar date may not be the legal end date. Protected status should be checked before calculating service or signing an expiry document.

What to preserve before the last day

Keep every contract and amendment, the employer's renewal or non-renewal notice, the proposed new terms, your response, payroll history, and any evidence of protected status. If work continues after the stated expiry date, preserve attendance, instructions, salary, and social-insurance records because continued performance can create separate contract questions.

Then calculate the amount

Once the expiry route and entitlement are clear, use the Article 47 wage base and service multiplier. If any service predates 1 January 2008, obtain a separate transition calculation.