- Labour dispatch is strictly regulated: it may be used only for temporary (≤6 months), auxiliary, or substitution posts (“三性”) and is capped at 10% of the user unit’s total workforce, calculated per entity.
劳务派遣受严格规制：仅可用于临时性（不超 6 个月）、辅助性或替代性岗位（”三性”），且不得超过用工单位用工总量的 10%，并按单个用人单位核算。- A dispatch agency must be licensed, hold at least RMB 2 million registered capital, and sign a written fixed-term contract of at least two years with each dispatched worker; the agency and user unit bear joint and several liability.
派遣单位须取得许可、注册资本不少于 200 万元，并与被派遣劳动者订立 2 年以上固定期限书面合同；派遣单位与用工单位对被派遣劳动者所受损害承担连带责任。- “Fake outsourcing, real dispatch” is policed — characterisation turns on the substance of control and the employment relationship, not on contract labels.
“假外包真派遣”被严格监管——定性取决于控制权与劳动关系的实质，而非合同名称。- Intra-group expatriate secondment is not the statutory “labour dispatch” model but is still bound by work-permit and employment-law rules.
集团内外籍员工借调并非中国法意义上的”劳务派遣”模型，但仍受工作签证与劳动法规则约束。- Fix the employer of record and ensure the work permit, residence permit, labour contract, social insurance, and IIT withholding all point to that same entity.
应固定用人单位（雇主），并确保工作许可证、居留证件、劳动合同、社保与个税代扣均指向同一实体。- When an expatriate will genuinely be employed and directed by a different entity, file a new work-permit application in that entity’s name rather than relying on informal secondment.
当外籍员工将真正由另一实体雇佣并指挥时，应以该实体名义重新申请工作许可证，而非依赖非正式借调。
Labour dispatch and secondment rules | 劳务派遣与借调规则
Overview
When a foreign-invested enterprise wants flexible staffing — or wants to move an expatriate between group entities — two very different Chinese legal constructs come into play. Labour dispatch (劳务派遣) is a tightly regulated triangular arrangement (dispatch agency employs, user unit directs) subject to the “three-characteristic” test and a hard 10% cap. Secondment (借调) of expatriates within a corporate group is a different animal, governed mainly by work-permit and employment-law rules rather than the dispatch statute. Confusing the two — or dressing up dispatch as “outsourcing” — is a common and penalty-bearing mistake. This article sets out the dispatch rules and the practical limits on intra-group expatriate movement.
Informational guidance only; structures should be validated with PRC labour and immigration counsel.
The 10% cap and the “three characteristics”
China’s *Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch* (MOHRSS Order No. 22, in force since 1 March 2014) restricts where and how dispatch may be used:
- The “three characteristics” (三性). Dispatched workers may be used only on (1) temporary posts (existing no more than 6 months), (2) auxiliary posts (non-core business roles supporting the main business), and (3) substitutional posts (covering an employee who is on study leave, maternity, or otherwise absent). Auxiliary posts must be determined through discussion with the employee representative congress or all employees, negotiated with the union/worker representatives, and publicly posted within the unit.
- The 10% cap. The number of dispatched workers must not exceed 10% of the user unit’s total workforce, where “total workforce” = employees with labour contracts + dispatched workers. The cap is calculated per employing entity — a corporate group must not aggregate all subsidiaries into one headcount to disguise non-compliance.
A dispatch agency itself must be licensed, have registered capital of at least RMB 2 million, and sign a written fixed-term contract of at least two years with each dispatched worker. During any period the worker is returned but idle, the agency must pay no less than the local minimum wage. The dispatch agency and the user unit bear joint and several liability for harm to the dispatched worker.
Dispatch vs. outsourcing
The line between labour dispatch and labour outsourcing (业务外包) is heavily policed because “fake outsourcing, real dispatch” (假外包真派遣) is a known avoidance tactic. The distinguishing features:
- Labour dispatch: the dispatch agency recruits and employs the worker (signs the contract, pays wages, pays social insurance); the user unit directs the worker’s labour even though it has no employment relationship. The worker is integrated into the user unit’s management.
