· Area of Law： Civil Law

· Level of Authority： Administrative Regulations

· Date issued：10-01-2002

· Effective Date：12-01-2002

· Issuing Authority： State Council

· Status： Effective

Order of the State Council of the People' s Republic of China
(No.364)
The Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labor, which were adopted at the 63rd executive meeting of the State Council on September 18, 2002, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force on December 1, 2002.
Premier: Zhu Rongji
October 1, 2002
Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labor 
Article 1 In order to protect the physical and psychological health of the minors, to promote the implementation of compulsory education system, and to safeguard the legal rights and interests of the minors, the present Provisions are formulated according to the Constitution, the Labor Law and the Law on the Protection of Minors.
Article 2 No government agencies, social organizations, enterprises and institutional entities, civilian operated non-enterprise entities (hereafter referred to as employers) may employ minors under 16 years old (employing minors under 16 years old are referred to as using child labor hereinafter).
All entities and individuals are prohibited from introducing employment for minors under 16 years old.
All minors under 16 years old are prohibited from starting individual businesses.
Article 3 The parents or other custodian of the minors under 16 years old shall protect the physical and psychological health of the minors, guarantee their right to receiving compulsory education, and may not allow them to be illegally employed by the employers.
If the parents or other custodian of the minors under 16 years old allow the minors to be illegally employed by the employers, the people's governments of the townships (towns), the urban street offices, and the villagers' committees and residents' committees of the places where they domicile shall criticize and instruct those parents or other custodians.
Article 4 When employing personnel, the employers must verify the identification cards of the personnel to be employed; and may not employ any minor under 16 years old. The employers shall appropriately keep their employment registration and verification files of the personnel employed.
Article 5 The administrative departments of labor security of the people's governments at and above the county level shall be responsible for the supervision and inspection of the implementation of the present Provisions.
The administrative departments of public security, industry and commerce administration, education, health etc of the people's governments at and above the county level shall supervise and inspect the implementation of the present Provisions within their respective scope of duties, and shall assist the administrative departments of labor security in the supervision and inspection.
The labor unions, the Communist Youth League, the women's associations and other mass organizations shall safeguard the legal rights and interests of the minors according to law.
The entities or individuals that find out the use of child labor shall have the right to report to the administrative departments of labor security of the people's governments at and above the county level.
Article 6 If an employer uses child labor, the administrative department of labor security shall impose on the employer a fine of 5,000 yuan for one child labor per month; if the employer uses child labor in working places with toxic materials, he/it shall be given a heavier punishment pursuant to the range of fine provided for in the Regulations on Labor Protection in Working Places with Toxic Materials or a fine of 5,000 yuan for one child labor per month. The administrative departments of public security shall also order the employer to send the child labor back to the their original places of domicile to their parents or other custodians within a prescribed time limit, and to bear all the expenses for the transportation and accommodation incurred thereby.
If the employer fails to send the child labor back to their parents or other custodians within the prescribed time limit though the administrative departments of public security has ordered him/it to do so pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the administrative departments of public security shall impose on the employer a fine of 10,000 yuan for one child labor per month, starting from the day of the order for correction, and the department of industry and commerce administration shall revoke the employer's business license or the department of civil affaires shall cancel the employer's registration of civilian operated non-enterprise entity; if the employer is a government agency or institutional entity, the relevant entity shall give the administrative sanctions or disciplinary sanctions of demotion or removal to the directly responsible personnel in charge or other directly responsible personnel.
Article 7 If an entity or individual introduces employment for minors under 16 years old, the administrative departments of public security shall impose on the entity or individual a fine of 5,000 yuan for one person introduced; if an employment intermediary agency introduces employment for minors under 16 years old, the administrative departments of public security shall revoke the permit for employment introduction of that agency.
Article 8 If an employer fails to keep the employment registration files pursuant to Article 4 of the present Provisions, or forges the employment registration files, the administrative departments of public security shall impose on him/it a fine of 10,000 yuan.
Article 9 If an entity without business license, or whose business license has been revoked according to law, or who hasn't made the registration and put it on record according to law uses child labor or introduces employment for child labor, it shall be imposed on a fine of one time more than the amount provided for in Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the present Provisions, and that illegal entity shall be closed down by the relevant administrative authorities.
Article 10 If a child labor is ill or injured, the employer shall be responsible for sending him/her to a medical institution for treatment, and shall bear all the medical and living expenses during the period of medical treatment.
If a child labor is disabled or dead, the administrative departments of public security shall revoke the employer's business license, or the department of civil affaires shall cancel its registration of civilian operated non-enterprise entity; if the employer is a government agency or institutional entity, the relevant entity shall give the administrative sanctions or disciplinary sanctions of demotion or removal to the directly responsible personnel in charge or other directly responsible personnel; the employer shall also pay the lineal relatives of the disabled or dead child labor a lump-sum compensation, and the amount of compensation shall be calculated pursuant to the relevant provisions of the state on employment injury insurance.
Article 11 If anyone abducts child labor, coerces child labor to work, uses child labor to work high above the ground, under the well, in radioactive, highly toxic, inflammable or explosive environment, or to engage in the work of fourth level physical labor intensity provided for by the state, uses child labor under 14 years old, or causes death or serious disability to child labor, the criminal responsibilities shall be prosecuted for pursuant to the provisions of the criminal law on the crime of abducting children, the crime of coercing another person into labor or other crimes.
Article 12 If the staff members of government administrative agencies conduct any of the following acts, they shall be given the administrative sanctions of a special demerit record or demotion; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be given the administrative sanctions of removal or dismissal; if a crime is constituted, the criminal responsibilities shall be prosecuted for pursuant to the provisions of the criminal law on the crime of abusing powers, neglecting duties or other crimes:
1) Staff members of the relevant departments of labor security haven't stopped, corrected or punished the use of child labor which has been found out in the supervision and inspection of prohibition of using child labor;
2) People's police of the departments of public security issue the identification cards in violation of the provisions or register false date of birth on the identification cards;
3) Staff members of the departments of industry and commerce administration issue the business license to an applicant who has been found to be a minor under 16 years old.
Article 13 Arts and sports entities may employ professional artistic workers and athletes under 16 years old with the consent of the parents or other custodians of the minors. The employers shall guarantee the physical and psychological health of the minors under 16 years old and guarantee their right to receive compulsory education. The administrative department of labor security under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the administrative departments of culture and sports under the State Council, formulate the measures for employing professional artistic workers and athletes under 16 years old by arts and sports entities.
Where schools, other educational institutions, and vocational training institutions organize, pursuant to the relevant provisions of the state, the minors under 16 years old to engage in the educational practice, vocational skill training that will not affect the personal safety and physical and psychological health of the minors, such activities shall not fall within the use of child labor.
Article 14 The present Provisions shall come into force on December 1, 2002. And the Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labor promulgated by the State Council on April 15, 1991 shall be abolished simultaneously.