Working on China Labor Contract Probation? Upload the relevant files to Caira and turn the issue into a practical document checklist. Ask about China law, draft letters or forms, and upload files for review.
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Check the dismissal date, deadline, contract, warnings, pay records and messages first.
For RMB 10 million of salary, bonus or severance, a careful chronology can change the negotiation.
Preserve lawful evidence, but avoid taking confidential files you should not access.
Use Caira to build a timeline and draft a response checklist.
Probation in a Chinese labour contract does not mean the employer can dismiss at will. It also does not mean every probation dismissal is automatically unlawful. The practical question is whether the probation period was validly agreed, whether its length matches the labour-contract term, whether the employer has a lawful and evidenced reason, and whether the worker can prove employment dates, wages, duties, performance standards, and the termination event. Treat the probation clause as a checklist, not as a verdict.
Check whether the probation period was properly agreed
Start with the written labour contract. Look for the contract term, start date, probation start and end date, job title, workplace, wage during probation, regular wage, assessment standards, notice clause, and employer legal entity. China official materials highlight an important claim to verify in every article: probation length depends on the contract term, and probation should not be treated as a free trial outside the labour relationship.
If there is no written contract, or if the employer used repeated short contracts, collect evidence before making assumptions about remedies.
Useful Chinese labels are 劳动合同, 试用期, 录用条件, 不符合录用条件, 解除劳动合同, 工资记录, 考核标准, and 劳动仲裁. Keep them as file labels and search terms.
Ask what reason the employer gave
A probation termination file should record the employer reason in the employer's own words. Common phrases include not meeting recruitment conditions, poor performance, failed assessment, department adjustment, no headcount, misconduct, or unsuitable personality. These phrases are not equal. If the employer relies on not meeting recruitment conditions, ask what the conditions were, when you received them, how they were measured, and what evidence shows failure. If the reason is business adjustment, redundancy, or vague unsuitability, the legal analysis may be different.
Do not rely only on a verbal conversation. Ask for the termination notice, reason, date, final-payment arrangement, and social-insurance or handover instructions in writing.
Build the evidence timeline
Your timeline should begin before the first day of work. Save the offer letter, recruitment advertisement, interview messages, employment contract, onboarding documents, probation standards, KPI sheet, training materials, attendance records, payslips, bank deposits, work product, performance feedback, warning letters, and termination message. If the employer says you failed probation, preserve any positive feedback or completed work that contradicts the reason.
For foreign employees, also keep work-permit and residence-permit context, but do not mix immigration questions into the wage and termination calculation unless they directly affect the claim. A labour dispute file should stay readable.
Send a clarification request
A calm message can preserve the issues without making unsupported claims:
您好：[公司/HR姓名]，关于公司于[日期]通知解除本人劳动合同一事，请书面确认解除日期、解除理由、依据的录用条件或考核标准、工资结算金额、未休假/加班/报销等结算安排，以及离职证明和社保公积金处理方式。如公司认为本人不符合录用条件，请提供相关书面标准及考核证据。谢谢。[姓名]
Send it to HR or the manager through a channel you can preserve. If the company refuses written confirmation, write your own dated summary of the meeting and keep related messages.
Check pay and final settlement separately
Even where the dismissal reason is disputed, wages already earned still need a separate calculation. List base salary, probation salary, unpaid salary days, overtime if applicable and evidenced, commissions, reimbursements, annual leave, social-insurance issues, and any deductions. Check the contract and wage records before claiming a number. If the employer withholds pay because of handover, equipment, training bond, or alleged loss, ask for the written basis and calculation.
Do not accept a final settlement document you do not understand. If asked to sign, photograph or save the document, ask for time to review, and note whether the employer is making payment conditional on signing a waiver.
When labour arbitration may matter
MOHRSS and official law sources support labour dispute mediation and arbitration as a core route for many employment disputes. For a probation termination claim, prepare the employer legal name, your identity information, labour relationship proof, claim requests, calculation table, evidence list, and delivery address. Local filing requirements can vary, so a city or district labour arbitration commission page may be needed before filing.
Arbitration deadlines and claim wording matter. Do not wait while trying endless informal chats, but do not file a confusing claim either. If the facts are serious, high value, or involve protected status, get advice quickly.
Where Unwildered fits
Upload the labour contract, probation clause, recruitment conditions, assessment records, messages, termination notice, payslips, bank records, and final-settlement documents. Unwildered can help turn them into a probation-termination timeline and arbitration-preparation checklist.
Sources
MOHRSS labour contract materials
NPC law database: labour dispute mediation and arbitration law
local HRSS or labour arbitration commission
This article is general information, not legal, financial, medical or tax advice.
