Eight authorities, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security ("MOHRSS"), have recently issued the Circular on Working Effectively on the Placement of Employees During the Overcapacity Cut (the "Circular").
The Circular expressly states that key targets receiving priority in this year's work on employee replacement include: employees to be laid off that are involved in this year's overcapacity cuts in relevant regions, employees scheduled to be laid off at the previous stage of overcapacity cuts who have not yet been laid off, individuals laid off and placed at the previous stage of overcapacity cuts who are still unemployed. The Circular stresses that each region shall work effectively on real-name information management, properly lay off and place the employees concerned, consolidate achievements in employee placement at the previous stage, ramp up its efforts to provide basic safeguards, resolve contradictions and risks appropriately, and improve the long-term work mechanism. Additionally, the Circular stipulates that where the relevant parties refuse to perform their statutory duties when the subsidies have been allocated and been ready, which seriously undermines rights and interests of employees, the liability of relevant individuals will be investigated and pursued in accordance with laws and regulations; enterprises that lag behind the schedule for employee placement due to their financial burden of owing salary payments and social insurance contributions, as well as the conglomerates they belong to, will be urged to bear primary responsibility, and the conglomerates will be prompted to offer special support and endeavor to solicit funds from wider sources.