When wages are owed, complain to labor inspection first, then apply for labor arbitration; both routes are free, and most cases have a result within a few months

First call 12333 or complain to labor inspection at the human resources and social security bureau; after a case is filed, the investigation finishes within 60 working days. If confirmed, the company can be ordered to pay by a deadline; if it still does not pay, it must add another 50% to 100% as compensation. If that fails, apply for labor arbitration; the case is closed within 45 days. But “case closed” is not “money in hand”: if the company has no assets or the boss has fled, you may win and still get nothing.

Cost

No money spent; complaints and arbitration both charge nothing. Gather the labor contract, pay stubs, attendance records, transfer records, and chat logs, and visit the human resources and social security bureau or the arbitration commission 1 to 3 times. Arbitration has a 1-year deadline (the legal term is the arbitration limitation period). If you are still working at the unit and wages are being delayed, that 1-year limit does not apply. If you have already left, you must file within 1 year from the day you left. The hard part is the repeated trips and hunting for evidence piece by piece; it is easy to lose heart in the middle.

Benefit

The first step is to complain. Call 12333, or complain to labor inspection at the local human resources and social security bureau. By law the investigation finishes within 60 working days after filing; complex cases may be extended by another 30 working days. If confirmed, the company can be ordered to pay by a deadline. If it still does not pay after the deadline, it must add compensation of 50% to 100% of the amount due. In 2024, inspection agencies nationwide handled 137000 cases and recovered 8650000000 yuan in wages for 654000 people. If you have an IOU or a clear wage sheet, you may also apply directly to a grassroots court for a payment order. A payment order is a court order telling the company to pay; the court issues it within 15 days of accepting the case. The second step is to apply for arbitration. By law the case is closed within 45 days of acceptance, extendable by another 15 days. For unpaid wages you may apply for advance enforcement: part of the award can be enforced before the whole case is finished. If the amount owed does not exceed 12 times the local monthly minimum wage, it is final in one arbitration: after the award the company cannot sue again. In 2024, 4257000 cases were handled nationwide and 4156000 were closed. The closed amount was 93470000000 yuan. The mediation success rate was 79.6%, the arbitration closure rate 98.2%, and the arbitration termination rate 73.7%. Some people say this takes “half a year to a year”; that refers to cases that go on to court after arbitration. Those cases take 6 months at first instance (3 months under the summary procedure), plus 3 months for a second instance. In 2024 courts closed 88000 cases seeking labor remuneration and recovered 28540000000 yuan; 998 people were sentenced for the crime of refusing to pay labor remuneration (nationwide)

Notes

Complaints and arbitration help, but distinguish “case closed” from “money received.” The 98.2% closure rate only means the procedure finished. If the company has no assets or the boss has fled, you may still get nothing after winning. The Supreme People’s Court only publishes the total amount enforced (2300000000000 yuan in 2024) and that the “enforcement completion rate stayed high”; there is no official figure for how much of wage cases actually reached the workers’ pockets. The term “arbitration termination rate” is not defined in the bulletin; this item treats it as “no further court case after the award.” Unpaid wages at certain amounts are enough for a criminal case. One type is owing one person for more than 3 months, with an amount of 5000 to 20000 yuan or more. Another is owing 10 or more people, totaling 30000 to 100000 yuan or more. In either case, if payment is still refused after an order to pay, that is enough to open a case. Provincial high courts and procuratorates set the exact amount within that range and publish it; check your province before complaining, and raise it face to face when you complain. Migrant workers on construction sites also have dedicated wage accounts and a rule that the general contractor pays first; going after the general contractor works better than going after the labor boss. Both routes assume there is an employing unit. An unlicensed workshop or shop still counts; you can complain and arbitrate. Private work for a household or individual, such as being a nanny, is not a labor relationship — go to court; see item 22 (first figure out who hired you). Rural migrant workers applying for legal aid to recover wages are not checked for financial hardship. The original text of the Labor Contract Law (劳动合同法) and the Civil Procedure Law (民事诉讼法) is cited from republications by the State Taxation Administration and the Guizhou provincial market regulation bureau (both gov.cn), because the NPC site pages would not open. The Criminal Law Amendment (VIII) (刑法修正案（八）) failed to fetch from the NPC site and was checked by opening it with curl

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