It is a good idea to have a written contract with any prospective employer before starting work in Beijing. However, having a contract in place in China is not essential – from a cultural perspective, contracts are not seen as binding as in other countries. It is rare for an employee to take an employer to court over breach of contract. Teachers in particular can find that unexpected alterations to their terms of employment are made when they arrive in China.

Do your best to make sure that precise details about your length of employment are included in the contract, including any probation periods. If your contract is for a year or less, the probation period should only be one month long. You should check salary details, including how regularly you will be paid and in what currency, details of taxes that will be deducted from your pay, the terms of any overtime work that you do, and holiday policies. It’s also vital to clarify any ‘extras’ that come as part of the job so that they are written into your contract, including such things as housing, plane tickets and mobile phone costs. Check in advance on what terms you can leave your job, and the company’s procedure if it decides to terminate your employment. As for maternity leave, the law in China is that women over the age of 25 are entitled to four months off work after giving birth; if you’re under 25, you are allowed three months.