The all-around protection of women's rights and interests is constantly improving in China, including the protection of women in the workplace. Does the Chinese legal system have jurisdiction over RSU disputes upon the termination of employment when the stocks are granted by an offshore listed company to a natural person located within China? In recent years, we have witnessed changes. The author is willing to present the trend of diversification and complexity in labor law practice in recent years.

中国持续提高对妇女权益的全方位的保护力度，包括职场上的保护。员工离职后，境外上市公司授予境内自然人的RSU相关争议，是否归中国法院管辖？近年来有一些变化。笔者愿呈现近年来劳动法业务呈现多样化、复杂化的趋势。

On May 1st, 1950, the Marriage Law was promulgated in China. It is the first law provided and implemented by the People's Republic of China, that establishes the principles and rules of equal protection for men and women in marital relationships. Since then, China has introduced a number of laws to protect women's rights and interests in all aspects.

1950年5月1日，中国颁布实施《婚姻法》。这是新中国颁布实施的第一部确立了婚姻关系中男女平等保护的原则和规则的法律。之后，中国出台了多部法律以全方位保障妇女权益。

On October 30, 2022, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress amended and adopted the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women (the “LPRIW”), which will come into effect on January 1, 2023. The revised LPRIW reflects the upgraded protection of women's rights and interests from an all-round perspective. For employers, the new LPRIW puts forward advanced requirements, mainly from the perspective of sexual harassment prevention and equal employment.

2022年10月30日，全国人民代表大会常务委员会修订通过了《妇女权益保障法》，并将于2023年1月1日起生效。修订后的《妇女权益保障法》从全方位的角度体现了对妇女权益的保障的升级。对用人单位而言，新《妇女权益保障法》主要从防治性骚扰与平等就业的角度对用人单位提出了新的进阶的要求。

At present, the definition of sexual harassment is not clearly defined by China's laws and regulations. The Civil Code, the previous version of LPRIW and other laws and regulations only state the principle of prohibiting acts of sexual harassment. In practice, sexual harassment is generally defined as unwelcome sex-related conduct by means of language, body language, environment or other means.

目前，关于性骚扰的定义，中国的法律法规中并无明确规定，《民法典》、旧《妇女权益保障法》及其他法规中仅规定了禁止进行性骚扰行为的原则。在实践中，性骚扰通常被定义为是一种不受欢迎的与性相关的行为，包括通过语言的、形体的、环境布置的方式或其他方式。

The amended LPRIW specifies that behaviors that define sexual harassment, namely, sexual harassment against a women's will in forms such as language, words, pictures or physical acts are prohibited. At the same time, the amended LPRIW requires that employers must take measures to prevent and stop sexual harassment against women, such as formulating internal regulations and rules prohibiting sexual harassment, conducting education and training on the prevention and stop of sexual harassment, adopting necessary security measures, establishing channels for complaints and airing of grievance, etc. The new LPRIW also specifies, for the first time, the legal liabilities for employer negligence in preventing sexual harassment.

新《妇女权益保障法》对性骚扰的实施形式予以明确，即禁止违背妇女意愿，以言语、文字、图像、肢体行为等方式对其实施性骚扰。同时，新《妇女权益保障法》明确要求了用人单位需要采取措施预防和制止对妇女的性骚扰，包括制定禁止性骚扰的规章制度；开展预防和制止性骚扰的教育培训活动；采取必要的安全保卫措施；设置投诉渠道等。新《妇女权益保障法》还明确了用人单位防治性骚扰失职的法律责任。

The new LPRIW puts forward comprehensive requirements for employers to prevent sexual harassment from the perspective of principles, measures and legal responsibilities. The first thing that enterprises should do is implement the law and establish a mechanism to prevent sexual harassment. Companies may specify the various forms of implementation of sexual harassment prevention in internal rules and regulations, employee handbooks and other documents. Further, they should emphasize and remind employees to pay attention to their daily words and deeds in training lectures on sexual harassment prevention. When handling complaints of sexual harassment, enterprises may also consider entrusting third-party independent investigation institutions to conduct the investigation, make determinations of sexual harassment according to the results of the investigation, and timely punish the relevant personnel.

新《妇女权益保障法》从原则、措施、法律责任等多角度对用人单位防治性骚扰提出了全方位要求。企业首先应当做的是落实法律规定、建立性骚扰防治机制。企业可以在规章制度、员工手册等文件中明确性骚扰的多种实施形式，在防治性骚扰的培训讲座上向员工强调提示注意日常言行举止。在处理性骚扰行为的投诉时，企业还可以考虑委托第三方独立调查机构进行调查，根据调查结果认定性骚扰行为，及时对相关人员进行处理。

In the old LPRIW, equality between men and women in employment existed as a principle. The new LPRIW, on the basis of equality in employment, also requires enterprises to take measures to avoid employment discrimination, such as not limiting job positions to males or requiring males to take priority in job positions; not inquiring or investigating marital and childbirth information of female job applicants; not requiring restrictions on marriage, childbirth or marital or childbirth status as a prerequisite for employment, etc.

