Employers in China can now be sued over workplace harassment claims. The issue has gained significant attention in recent years as the country transitions to a high-tech, knowledge economy focused on attracting talent. A 2020 Zhaopin survey reported that 63.65% of white-collar workers in China reported experiencing workplace harassment at some point in their careers [1], with most complaints coming from those working in consulting, finance, and legal services. Although Chinese employment laws do not specifically define or address workplace harassment, victims who are not content to suffer in silence have recourse to pursue relief under other established claims like employment contract disputes or defamation.
In this article, we’ll examine China’s current policy on workplace harassment, recent court decisions, and how this knowledge can be applied to company policy and training to mitigate the legal risks of workplace harassment.
Contents
- What Harassment Occurs in China
- How Chinese Law Treats Workplace Harassment
- How Courts in China Rule on Harassment Disputes
- How Employers Can Mitigate Legal Risk
What Harassment Occurs in China
Supervisor harassment is the most common form of workplace harassment reported in China, given the inherent power imbalance in supervisor-subordinate relationships. This conduct is often described colloquially as “workplace PUA,” derived from the English “pick-up artist.” In Chinese usage, PUA refers to emotionally or psychologically manipulative behavior used to control others by destroying their self-esteem and confidence. In the workplace, PUA is used as a catch-all to describe tactics like supervisors imposing unreasonable demands, dismissing value and contributions without constructive guidance and framing exploitation as “opportunity.”
Although views in China differ on what constitutes workplace bullying and harassment, it is generally understood as intentional, repeated abuse that harms the victim’s physical and mental health, workplace morale, and the employer’s productivity and reputation. Workplace harassment can take so many forms that it’s impossible to put together an exhaustive list of examples, and existing definitions often fail to capture new forms that continue to emerge; a challenge further complicated by evolving work models.
A number of recent workplace bullying and harassment incidents reported by Chinese media have also drawn public scrutiny, including supervisors burning an employee’s face with a lit cigarette, slapping an employee for refusing to drink alcohol, forcing an employee to eat dangerously spicy food, and terminating a female employee for refusing to dance for their amusement.
Legal scholarship in China has largely overlooked workplace harassment compared to topics like sexual harassment. A 2025 search of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database identified only 34 articles on workplace harassment, most of which contained little or no legal analysis of the harm caused to employers and employees.
Workplace bullying and harassment in China can take so many forms that fixed policies or one-off trainings are bound to become outdated quickly. Fortunately, CBL offers managed legal services that connect you with our network of expert, on-the-ground attorneys that keep your training and policies up-to-date so you can focus on your core business.
How Chinese Law Treats Workplace Harassment
Chinese law on workplace harassment is spread throughout numerous statutes not specifically designed to deter such conduct, so courts are mainly addressing abusive conduct by applying laws that regulate the workplace generally. Currently, China currently has no law specifically to govern workplace harassment. The several fragmented statutory regimes that are relevant include:
- China Criminal Law Act provisions may apply given it can involve physical or verbal abuse where the conduct meets the elements of a criminal offense, such as battery, defamation, or forced labor.[2]
- Police Penalties Act § 50 can impose criminal penalties when harassment satisfies the statutory elements of defamation or intimidation [3], and
- Civil Code protections for privacy, reputation, and the right to life provide limited additional recourse.[4]
- Anti-discrimination provisions and workplace safety requirements in the China Employment Act and Employment Contracts Act also require employers to provide a safe and healthy work environment and to protect employees’ physical and mental health, offering some further protection.
Although no national statute expressly addresses workplace harassment, some Chinese jurisdictions have begun to regulate the issue under local law. For instance, Shanghai Better Business Ordinance § 79 requires employers to adopt policies prohibiting workplace harassment, implement risk controls, and establish grievance procedures.[5]
Recent cases involve victims seeking relief in civil court, suing defendants for personal rights violations, employment disputes, or breach of employment contract.
How Courts in China Rule on Harassment Disputes
Workplace harassment has not been widely reported in Chinese court decisions. Searches of public dockets using keywords such as “workplace bullying” or “workplace harassment” yield few related cases. Cases that have been brought mostly involve employment contract disputes or claims involving the right to life or right to reputation. Let’s look at what happened in two highly representative cases.
Shanghai Case 01-cv-6362 (2020) found liability for constructive discharge as alleged by plaintiff Zhang, who was employed by defendant Biouxi China Investments LLC under an indefinite employment contract, with Gu as his manager. During his employment, an anonymous company-wide email was circulated accusing Gu and procurement manager Huo of misconduct. According to Zhang, Gu suspected him of sending the email and proceeded to bully him with the company’s knowledge, and the company gradually began depriving him of the support and resources necessary to do his job.
HR and Gu pressured him to resign, reassigned work he had been responsible for, instructed employees to use company seals assigned to him without his knowledge, and revoked his access to his work email account. Zhang alleged that the company sought to force his resignation through repeated coercion, and that management and HR took no corrective action even after he filed multiple complaints. The company ultimately terminated Zhang for sending the email, asserting that his conduct violated the employee handbook and disrupted business operations. Zhang then filed suit seeking reinstatement and backpay for his lost wages.
The trial court found that Zhang could have pursued more appropriate channels to protect his rights and reputation, rather than sending unsolicited mass emails to other employees and disrupting the company’s operations. Nonetheless, as an employer, the defendant was also obligated to address employee misconduct reasonably and lawfully. The court held the company liable for the unlawful termination and allowed Zhang to pursue a separate claim for damages since his reinstatement was impractical. On appeal, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision.
