MEITUAN-W Announces Full Elimination of Overtime Penalties by Year-End
MEITUAN-W has announced the complete cancellation of overtime penalties that have been troubling crowdsourced delivery riders. On August 26, MEITUAN-W held an open day for algorithmic consultation and co-governance for riders in Beijing, publicly disclosing the algorithmic logic of rider delivery operations. This marked the eighth communication session since the company announced eight algorithmic governance measures and established an algorithmic advisory committee at the beginning of the year, and the first time hosting a rider consultation and co-governance open day.
During the open day, MEITUAN-W's rider experience operations director stated that the company will fully cancel overtime penalties, a major concern for crowdsourced riders, by the end of 2025. According to MEITUAN-W, the company previously piloted the "Safety and Punctuality Card" system in Quanzhou, replacing the original overtime penalties with a system that deducts points for delays and adds points for punctual deliveries. Starting in March this year, MEITUAN-W began testing this program in Nanning, Xinxiang, and Nanchang, holding rider discussion meetings to gather feedback and further optimize the product design. As of August, the overtime penalty-free mechanism has been implemented in 22 cities and has received widespread recognition from both riders and society.
In terms of specific measures, the company is replacing order-by-order deductions with training and learning programs, providing relief for riders while signaling a shift in management philosophy from "punishment-based management" to more gentle and scientific positive incentives. At the end of last year, MEITUAN-W also launched nationwide anti-fatigue measures combining "pop-up reminders and forced offline breaks": riders receive a pop-up reminder after working 8 hours, followed by hourly reminders thereafter; they are forced offline after 12 hours and can resume normal order acceptance the next day. Currently, approximately 18% of riders trigger the 8-hour pop-up daily, while only 0.28% trigger the 12-hour forced offline. Since its launch, this feature has helped riders balance work intensity and received detailed improvement suggestions from both riders and experts. Moving forward, the platform will upgrade strategies for riders who consistently handle high order volumes, helping them balance income and health.
Rider traffic safety experience is also one of MEITUAN-W's key improvement priorities this year. Since April, MEITUAN-W has piloted a "Safety Score" system in over 100 cities nationwide. Under traffic management department guidance, the system incorporates traffic safety performance into rider evaluations, using positive incentives to award "Wait for the Light" bonuses to riders who maintain zero red-light violations. Statistics show that under the safety score system this year, rider red-light violations have decreased by 26% compared to the previous period, and over 20,000 riders in pilot cities have received instant cash rewards.
"This year we will also launch a series of optimization measures in areas such as improving rider reporting channels and simplifying appeal processes. For example, we will use AI empowerment to more efficiently identify and categorize problems encountered by riders, reducing the difficulty of rider appeals and improving the efficiency and quality of problem resolution," MEITUAN-W stated.
JD.com Provides Full Five Insurances and One Housing Fund for All Full-Time Delivery Riders, Averaging 2,000 Yuan Per Person Monthly
Since March 1 of this year, JD.com has taken the lead in providing five insurances and one housing fund for delivery riders, with full-time riders receiving significant social attention. According to JD.com's internal communications, as of now, JD.com's full-time delivery riders have exceeded 150,000 people, with the company providing complete five insurances and one housing fund coverage and bearing all costs, averaging approximately 2,000 yuan per person monthly.
For full-time riders, JD.com promises to achieve three 100%s: 100% labor contract signing, 100% complete five insurances and one housing fund, and 100% formal employee benefits. On August 19, JD.com called on the entire industry and all platforms to work together with practical measures to implement various social insurance benefits for riders. "As long as there is a labor relationship between riders and platforms, platforms should sign labor contracts with riders and fulfill the obligation of employers to pay five insurances and one housing fund for employees, allowing riders to share in company development achievements rather than consistently avoiding labor relationships and shirking responsibilities that should be undertaken."
Beijing Expands Occupational Injury Protection Pilot Program for New Employment Form Workers
Recently, Beijing's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Municipal Trade Union, and nine other departments issued a notice on expanding the occupational injury protection pilot program for new employment form workers. The program expands coverage to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of new employment form workers and promote the standardized and healthy development of platform economy.