在旧《妇女权益保障法》中，男女就业平等作为一项原则性规定存在。新《妇女权益保障法》在平等就业的基础上，还要求企业采取避免就业歧视的措施，如：不得将岗位限定为男性或者规定男性优先；除个人基本信息外，不得进一步询问或者调查女性求职者的婚育情况；不得将限制结婚、生育或者婚姻、生育状况作为录用条件等。

The new LPRIW further implements administrative supervision and legal liability with respect to gender discrimination in employment. On the one hand, the new LPRIW specifies, for the first time, that gender discrimination in the process of recruitment, promotion, training, dismissal and so on should be included in the scope of labor and social security supervision of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. On the other hand, in accordance with the new LPRIW, if an employer commits gender discrimination, they may be ordered to make corrections by the Human Resources and Social Security Authority and may be subject to a fine of not less than RMB10,000 but not more than RMB50,000.

新《妇女权益保障法》还针对就业中的性别歧视行为进一步落实了行政监督和法律责任。一方面，新法首次明确，招聘、晋升、培训、辞退等过程中的性别歧视行为应当被纳入人社部门的劳动保障监察范围；另一方面，根据新法的规定，用人单位如果存在上述性别歧视行为，可能会被人社部门责令改正，并且有可能面临一万元以上五万元以下的罚款。

Enterprises shall avoid the use of discriminatory recruitment wording and the offer of discriminatory treatment in the recruitment process, to not only reduce relevant legal risks of employment discrimination, but also protect the workers' equal employment rights.

企业在招聘过程中应当避免采用歧视性招录措辞，在用工管理中遵循规章制度合规用工，避免提供歧视性待遇，在减少就业歧视的相关法律风险的同时，保护劳动者的平等就业权利。

The common mode for Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) of multinational companies is that the offshore listed company acts as the target company, the domestic company acts as the employer under the employment relationship and the domestic individual is the employee of the domestic company and holds shares of the offshore company. The offshore company and the domestic company engage an offshore agent and a domestic agent respectively to handle foreign exchange quota applications, stock operations and trading, etc.

跨国公司员工持股计划的常见模式为：境外上市公司作为目标公司，境内公司作为劳动关系下的用人单位，境内个人是境内公司的员工，持有境外公司的股票。境外公司、境内公司分别聘请境外代理机构和境内代理机构处理外汇额度申请、股票操作和买卖等事务。

In the ESOP of a multinational company, there are multiple legal relationships between multiple entities. In addition to acting as an employer under the employment relationship, the domestic company may also act as a domestic agency, and it is not prohibited by law that the domestic agency and the domestic company are the same institution.

在跨国公司的员工持股计划中，多个主体之间存在多个法律关系。境内公司除作为劳动关系下的用人单位外，还可能担任境内代理机构的角色，法律上并不禁止境内代理机构和境内公司是同一家机构。

In 2019, the Supreme People's Court issued the Summaries of the National Conference for the Work of Courts in the Trial of Civil and Commercial Cases, which emphasized the concept of "penetrating trial." In recent years, the penetrating trial method has also been applied to the field of labor disputes, especially in the field of employee stock ownership. The courts generally hold that there is no direct legal relationship between the employees and the onshore companies. Stock options, or restricted stock units, are granted by offshore companies to employees of onshore companies for their outstanding performance. Hence, they are construed as welfare benefits under the employment relationship between domestic individuals and onshore companies.

2019年，最高人民法院发布的《全国法院民商事审判工作会议纪要》中重点强调了“穿透式审判”的审判理念。近年来，在劳动争议领域，尤其是员工持股的股权激励争议领域也开始适用穿透式审判。法院在审理案件时通常会认为，境外公司与境内个人不存在直接的法律关系，境外公司之所以授予境内个人股票期权或者限制性股票单位，是因为境内个人是境内公司的员工且绩效表现良好，因此，这些股票期权或者限制性股票单位，可以被理解为境内个人与境内公司劳动关系项下的福利待遇。

In cases where there are "connecting points", the court will tend to hear the case in a penetrating way. Common "connecting points" include references to the salary package, including stocks, in the offer of onshore companies, employment contract, employee handbooks or other documents and references to stock-related matters in employment separation documents.

在存在“连接点”的案件中，法院会更加倾向于采用穿透式审判的方式进行审理。常见的“连接点”包括在境内公司的offer、劳动合同、员工手册等文件中提及包括股票在内的整体薪酬，以及在离职文件中提醒股票操作相关事宜。

In practice, it is recommended that corporations set up a global stock team to handle the work related to ESOP, and " de-employ" the ESOP. For example, avoid mentioning the ESOP in remuneration packages in the offer, employment contract, employee handbook, etc. Meanwhile, the contents of the relevant documents of the domestic company (i.e., the actual employer) in the ESOP should be separated.

在实践中，建议公司设立专门处理员工持股计划相关工作的团队，将股权激励计划“去劳动化”。例如，避免在录用通知、劳动合同中的薪酬部分提及股权激励计划。同时，将境内公司（即实际用人单位）在股权激励计划相关文件的内容中剥离出来。