Arlo Kipfer

Arlo is based in Bogotá, where he advises clients on Latin America and China business issues. In addition, Arlo has advised clients on the establishment of several independent and joint venture international schools and he is a frequent speaker at international school conferences.

How to terminate a china employee

China Employee Terminations: Make Them Mutual When Possible

1. Why Mutual Termination Agreements With Departing Employees Are So Important Terminating China-based employees is difficult. Article 40(2) of China’s Labor Contract Law permits an employer to unilaterally terminate an employee, with severance, if the employee is incompetent and remains incompetent after training or assignment to a different position. In practice though, Chinese courts tend to be

China employment law

China Employee Problems: If You’ve Got One You’ve Probably Got Many

As regular readers of this blog should know, employers in China, (especially foreign employers) face myriad, complicated and hypertechnical local employment laws. This often means that one small employer mistake can lead to big and expensive problems. As much as we wish all our employment law clients would first come to us requesting we audit

China employee termination

China Employee Terminations in These Tough Times

Even in the best of times, employee terminations in China are fraught with risk. A mishandled China employee termination (or even just the discussions surrounding the termination) can quickly cause problems. China's declining economy has weakened its job market and made both employees and the government more likely to fight back against any little termination mistake.

red lights

China Implements “Measures for the Security Assessment of Outbound Data Transfers”

Back in 2020 I wrote a series of three blog posts titled “China Cybersecurity: No Place to Hide”. And two years before that, we started writing about China’s Personal Information Security Specification. On July 7, 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) issued the Measures for the Security Assessment of Outbound Data Transfers (Security Assessment

China Manufacturing Agreements

Manufacturing in China: Minimizing Your Risks by Doing Things Right

This very long post aims to provide an overview of the challenges of manufacturing in China, as well as strategies for minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities. It outlines the administrative and regulatory requirements, process and production challenges, and specific cultural and market-specific risks.

China company chop/seal

The Chinese Company Chop Goes Digital

A China company chop is an official seal or stamp that legally binds the company to what it has agreed to in the document on which its company chop has been stamped. Under Chinese law, a company chop is strong legal evidence of the agreement of the company whose chop is on the document. The company chop (a.k.a company seal or company stamp) essentially replaces a signature on contracts and other important documents. The company chop binds the entire company, usually no matter who (if anyone) actually puts their signature on the document.

China business laws

Moving Personnel from Third-party Hiring Agencies to your China WFOE

As China increases its restrictions on hiring personnel via third party employment agencies (sometimes referred to as FESCO companies or staffing agencies), and as companies are increasingly deciding on whether to double down in China or just leave, our international employment lawyers are increasingly being tasked with helping clients move personnel from third party hiring companies to newly formed or existing WFOEs.

China NNN Agreements

China NNN Agreements: Essential and NOT for Trade Secrets

When my law firm’s international manufacturing lawyers  work on international manufacturing arrangements, we never just draft a “straight NDA.” Instead, we draft a “non-disclosure/non-use/non-circumvention agreement” that we refer to as an NNN Agreement. Why? Because a Western-style NDA is worthless or worse for China. For China, you need a China-specific NNN Agreement. 1. China NNN