JC Master Special: May Day “Brick‑Moving” Pitfall‑Avoidance Guide — How Many 300% Returns Are You Worth?

May Day “Brick‑Moving” Pitfall‑Avoidance Guide: How Many 300% Returns Are You Worth?

With airfare and hotel rates for the May Day holiday skyrocketing faster than your heartbeat, you—loyal “chosen worker”—may be facing a tough dilemma: Your boss has asked you to work overtime during the holiday. Should you gladly accept triple pay, or head out to brave the sea of people?

No matter which option you choose, an adult’s confidence ultimately comes from the law. Today, rather than discussing where to go for fun, let’s talk about some legal tidbits that can turn your “paid vacation” into “paid prosperity” during the May Day holiday.

Scene One: That suffocating Friday afternoon before the holidays

At 4:59 p.m., with just 60 seconds left before the end of the workday, a message from the boss popped up in the work group: “@All: The project goes live during the May Day holiday. Everyone will be working overtime on the 13th, with compensatory time off after the holiday.” Your finger hovers over the keyboard, while a barrage of thoughts races through your mind: “Compensatory time off? Isn’t May Day a statutory holiday? Is that even legal?”

Key takeaway from the lawyer: According to Article 2 of the revised “Regulations on Holidays and Commemorative Days Nationwide,” which took effect on January 1, 2025, Labor Day is a statutory holiday lasting two days—May 1 and May 2. These two days are paid statutory holidays, and the provisions of Article 44, Paragraph (3) of the Labor Law apply: for work performed on these days, employees must be paid wages at a rate no less than 300% of their regular wage.

The key point is this: under the law, employers do not have the right to substitute compensatory time off for overtime worked during statutory holidays. The “make‑up days” your employer refers to apply only to the holiday‑adjusted days from May 3 to 5; the triple‑time pay for May 1 and 2 must be paid in cash.

So, when faced with your boss’s notice of “mandatory overtime followed by compensatory time off,” you can mentally calculate: two days of statutory holidays equal an extra six days’ pay (2 days × 300%), so you’re not losing out on this deal.

Scenario 2: How exactly is overtime pay calculated?

Many people’s understanding of “three times the wage” is rather superficial: “My daily wage is 300; three times that would be 900, right? I get it.”

Lawyer’s key takeaway: You’ve got half of it right, but not the whole picture. On January 1, 2025, the General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued a formal document clarifying that overtime pay for statutory holidays must be paid separately at no less than 300% of the regular wage rate. What does this mean? Statutory holidays are already paid under Article 51 of the Labor Law—so even if you spend the day at home watching TV, your wages are still guaranteed. Therefore, when you’re required to work overtime on a statutory holiday, your earnings for that day are structured as follows:

Regular wages (included in the monthly salary) plus an additional 300% overtime pay equal a total of four times the daily wage received on that day.

The technical term is the “1+3” model, which can be expressed mathematically as:

(1) Overtime pay for statutory holidays = Monthly wage base ÷ 21.75 days × 300% × Number of overtime days;
(2) Overtime pay for rest days = Monthly salary base ÷ 21.75 days × 200% × Number of overtime days (where 21.75 days is the statutory monthly paid‑days figure, calculated as (365 − 104) ÷ 12; if you can’t remember this formula, just keep in mind that 21.75 is a constant used by law to compute your pay).

The rule of thumb is: statutory holidays must be paid, and days off can be swapped for compensatory time off. Next time your boss says, “I’ll give you a day off,” first ask which specific days they’re referring to.

For example: Mr. Wang earns a monthly salary of 6,525 yuan, which works out to roughly 300 yuan per day. If he works overtime on May 1, his overtime pay is 300 × 300% = 900 yuan; adding this to his regular daily wage of 300 yuan, he receives a total of 1,200 yuan for that day. If he works overtime on May 3 without taking compensatory time off, his overtime pay is 300 × 200% = 600 yuan.

Scene Three: “On Duty” and “Overtime”—a single character makes all the difference, leaving your wallet light-years away from the other.

On May Day, the administration notified you: “Xiao Wang, come into the office for a shift. There’s not much to do—just sit and answer the phone, and handle any urgent matters that come up.”

