[33a]

In china an employer is required to pay something like 30% of your salary if it elects to enforce a non-compete. If the company doesn't pay you, then it's non-enforceable. Assuming you were at some decent compensation, this can actually be quite a bit of money. So if these workers took that pay cheque, they get to enjoy the timeoff during the non-compete and go party or start a family or whatever. The downside of the non-competes in China though is that because you are being paid to NOT work, if you start moonlighting or doing something sketchy the penalties are way more severe. I actually kind of like this approach to non-competes and it is in some ways better than how it works in many US states.

https://goglobalgeo.com/blog/non-compete-clauses-in-china-re...

The big problem with this system is not the penalties for breaking it, but the fact that it can sabotage you if you get hit too early in your career with a big gap. On the other hand, it gives you a nice opportunity to take a year or two off to start a family, spin up a new business or go back to school.

[jncfhnb]

30% of an entry level job is not a living wage, let alone a lot of money.

This guy was getting about $6k per year for his non compete, and has been sued for $60k. This has effectively destroyed the prospects of this guy’s entire life. He couldn’t mentally endure what they were demanding, and then they gave him a non living wage while simultaneously forbidding him from finding employment.

[JumpCrisscross]

FTA:

“Yao’s agreement prohibited him from working for rivals for nine months, during which time he would receive Rmb3,700 ($513) a month. It was too little to live on, Yao said.”

[33a]

Yeah, and it's very weird to bring a non-compete down on an entry level worker like this. Under what circumstances is it even worth it for PDD to spend the resources to enforce and monitor this kind of an agreement? I wonder if there's more to this story than the FTA?

Also keep in mind this guy could have easily gotten a different job while still collecting the non-compete pay at a non-rival company, even still doing programming. Something about it doesn't quite add up to me.

[gs17]

> Under what circumstances is it even worth it for PDD to spend the resources to enforce and monitor this kind of an agreement?

Do you know that the marginal cost for monitoring an extra ex-employee is that large? If they catch someone like him, it seems like it has to pay for itself.

[gs17]

> they get to enjoy the timeoff during the non-compete and go party or start a family

On one hand, you have a guaranteed income for a few months, but I wouldn't be starting a family or partying if was living somewhere where I expected to make over 3x more. Here, rent alone is expected to a third of your income.

[ffgjgf1]

> 30% > Assuming you were at some decent compensation

Assuming your compensation was well above average and you lived quite frugally and well below your means.

There are countries in Europe where you can claim unemployment even if you left on your own and that would pay more so it doesn’t seem like a very good system at all. Of course nobody would really expect a “communist” country like China to not have garbage tier workers rights..