Get your own copy of your labor contract. If you have already signed a blank or incomplete contract, send a written message that day asking the employer to complete it and give you a copy; leave a record that it was blank when you signed.

No cost. Read the whole contract before signing. If the employer’s name, duration, job or pay is blank, do not sign yet. If you already signed, send the person handling it a WeChat message or email that day. Specify which fields were blank when you signed and ask for a copy once completed. If the employer refuses, call 12333 or complain to labor inspection at the human resources and social security bureau. The investigation must finish within 60 working days of the case being opened, with another 30 working days allowed for complex cases. For a claim for compensation, apply for labor arbitration within 1 year. Arbitration is free; the case should conclude within 45 days of acceptance, with an extension of up to 15 days. If you disagree with the award, you can then go to court. Under the ordinary first-instance procedure, the prescribed time limit is 6 months, subject to extension. You pay your own lawyer’s fees. The difficult part is asking for the contract just after starting a job.

The Labor Contract Law provides that a contract takes effect when both parties sign or seal the contract text. The employer and worker must each hold a copy. There are nine categories of mandatory terms, including the employer’s name, contract duration, work duties and location, working hours, pay, social insurance and labor protection. If the employer’s text omits mandatory terms, or it does not give the worker a copy, the labor administration must order correction. The employer must compensate the worker for resulting damage. The conclusion of labor contracts is already within the scope of labor inspection. If pay or working conditions are unclear, the parties may renegotiate. If that fails, the collective contract applies. If there is no collective contract, or it does not specify pay, equal pay for equal work applies. A contract obtained through fraud, coercion or exploitation of someone’s vulnerable situation against their true wishes is wholly or partly invalid; an arbitration tribunal or court determines invalidity. Qingdao’s human resources and social security bureau published an arbitration case. A salesperson resigned about five months after joining and sought double wages for the absence of a written contract. The employer produced a two-year contract bearing his signature. He acknowledged the signature but said the contract had been blank when he signed; he had no evidence. The tribunal accepted the contract and dismissed his claim. The bureau’s commentary said a signed contract must be performed; invalidity requires effective evidence of circumstances such as fraud or coercion by the employer. A case heard by Beijing’s Daxing District Court ended differently. Twenty shuttle-bus drivers said they had signed blank contracts and held no copies. The employer had asked them to sign a stack of documents without letting them read the contents. In the contracts it produced, all durations were handwritten. The drivers had different start dates and had signed different numbers of contracts, yet all the final contracts ended on the same day—the day the employer’s cooperation with its client ended. The court found the drivers’ account that the duration fields had been blank more credible. The employer could not prove that the end date was genuinely agreed at signing. The court therefore found unlawful termination and ordered damages. The judgment was upheld on appeal. In disputes arising from employer decisions such as dismissal, termination or pay reduction, the employer bears the burden of proof. (National law; the two cases reflect only the findings in those local cases.)

全国人大常委会 (2012 修正). 劳动合同法（第十六、十七、十八、二十六、八十一条）. https://fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c100009/c5193025/content.html（国家税务总局政策法规库转载）；国务院 (2004). 劳动保障监察条例（国务院令第 423 号，第十一、十七条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2004/content_63042.htm；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于审理劳动争议案件适用法律问题的解释（一）（法释〔2020〕26 号，第四十四条）. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/282121.html；全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动争议调解仲裁法（第二十七、四十三、五十三条）. https://rsj.ankang.gov.cn/Content-2150407.html（安康市人力资源和社会保障局转载）；国务院 (2006). 诉讼费用交纳办法（国务院令第 481 号，第六、十三条）. https://www.gov.cn/ziliao/flfg/2006-12/29/content_483682.htm；青岛市人力资源和社会保障局 (2020). 「空白合同」的陷阱（劳动关系典型案例）. https://hrss.qingdao.gov.cn/zq_47/ldgx_47/dxal_47/202206/t20220614_6146624.shtml；北京市怀柔区司法局 (2025). 【以案释法】二十名司机「集体拒签」？法院：空白合同与恶意辞退难逃责（大兴法院审理，怀柔区人民政府网站刊登）. https://www.bjhr.gov.cn/zt/qwpf/yasf/202509/t20250912_4200995.html

For the general rule against signing blank paper, see Section 8, Item 17 (read the whole page before signing). The judge in the Daxing case advised workers to have the employer fill in the key terms before signing and to read each document separately when asked to sign a large stack. Evidence grade B reflects the absence of a specific statutory rule on how to assess an already-signed blank contract: arbitrators and courts decide case by case on the evidence. The two cases above had opposite outcomes, depending on the worker’s evidence and weaknesses in the employer’s account. No nationwide position was found on whether a signed blank contract counts as having no written contract and entitles the worker to double wages; the Qingdao case did not support that claim. If the employer later fills in pay below the amount actually agreed, use wage payment records, attendance records and chats as evidence. See Item 8 in this section (save evidence before leaving) for how to preserve them. If the employer never signs a written contract with you, see Item 20 (double wages). For damages for unlawful termination, see Item 6. For the general arbitration limitation rules, see Section 8, Item 19 (deadlines for asserting your rights). The benefit is judged medium: losses from terms filled in later vary from case to case, with no single figure.