You figure, “It’s not like there’s anything else to do—might as well go.” Then, at the end of the month, you glance at your pay stub: a shift allowance of 50 yuan per day.

Key takeaway from the lawyer: You may have been subjected to a “conceptual sleight of hand.” According to judicial practice—see the “Answers of the Beijing Higher People’s Court and the Beijing Municipal Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission on the Adjudication of Labor Dispute Cases (I)” —overtime refers to continuing to perform work in one’s own position or in a functionally equivalent role, whereas on‑call duty involves non‑productive, non‑job‑specific supervisory tasks undertaken for reasons such as safety or fire prevention, during which rest is permitted.

The key is this: look at the actual work performed. If, during your “on‑call” period, you’re still coding, preparing PowerPoint presentations, or responding to client emails—sorry, that’s legally considered overtime, not on‑call duty, and you should be paid at the overtime rate.

Pro tip: If you’re scheduled to “on‑call” during the May Day holiday, be sure to keep solid evidence of your actual work—such as chat logs from work groups, email exchanges, and file‑modification records. In case of a dispute down the line, this will serve as irrefutable proof that what you were doing was overtime disguised as on‑call duty.

Scenario Four: When it comes to the base salary for calculating overtime pay, does the company call the shots, or does the law?

Some companies stipulate in their employment contracts: “Overtime pay shall be calculated based on the local minimum wage.” Yet your actual monthly salary is 15,000 yuan, while the local minimum wage is just over 2,000 yuan. By this calculation, your threefold overtime compensation instantly shrinks to the equivalent of “three times the subsistence allowance.”

Key takeaway from the lawyer: Such contractual provisions may be deemed invalid in judicial practice. According to Article 55 of the former Ministry of Labor’s “Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China,” as well as prevailing local adjudicatory rules, the base for calculating overtime pay shall be determined based on the wages an employee is entitled to during regular working hours. If the agreed-upon base is unreasonably low and manifestly unfair, the court will reassess it.

General practice guidelines: 1. If the labor contract contains an agreement, wages shall be paid in accordance with that agreement (provided they are not lower than the minimum wage); 2. If the actual wage exceeds the agreed amount, it shall be calculated based on the regular working‑hour portion of the actual wage; 3. Benefits such as meal allowances, transportation subsidies, and high‑temperature allowances are generally not included in the wage base; 4. Fixed‑amount performance bonuses are typically recognized for inclusion; purely variable year‑end bonuses, however, are usually excluded.

Scene Five: When defending your rights, your evidence is your “legal weapon.”

What if you’ve experienced all of the above—working overtime, not getting paid, and negotiations falling apart—what should you do?
Time limits/cycles for each procedure: Labor inspection complaints: within 2 years, accompanied by attendance records, pay stubs, and chat screenshots. Labor arbitration: within 1 year (this time limit does not apply to wage claims arising during the duration of the employment relationship). Same as above, plus the labor contract. Court litigation: if dissatisfied with the arbitration award, file a lawsuit within 15 days, submitting the arbitration award and a complete set of evidence.
Burden of proof reminder: Pursuant to Article 6 of the Mediation and Arbitration Law on Labor Disputes, you bear the primary responsibility for proving the facts of overtime work. Please develop good habits: regularly take screenshots of your DingTalk/WeCom clock-in records, keep copies of overtime approval forms, refrain from deleting chat logs, and photograph your pay stubs for archival purposes. These materials should be saved as screenshots in everyday use; when needed, they will serve as strong evidence to safeguard your legitimate labor rights.

The Final Heart-to-Heart

May Day, or International Workers’ Day, traces its origins to the powerful cry of Chicago workers in 1886: “We want the eight-hour workday!” More than a century later, we’re still earnestly debating how overtime pay should be calculated—perhaps a sign that certain rights must be painstakingly won, step by step, by generations of workers and legal professionals alike. But that’s all right; the legal minimum is our ultimate shield, safeguarding the delicate balance between life and work. May every worker receive triple pay for overtime, and may those on leave never have to stare at their work group, replying “Got it” out of obligation.
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