- Labour outsourcing: the contractor employs and manages its own staff and delivers a defined result or service to the client; the client does not direct the individual workers. If, in substance, the client controls the workers’ daily labour using its facilities and under its arrangements, the arrangement may be re-characterised as dispatch — pulling it back inside the 10% cap and the “three-characteristic” limits.
Practically, name-calling does not decide the characterisation; the substance of control and the employment relationship does.
Secondment of expatriates within a group
Moving an expatriate between affiliated companies is not “labour dispatch” in the Chinese statutory sense (the dispatched-worker rules target the domestic triangular model), but it is constrained by two other regimes:
- Work-permit linkage. A foreign employee’s right to reside and work in China is tied to the employer named on the work permit and residence permit. “Seconding” an expat to perform duties for a different group entity is permissible only if the work-permit basis supports it — typically the permit-holder entity is the employer of record, and the expat’s duties may extend to affiliated companies under a group arrangement. Where the expat will genuinely be employed and directed by a different entity, the proper route is usually a new work permit in that entity’s name, with the residence permit aligned. Simply having the expat “help out” at an affiliate on another entity’s permit risks a status mismatch.
- Employment and tax. The employer of record bears the labour-contract, social-insurance, and individual-income-tax withholding obligations, even if the economic cost is recharged internally. Inter-company secondment agreements should allocate costs, define the reporting line, and preserve compliance with both the Labour Contract Law and the work-permit conditions.
A useful discipline: decide who is the employer of record and ensure the work permit, labour contract, social insurance, and IIT withholding all point to that same entity; treat any group-internal deployment as a documented secondment, not an informal arrangement.
Pitfalls
- Using dispatch to fill core, long-term roles — this breaches the “three characteristics” and the 10% cap.
- Failing to publicise auxiliary-post determinations or to follow the worker-representative process.
- Aggregating group headcount to dodge the 10% cap (must be calculated per entity).
- Mislabelling dispatch as outsourcing while retaining daily control of the workers.
- Moving expatriates between entities without aligning the work permit and residence permit to the actual employer of record.
What to do next
- Before using dispatch, confirm the posts meet the “three characteristics” and that dispatched headcount stays at or below 10% per entity.
- Use a licensed dispatch agency (≥ RMB 2 million capital) and ensure a ≥2-year contract with each dispatched worker.
- Publicise auxiliary-post decisions and keep evidence of the worker-representative process.
- Distinguish true outsourcing (client does not direct workers) from dispatch; do not rely on contract labels.
