Regulations on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities

State Council of the People's Republic of China Decree
No. 488

　　《Regulations on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities》 has been passed by the 159th meeting of the State Council Executive Committee, and is here by released, to take effect on May 1, 2007.
Premier　 Wen Jiabao
February 25, 2007

Regulations on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities

Chapter I:　General Provisions

Article 1: These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons and other relevant laws in order to promote the employment of disabled persons and protect the labor rights of the disabled.
Article 2: The state directive on employment of disabled persons is one of combining concentrated placements with dispersed placements; to promote the employment of disabled persons.
People’s governments at the county level and above shall include employment works for disabled persons into their economic and social development plans, and formulate preferential policies and concrete support and protection measures, so as to create conditions for employment of disabled persons.
Article 3: State organs, associations, enterprises, institutions and private non-profit organizations (hereinafter all referred to as "employment units") shall perform their responsibilities and obligations to support the employment of disabled persons, in accordance with relevant laws, these Regulations and other relevant administrative rules and regulations.
Article 4: The state encourages social organizations and individuals to use multiple channels and various forms to help and support the employment of persons with disabilities, and disabled persons are encouraged to obtain employment through various forms such as responding to offers of employment. Discrimination against disabled persons in employment is prohibited.
Disabled persons shall improve themselves, and enhance their employability.
Article 5: People’s governments at all levels shall strengthen their overall plans on the employment of persons with disabilities and conduct comprehensive coordination. Organizations in charge of works for disabled persons in people's governments at the county level or above are responsible for organizing, coordinating, guiding and supervising relevant organs' works on the employment of disabled persons.
Relevant departments such as Labor Security and Civil Affairs departments for people’s governments at the county level and above will satisfactorily complete work for the employment of disabled persons within the scope of their duties and responsibilities.
Article 6: The China Disabled Persons’ Federation and its local organizations are responsible for concrete organization, implementation and supervision of employment work for disabled persons, in accordance with laws and regulations, or as entrusted by the government.
Trade unions, Communist youth leagues and women’s federations will satisfactorily complete work for the employment of disabled persons within the scope of their work.
Article 7: People's governments at all levels shall commend and reward those units and individuals who have made notable achievements in their work promoting the employment of disabled persons.

Chapter II: 　Responsibilities of Employment Units

　　Article 8: Employment units shall arrange for the employment of disabled persons in accordance with a definite ration, and provide them with appropriate work and positions.
The proportion of disabled employees shall not be lower than 1.5% of the overall employees. The specific ratio may be determined by people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and directly-governed municipalities on the basis of their actual conditions.
Where employment units hire disabled persons across regions, this shall be counted into number of disabled employees for whom work has been arranged.
Article 9: Where employment units fail to meet the proportion of disabled employees determined by local people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions or directly-governed municipalities , they shall make payments to the disabled persons' employment security fund.
Article 10: Disability welfare enterprises, blind massage institutions and other welfare work units established by the government or society in accordance with law (hereinafter called 'employment units with high concentration of disabled employees') shall arrange for a high concentration of disabled employees.
Qualification assessments for employment units with high concentrations of disabled employees will be carried out in accordance with relevant state regulations.
Article 11: In employment units with a high concentration of disabled employees, disabled employees engaged in all-day work shall account for more than 25% of the overall current employees in that unit.
Article 12: Employment units shall sign labor contracts or service agreements with disabled employees according to law.
Article 13: Employment units shall provide disabled employees with labor conditions and protections suitable for their physical conditions, and must not discriminate against disabled persons in promotion, determining technical or professional titles, payment, labor insurance, welfare or in other aspects of employment.
Article 14: Employment units shall provide pre-employment, in-service, job transfer and other forms of training for disabled employees according to their actual conditions