Chongqing Case 0117-cv-5972 (2018) was brought as a wrongful death case by the survivors of Liu, a nurse at the Chongqing Hechuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital’s acupuncture department. Liu was bullied at work because of her hearing impairment. Wang, an acupuncture practitioner at the same hospital, would repeatedly yell at and humiliate her in front of patients and other hospital staff because of her hearing impairment. Liu later committed suicide by drinking paraquat at the hospital.
Her husband, mother, and son sued both Wang and the hospital, alleging that Wang had the authority to direct and manage nurses and knew about Liu’s hearing impairment, yet nevertheless repeatedly humiliated her. The plaintiffs argued that Wang was at fault because his verbal abuse directly led to Liu’s suicide and that her decision to take her life at the hospital during work hours demonstrated the harm she suffered at work. They further contended that Liu’s death despite resuscitation efforts reflected poor management and insufficient employee training, making the hospital partially liable, and therefore asked the court to hold both defendants liable.
The court found that Liu had full civil capacity and, as a nurse, knew what would happen after ingesting a toxic substance. It further held that her decision to take her own life at work was an independent, intentional act that the defendants could not reasonably foresee. In the court’s view, Wang’s conduct would not ordinarily provoke such an extreme response and did not directly cause Liu’s suicide.
Although the plaintiffs asserted that Wang humiliated and insulted Liu in front of patients on the day she died, they failed to provide sufficient evidence that such conduct directly led to Liu’s suicide. The court ultimately dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim.
For foreign companies, the Liu case is concerning because it reveals that you could be held liable for the abusive management practices of local management.
How Employers Can Mitigate Legal Risk
The above cases may have been avoided if the employers took the necessary precautions and responded promptly to complaints before they reached litigation. Offer regular comprehensive training to ensure your employees know and understand the policy in the broader context of your organization. The training materials should be personalized for the organization and attendees, focusing specifically on workplace bullying and not combined with other topics. Provide training regularly. Use localized practical examples prepared by Chinese cultural insiders to help everyone see how embedded low-level aggression can cause harm and encourage participants to reflect on the ideal standard of behavior. Consider involving outside experts in China who have learned about international best practice norms.
Understand the environmental factors that create a higher risk of bullying; take time to consider what factors may cause it to occur. Common risk factors include high stress environment, long working hours in the “996” style, or events where alcohol is consumed. In China, where authority and power imbalances are particularly pronounced, we saw that most people believe their managers are abusive. Once identified, consider what action can be taken to reduce risk of perceived workplace bullying.
For example, as described in our other articles, Chinese law provides statutory tools to impose performance management and require workers to follow instructions, or they could lose their jobs—and right to collect severance. If an employer discovers that a supervisor is using abuse against poorly performing or poorly compliant employees—in other words, is in the majority of managers in mainland China—consider if a less legally risky approach is feasible.
Reporting mechanisms should be provided for all employees, and management must be able to respond quickly, effectively, and sensitively. Unless your employees feel safe and supported when they report bullying, you will not have an accurate view of whether a problem exists. Reports must be confidential, and staff handling reports should offer some level of psychological support. Also note that workplace bullying incidents can be traumatic and should be handled in such a way as not to reopen trauma.
Be prepared for criminal investigations by the police; in serious cases, workplace bullying can amount to a criminal allegation of assault and battery, a crime that is taken extremely seriously in China. Local police may expect employers to engage with police proactively, as investigative powers in China are expansive. If an individual is under criminal investigation, they may have been legally advised to say nothing to their employer, because it could cause problems for their defense. Thus, employers should not assume an employee is guilty due to their decision to remain silent. A common response by criminal suspects is to attempt to protect their own reputation, by agreeing with their employer to terminate the employment contract for “personal reasons.” Consult with an attorney before making decisions of this nature, as implications could be potentially far ranging.
Given the lack of specific workplace harassment legislation, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to risk mitigation. Ideally, you should work with an attorney familiar with conditions and harassment claims in the local jurisdiction. While these attorneys rarely speak competent English, CBL has developed a turnkey legal solution. We leverage an extensive network of qualified Chinese attorneys and provide them with the legal operations and language translation support necessary for them to succeed in international client matters.
FURTHER READING
Get more insights about Chinese employment law:
For a general overview of this topic, see also CBL’s China Employment Law FAQ.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Sixty Percent of White-Collar Employees Experienced Workplace Harassment (六成白领遭遇过 职场PUA究竟有多少新花样), (China People’s Political Consultative Conference, Sep. 17, 2020), http://cppcc.china.com.cn/2020-09/17/content_76713367.htm (in Mandarin)
[2] China Criminal Law Act (刑法), (China National Congress, Aug. 21, 2008), http://www.npc.gov.cn/c1773/c1848/c21114/c25714/c25716/201905/t20190522_46193.html (in Mandarin)
[3] Police Penalties Act (治安管理处罚法), (China Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Jun. 27, 2025), https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml (in Mandarin)
[4] Civil Code (民法典), (China Ministry of Justice, May 5, 2025), https://www.moj.gov.cn/pub/sfbgw/zwgkztzl/2025nianzhuanti/2025mfdxcy/2025mfdxcy_mfdql/202505/t20250507_518708.html (in Mandarin)
[5] Shanghai Better Business Ordinance (上海营商环境条例), (Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission, Nov. 22, 2023), https://fgw.sh.gov.cn/ys-syjf-tj-2.4.2-%E2%91%A2/20240408/ad2cf804c5774236b4a0ba64b37dcb2c.html (in Mandarin)