Legal Perspective: Interpretation II of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of Law in Labor Dispute Cases(1).
Edited Time: October 4, 2025Edited by: charteredlawsCategory: Publications
1. Introduction: Background and Legislative Purpose
On August 1, 2025, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of the People’s Republic of China officially released the “Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases (II)” (hereinafter referred to as “Interpretation II”), which came into force on September 1, 2025. As a crucial judicial interpretation following the first interpretation issued in 2021, Interpretation II responds to long-standing ambiguities in labor dispute adjudication, particularly addressing issues such as social insurance obligations, mixed employment relationships, and non-compete agreements.
The legislative intent behind Interpretation II is threefold: first, to unify judicial standards across different regions and eliminate inconsistencies in “similar cases with different judgments”; second, to strengthen the protection of employees’ statutory rights while balancing employers’ operational needs; and third, to guide enterprises toward standardized labor practices amid evolving employment patterns, such as the rise of flexible work arrangements in the gig economy. Justice Chen Yifang, member of the SPC Judicial Committee, emphasized at the press conference that this interpretation “does not create new policies but consolidates existing legal principles into clear judicial rules,” thereby enhancing the predictability of labor dispute resolutions.(To be continued…)