The notice proposes expanding Beijing's occupational injury protection pilot program in phases and gradually, based on national regulations and Beijing's actual conditions. Starting July 1, 2025, the original food delivery and instant delivery industries will be merged into a new instant delivery industry. Building on already piloted platform enterprises, Didi Chuxing, SF Intra-City, Didi Freight, and Manbang will be included in Beijing's occupational injury protection pilot program, along with other platform enterprises in the ride-hailing industry with Beijing online car-hailing operation qualifications. From 2026 onwards, in accordance with national arrangements and Beijing's actual conditions, other platform enterprises meeting the conditions for participating in occupational injury protection pilots will be included in Beijing's pilot program at appropriate times.
Relevant platform enterprises should pay occupational injury protection fees for new employment form workers registered on their platforms and taking orders in Beijing through real-name registration systems, achieving coverage for every order and every person. Platform enterprises should declare and pay occupational injury protection fees to competent tax authorities monthly in full amounts, with declared data consistent with national information platforms. Occupational injury protection fee standards are determined based on the principle of expenditure-based income and balanced revenue and expenditure.
During the pilot period, Beijing implements nationally determined industry baseline payment amounts: ride-hailing industry at 0.01 yuan per order; instant delivery industry at 0.07 yuan and 0.25 yuan per order; intra-city freight industry at 0.18 yuan per order. When the nation adjusts baseline payment amounts, Beijing will implement them according to regulations.
Better Protecting Rights and Interests of New Employment Form Workers
Recent measures by two major platform enterprises have attracted social attention: MEITUAN-W announced the full cancellation of overtime penalties for crowdsourced riders by the end of 2025, establishing positive incentive mechanisms to replace punitive measures; JD.com provides five insurances and one housing fund for full-time delivery riders, fully bearing social insurance and other costs averaging approximately 2,000 yuan per person monthly. These changes reflect platform enterprises' increased focus on protecting the rights and interests of new employment form workers.
With the vigorous development of platform economy, new employment forms have become important channels for job absorption. Nationwide, riders, drivers, delivery personnel, and others employed through internet platforms have reached 84 million people. They navigate urban streets and alleys, connecting thousands of households, becoming an indispensable part of social development. Effectively strengthening rights protection for new employment form workers is both a "new challenge" in economic and social development and a "mandatory question" requiring detailed answers.
It should be noted that due to characteristics such as flexible employment methods and loose organizational structures, new employment forms create complex and diverse situations in labor disputes, presenting many new challenges in worker rights protection. In 2024, national courts concluded over 80,000 first-instance civil cases involving new employment forms, covering social insurance disputes, insurance contract disputes, traffic accident liability disputes, and other aspects. For example, some enterprises avoid labor relationships by signing contracting agreements with workers, attempting to use "sleight of hand" to cut corners in worker rights protection; others ignore safety risks in pursuit of delivery efficiency. These problems not only affect the sense of fulfillment among new employment form workers but also constrain the healthy development of platform economy to some extent.
Judicial rulings play important value-guiding roles. In recent years, judicial organs have issued authoritative cases, explaining laws through cases and clarifying rules, establishing "weathervanes" for worker rights protection. In a typical case released by the Supreme People's Court, when a delivery rider suffered infringement damage while performing work tasks, the court clarified that after workers receive occupational injury protection benefits for new employment form workers, they still have the right to request third parties to bear infringement liability according to law, with no duplication between the two. Such rulings are significant not only for strengthening occupational safety "protection networks" at the individual case level but also for judicial demonstration and guidance in promoting healthy and standardized development of new business format economy.
Better protecting rights and interests of new employment form workers requires implementing responsibilities across all parties. On one hand, relevant law enforcement and judicial departments should increase efforts to combat behaviors that infringe on worker rights, smooth rights protection channels, and provide more precise and convenient legal services for new employment form workers, helping those whose rights are damaged receive timely remedies. On the other hand, platform enterprises must earnestly shoulder main responsibilities by optimizing platform rules and algorithms to enable workers to work with dignity. Additionally, efforts should be made to unite all sectors of society to form joint forces. Currently, some neighborhood communities have established warming stations, promoting solutions to urgent concerns such as work and rest issues for new employment groups. Such warming gestures facilitate new employment form workers while advancing grassroots social governance.
New employment form workers are creators and guardians of better lives. Only by continuously strengthening legal protection networks and protecting their legitimate rights and interests according to law can we further consolidate the happiness foundation of thousands of households and promote the steady and long-term development of platform economy.