Chapter III: 　Safeguard Measures

　　Article 15: People’s governments at the county level and above shall adopt measures to broaden employment channels for disabled persons, open public interest posts for disabled persons, and ensure their employment.
People’s governments at the county level and above shall give priority consideration to employing disabled persons when developing community service undertaking.
Article 16: The employment security fund for disabled persons is to be collected according to law shall be included into fiscal budgets and utilized for providing employment services and assistance to disabled persons. No organization or individual shall embezzle, misappropriate, withhold or take a cut of the fund. Specific measures for the collection, utilization and management of the disabled persons' employment security fund shall be formulated by financial department, with other relevant organs under the State Council.
Financial departments and auditing organs shall intensify their efforts to supervise the use of the disabled persons' employment security fund, in accordance with law.
Article 17: The state shall give preferential taxation treatment to employment units with high concentrations of disabled employees, and provide assistance in production, management, technology, capital, logistics, worksites and other areas.
Article 18: Local people’s governments at the county level and above and relevant departments shall determine the goods and projects suitable for production or operation by disabled persons, give preference to employment units with high concentrations of disabled employees to carry out the production and operations, and gradually determine which products are to be produced exclusively by employment units with high concentrations of disabled employees on the basis of their production characteristics.
In government procurement, where other factors are the same, products or service provided by employment units with high concentrations of disabled employees shall be given preference.
Article 19: The state encourages and supports disabled persons' independent job seeking and entrepreneurship. Preferential taxation policies shall be given to disabled persons who open individual business in accordance with law. Relevant departments shall look after them in allotting work sites and other such areas, and follow regulations in exempting them from administrative fees in such as management, registration and license issuing fees.
The state shall assist disabled persons in obtaining employment independently or establishing their own business by giving fixed-term micro-loans and other support.
Article 20: Local people’s governments at all levels shall raise funds from multiple sources to organize and support disabled persons in rural areas to engage in farming, planting, animal breeding, handicraft industries and other forms of production.
The relevant departments shall provide disabled persons engaged in agricultural production in rural areas with support in terms of production services, technical guidance, acquisition of agricultural and related supplies and products, and loans.

Chapter IV: 　Employment Services

　　Article 21: People’s governments at all levels and relevant departments shall provide focussed employment assistance services for disabled persons with employment difficulties, encourage and support vocational training agencies to provide vocational training for disabled persons, and organize regular vocational skills competitions for disabled persons.
Article 22: Employment services organizations for persons with disabilities under the China Disabled Persons’ Federation and its local organizations shall provide the following free employment services for disabled persons:
(1) publishing information on employment of persons with disabilities;
(2) organize and launch vocational training for persons with disabilities;
(3) provide persons with disabilities with career counseling, vocational assessment, vocational rehabilitation, employment oriented guidance, placement, and other services;
(4) provide disabled persons with the necessary help in their independent job seeking;
(5) provide the necessary support to employment units in arranging work for employing disabled persons' employment.
The state encourages other employment service agencies to provide free employment services to people with disabilities.
Article 23: Employment services organizations for persons with disabilities may conduct registration of unemployed disabled persons, and collect statistics on disabled persons employment; upon approval of the local departments of labor security, Employment services organizations for persons with disabilities may also evaluate vocational skills of disabled persons.
Article 24: When a labor dispute between an employment unit and a disabled employee occurs, local legal aid organizations shall provide legal aid to the disabled employees in accordance with law, and all levels of China Disabled Persons’ Federations shall give support and assistance.

Chapter V: 　Legal Responsibility

　　Article 25: Where the provisions of these Regulations are violated in that relevant administrative departments and their staffs abuse their office, neglect their duties, or use their influence for personnel gain, and it constitutes a crime, their criminal liability shall be pursued according to law; where it does not constitute a crime, they shall be given [administrative] sanctions in accordance with law.
Article 26: Where the provisions of these Regulations are violated in that there is corruption, embezzlement, withholding or taking a cut of the disabled persons' security fund, and it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law; where it does not constitute a crime, the responsible unit, directly responsible managers and other directly responsible staff members will be given [administrative] sanctions in accordance with law.
Article 27: Where the provisions of these Regulations are violated in that an employment unit has not followed provisions for the collection of disabled persons security fund funds, the Department of Finance will give a warning and give an order and timeline for collection; where it has still not been collected within the given period, in addition to paying the amount owed, a 5% late fee shall be paid for each day since it should have been paid.
Article 28: Where the provisions of these Regulations are violated in that an employment unit is falsifying information, falsifying the number of disabled persons employed and fraudulently obtaining the preferential tax treatment given to employment units with a high concentration of disabled employees, the taxation departments will handle it in accordance with law.

Chapter VI:　Supplementary Provisions

　　Article 29: The term of "employment of persons with disabilities", as used in these Regulations, refers to compensated labor by disabled persons who meet the statutory age requirements for employment ans desire employment.
Article 30: This Regulation shall become effective on May 1, 2007.