Employer decision guide
Plan the workforce model before turning hiring into a list of forms and providers. A foreign employer first needs to define the work, location, management model, employer responsibilities and relationship to the broader China entry structure.
A hiring plan is ready when the company knows which roles are needed, where the work will happen, who will direct and evaluate each worker, which party will hold employer responsibilities and what will trigger a change in the model. Detailed employment, payroll and work-permit procedures require a current, scoped review after those decisions are made.
Start with the operating need. Record the role, business outcome, work location, reporting line, access to customers or systems, expected duration and whether the role supports market testing or a durable local operation.
Compare models without assuming that a particular route is available or appropriate. One category may involve direct hiring through a local operating entity. Another may use an intermediary or partner for a defined period. The exact legal and service boundary of EOR or PEO arrangements is outside this draft and must not be inferred from general employment information.
| Decision area | Question | Required owner |
|---|---|---|
| Employer responsibility | Which party will hold the relevant employer obligations for the proposed model? | Legal and HR |
| Management control | Who assigns work, reviews performance and handles escalation? | Business leader |
| Location | Which city or cities are involved, and which local dependencies require checking? | HR operations |
| Duration | How long should the model last, and what triggers a transition? | Expansion owner |
| Cost and cash flow | Which entity funds the workforce and records the cost? | Finance |
| Data and access | What systems, customer information or confidential material will the role use? | Security and operations |
Before execution, create one controlled record for the proposed employment relationship. It should identify the employer, worker, role, location, reporting line, compensation assumptions, start conditions, approval owners and records that must be retained. Any legal terms, probation, termination or severance provisions must come from the current accepted employment authority for the specific situation.
Work-permit and local implementation requirements can depend on the worker and location. Do not generalize a procedure from one city to the whole country. This employer guide records the dependency; it does not provide an employee-facing application tutorial or promise an outcome.
The operating model should identify who supplies approved compensation inputs, who processes payroll, who reviews outputs, how accounting records receive the result and how exceptions are escalated. Detailed payroll calculations, overtime treatment, filing calendars and city-specific mechanics are outside this draft until their factual boundary is accepted.
Use the China market-entry strategy and the existing entry-structure comparison to keep hiring connected to the wider operating model.
The company should evaluate the workforce need and entry structure together. This page does not apply a universal rule; it provides the decisions that must be checked for the proposed model.
No. It is an employer-side planning guide. Individual applications and local procedures require their own current, scoped review.
No. It makes no provider recommendation or service-capability claim. Any intermediary model requires separate legal, factual and provider verification.
When the role, location, employer responsibilities, management model, payroll and record owners, open factual checks and transition trigger are documented.
Bring the role plan, locations, reporting model, timing and proposed employer responsibilities into one employer-side review.