Job traps have been renovated, and Shanghai has announced a number of typical cases
High salary, on-the-job training, guaranteed employment? Be careful to avoid these "pits" when applying for jobs
It’s the job hunting season again, and all kinds of illegal activities that infringe on workers’ employment rights are taking new forms, making it difficult for many job seekers to distinguish authenticity from fake ones. Recently, Shanghai has announced a number of typical cases involving illegal recruitment information, employment discrimination, illegal fees, etc., to guide human resources service agencies and employers to operate in a law-abiding manner and standardize recruitment of workers. It also reminds job seekers to increase their legal awareness and learn to identify job traps.
Due to weak legal awareness, some companies publish recruitment information with hidden illegal terms. The recruitment information posted by a labor service outsourcing company in Shanghai at its business premises contained illegal content such as "the salary is 23 yuan/hour, the settlement will be 20 yuan/hour if you are not working on the payday, and there is no salary for less than 5 days." Another human resources company posted a recruitment information that said "only male workers", and the relevant positions were not within the prohibited labor scope for female employees, which constituted employment discrimination.
According to relevant regulations, recruitment information released by human resources service agencies must be true and legal, and must not set conditions that restrict the flow of human resources in violation of regulations. They must adhere to the bottom line of legal operations, establish and improve internal review, self-examination and rectification mechanisms for recruitment information, and are strictly prohibited from setting unreasonable salary settlements, length of employment and other restrictive terms. Regarding the above-mentioned labor outsourcing company, the Songjiang District regulatory department ordered it to make corrections within a time limit according to law. At present, the company has completed the rectification and submitted a rectification report. At the same time, except for the prohibited labor scope for female employees clearly stipulated by the state, no institution or employer may refuse to recruit female employees on the basis of gender, and recruitment information must not contain gender-discriminatory content. Regarding gender discrimination cases, the companies involved have also been dealt with accordingly.
Supervisory authorities remind workers that when applying for jobs, they should carefully screen recruitment information, focus on confirming core contents such as salary settlement, job requirements, and resignation rules, prudently sign employment agreements and labor contracts, and safeguard their rights and interests in accordance with the law.
Online platforms are currently the main channel for job seekers to obtain job information, and some companies take advantage of this opportunity to make profits in violation of regulations. A human resources management company in Shanghai did not obtain a human resources service license and engaged in employment agency activities without authorization, charging a total of 278,000 yuan in agency fees from five job seekers. This type of criminal entity often uses "regular employment and stable high salary" as bait to charge high referral fees in violation of regulations, infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of job seekers.
At present, the company has been ordered to stop engaging in professional intermediary activities, its illegal gains were confiscated and a fine of 40,000 yuan was imposed; the market supervision and management department imposed an administrative penalty of 20,000 yuan on it; the public security organs opened a case for investigation into its suspected fraud, and the legal representative of the company, Zhang, has been subject to criminal compulsory measures.
“High-paying recruitment” is also a trap type that job seekers need to be wary of. After investigation, Du controlled three companies, including a logistics company, to publish truck driver recruitment advertisements through the Internet platform, such as "delivery of alcoholic beverages for 480 yuan for half a day, company-matched cars", "monthly income of over 10,000 yuan" and "guaranteed income". He used high salary as bait to attract drivers to apply for the job, but later required them to sign a car rental contract and pay deposits, rents, information service fees and other fees. The actual content of dispatched orders was seriously inconsistent with the promised work content, and the income was far lower than the advertised standard. To continue to perform the contract, they had to pay monthly rent for the vehicle. Most drivers were forced to terminate the contract. The gang refused to return the deposit and demanded additional liquidated damages on the grounds of breach of contract.
The Jiading Public Security Bureau confirmed that the gang committed fraud through high-paying online services, renting cars through routines, and maliciously deducting deposits and liquidated damages. More than 70 drivers were defrauded, and the amount involved was more than 3 million yuan. At present, 18 suspects including Du have been subject to criminal compulsory measures, and the case is under further investigation.
Relevant departments in Shanghai remind job seekers not to believe in verbal promises and propaganda such as "on the job" or "high salary", and to give priority to applying for jobs through public human resources service agencies or commercial human resources service agencies with formal qualifications. When encountering situations such as "low threshold, high salary, and required deposit payment", you must increase your risk awareness and beware of fraud. Before signing a labor contract, verify the business qualifications of the recruiting unit, carefully review the work content, income composition, liability for breach of contract and other terms, and do not blindly follow verbal promises. Be highly vigilant against recruitment requests that require the payment of deposits and security deposits to avoid property losses, and call the police immediately if you find you have been deceived.
Our reporter Pei Longxiang
"Worker Daily" (September 07, 2026, Page 06)
