1. China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has released a 54-article draft rule, open for public comment until Nov. 8, that would establish the country’s first ministerial regulation specifically protecting workers in the gig economy, including food-delivery riders, couriers, ride-hailing drivers, and truck drivers. The proposal reflects Beijing’s effort to extend labor protections to a workforce that has grown rapidly alongside internet platforms but often falls outside conventional labor-law definitions due to flexible and complex employment arrangements. [para. 1][para. 2][para. 3]
2. The draft determines employment relationships based on whether a platform exercises “controlling labor management” over workers. Workers subject to such control and meeting employment-relationship conditions must receive labor contracts; the same applies when a platform’s partner company recruits and manages workers in an employment relationship. If the relationship does not meet the formal threshold, platforms must sign a written work agreement—or a three-party agreement when both platform and partner jointly manage the worker. The rules do not apply to independent business operators or freelancers using platforms. Platforms must vet partners, bear employer responsibility for unqualified partners, and are prohibited from encouraging workers to register as sole proprietors or using multilayer subcontracting to evade obligations. In disputes, workers may name both platform and labor-service partner as joint parties. [para. 7][para. 8][para. 9][para. 10][para. 11][para. 12]
3. The proposal sets detailed pay protections: minimum-wage calculations must subtract workers’ costs for providing their own equipment or tools, ensuring net earnings do not fall below local minimum wage. Workers can withdraw compensation on the agreed cycle without fees. The draft encourages positive incentives and prohibits abuse of fines and punitive measures, addressing complaints about arbitrary deductions. It also requires transparent rules and breaks to protect rest rights, as well as labor protections in severe weather, given the outdoor nature of much gig work. [para. 13][para. 14][para. 15]
4. The draft restricts platforms’ handling of worker data. Personal information may be processed only lawfully, properly, necessarily, in good faith, and only to the extent required for work management. Platforms must establish accurate work records that workers can conveniently view and download through apps or other channels, and companies must retain records for at least two years after a worker leaves. [para. 16][para. 17]
5. A prominent section targets algorithmic management. Platforms must explain the basic principles and operating mechanisms of their algorithms to workers and are barred from algorithmic discrimination. Decisions with major consequences—such as suspending order assignments or banning accounts—cannot be made automatically by an algorithm and require human review. Wang Tianyu, deputy director of the social-law research division at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Law, said this provision addresses public concern that delivery riders and other platform workers have become trapped by algorithmically imposed targets. [para. 18][para. 19][para. 20]
6. The ministry noted existing labor laws do not always apply directly to platform work, but experience since a 2021 policy guideline on protecting gig workers allowed mature policies to be turned into binding institutional rules and address gaps. Wang said platform work has become an important part of China’s employment landscape, with complaints including withheld compensation, excessively long hours, inadequate safety protections, opaque algorithmic rules, and lack of occupational-injury coverage. Shen Jianfeng, a law professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said parts of the draft adapt traditional labor standards to platform conditions, while provisions on data protection and algorithm rules represent institutional innovations. Public comments can be submitted via the ministry’s website, mail, or email. [para. 6][para. 21][para. 22][para. 23]
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