- For intra-group expatriate moves, fix the employer of record and align the work permit, residence permit, contract, social insurance, and IIT withholding to it.
- When an expat will genuinely work for a different entity, file a new work-permit application rather than informal secondment.
Sources
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security — Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch (MOHRSS Order No. 22): http://www.mohrss.gov.cn/xxgk2020/gzk/gz/202112/t20211228_431639.html
- State Council (gov.cn) — Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch (State Council Gazette version): https://big5.www.gov.cn/gate/big5/www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2014/content_2667613.htm
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS, official portal): https://www.mohrss.gov.cn
Related reading
- see also: Hiring local staff: contracts & social insurance / 雇佣本地员工：合同与社保
- see also: Work visas & residence permits / 工作签证与居留许可
劳务派遣与借调规则
概述
当外资企业希望灵活用工——或在集团内部调动外籍员工时，会触及两种截然不同的中国法律构造。劳务派遣是一种受严格规制的三角关系（派遣单位雇人、用工单位指挥），须通过”三性”测试并受 10% 硬性上限约束。集团内外籍员工借调则是另一回事，主要受工作签证与劳动法规则约束，而非派遣法规。混淆二者——或将派遣包装成”外包”——是常见的、会被处罚的错误。本文列明派遣规则，以及集团内外籍人员调动的实务边界。
本文仅为信息性指引；相关架构须经中国劳动与移民律师核验。
10% 上限与”三性”
中国《劳务派遣暂行规定》（人社部令第 22 号，2014 年 3 月 1 日施行）对派遣的使用场景与方式作出限制：
- “三性”。 被派遣劳动者只能用于 (1) 临时性 岗位（存续不超过 6 个月）、(2) 辅助性 岗位（为主营业务提供服务的非主营业务岗位）、(3) 替代性 岗位（替代脱产学习、休假等缺席的员工）。辅助性岗位须经职工代表大会或全体职工讨论，与工会/职工代表协商确定，并在单位内公示。
- 10% 上限。 使用的被派遣劳动者数量不得超过用工单位用工总量的 10%；”用工总量”= 订立劳动合同人数 + 被派遣劳动者人数。该比例按单个用人单位核算——集团公司不得将各子公司合并计算以规避合规。
派遣单位本身须取得行政许可、注册资本不少于 200 万元，并与被派遣劳动者订立 2 年以上 固定期限书面合同。劳动者被退回而无工作期间，派遣单位须按月支付不低于当地最低工资标准的报酬。派遣单位与用工单位对被派遣劳动者所受损害承担连带责任。
派遣与外包之别
劳务派遣与业务外包的界限被严格监管，因为”假外包真派遣”是已知的规避手法。区分要点：
- 劳务派遣： 派遣单位招用并雇佣劳动者（签合同、发工资、缴社保）；用工单位指挥劳动者，虽无劳动关系。劳动者被整合进用工单位的管理。
- 业务外包： 承包单位自雇自管员工，向客户交付既定成果或服务；客户不直接指挥个别劳动者。若实质上是客户用其设施、按其安排控制劳动者日常劳动，该安排可能被重新定性为派遣——从而重新落入 10% 上限与”三性”限制。
实务中，名称不决定定性；控制权与劳动关系才是。
集团内外籍员工的借调
在关联公司间调动外籍员工，并非中国法意义上的”劳务派遣”（派遣规则针对的是国内三角模型），但受另两套制度约束：
- 工作许可证关联。 外籍员工在华居留与工作的权利，绑定于工作许可证与居留证件载明的雇主。”借调”外籍员工为不同集团实体履职，仅在工作许可基础支持时才合法——通常是持证人所在实体为用人单位（雇主），外籍员工依集团安排可向关联公司延伸履职。若外籍员工将真正由另一实体雇佣并指挥，通常的正规路径是在该实体名下重新申请工作许可证，并使居留证件同步。仅凭另一实体的许可让外籍员工”帮衬”，存在身份错配风险。
- 雇佣与税务。 用人单位（雇主）承担劳动合同、社保及个人所得税代扣义务，即便经济成本在内部划转。集团间借调协议应分配成本、界定汇报线，并保持对《劳动合同法》与工作许可条件二者的合规。
一条有用的纪律：先确定谁是用人单位（雇主），并确保工作许可证、劳动合同、社保与个税代扣均指向同一实体；将任何集团内部派驻作为有文件的借调处理，而非非正式安排。
常见陷阱
- 以派遣填补核心、长期岗位——违反”三性”与 10% 上限。
- 未公示辅助性岗位决定，或未遵循职工代表程序。
- 合并集团人数以规避 10% 上限（须按实体核算）。
- 在保留日常控制权的前提下将派遣误标为外包。
- 在实体间调动外籍员工时，未将工作许可证与居留证件与真实雇主对齐。
下一步建议
- 使用派遣前，确认岗位符合”三性”，且各实体派遣人数 ≤ 10%。
- 使用取得许可的派遣机构（注册资本 ≥ 200 万元），并确保与被派遣者订立 ≥ 2 年合同。
- 公示辅助性岗位决定，并留存职工代表程序的证据。
- 区分真实外包（客户不指挥劳动者）与派遣；勿依赖合同标签。
- 集团内外籍调动，固定用人单位，并使工作许可证、居留证件、合同、社保与个税代扣均指向它。
- 外籍员工将真正为另一实体工作，应重新申请工作许可证，而非非正式借调。
来源
- 人力资源和社会保障部——《劳务派遣暂行规定》（人社部令第 22 号）：http://www.mohrss.gov.cn/xxgk2020/gzk/gz/202112/t20211228_431639.html
- 国务院办公厅（gov.cn）——《劳务派遣暂行规定》（国务院公报版）：https://big5.www.gov.cn/gate/big5/www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2014/content_2667613.htm
- 人力资源和社会保障部（MOHRSS，官网）：https://www.mohrss.gov.cn
相关阅读
- see also: 雇佣本地员工：合同与社保 / Hiring local staff: contracts & social insurance
- see also: 工作签证与居留许可 / Work visas & residence permits