Do I need to pay a confidentiality fee to sign a confidentiality agreement?

What are the types of contracts that the company has to sign with its employees, and do they have to pay confidentiality fees?

Chinese law does not stipulate whether the employee needs to pay the confidentiality fee when signing the confidentiality agreement, so whether the employer needs to pay the confidentiality fee after signing the confidentiality agreement can stipulate in the confidentiality agreement. There is no mandatory provision in the law, so the employer may or may not pay the confidentiality fee after signing the confidentiality agreement, depending on the circumstances. According to the law, the employer and the employee may agree in the employment contract to keep the employer's trade secrets and confidential matters related to intellectual property rights.

The confidentiality obligation is a statutory obligation, while the non-compete obligation is a contractual obligation. The employee's duty of confidentiality stems from the employee's duty of loyalty to the employer. The duty of loyalty is an obligation generally assumed by the parties to a contract based on the principle of good faith.

In the labor contract, because of the personal nature of the labor contract, the degree of loyalty obligations undertaken by the employee is obviously greater than that of the general civil and commercial contract. As long as the employee becomes a member of the employer, he or she must protect the legitimate rights and interests of the employer and bear the obligation of confidentiality. The duty of confidentiality is statutory, and the employee should abide by it even if it is not agreed by the parties in the employment contract.

The non-compete must be agreed upon by both parties. After the termination of the employment relationship, the employee does not automatically have the obligation of non-competition, unless there is an agreement between the parties.

Legal basis: Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China Article 23 The employer and the employee may agree in the labor contract to keep the employer's trade secrets and confidential matters related to intellectual property rights.

For employees who are obliged to maintain confidentiality, the employer may stipulate a non-compete clause with the employee in the employment contract or confidentiality agreement, and stipulate that after the termination or termination of the labor contract, the employee will be compensated monthly during the non-compete period. If the employee violates the non-compete agreement, he shall pay liquidated damages to the employer in accordance with the agreement.

Article 509 of the Civil Code.

The parties shall fully perform their obligations in accordance with the agreement. The parties shall follow the principle of good faith, and perform obligations such as notification, assistance, and confidentiality in accordance with the nature and purpose of the contract, and transaction customs. In the process of performing the contract, the parties shall avoid wasting resources, polluting the environment and damaging the ecology.

Article 577.

If one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or the performance of its contractual obligations does not conform to the agreement, it shall bear the liability for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses.