Starting this month, the occupational injury protection pilot for workers in new forms of employment has been fully extended across all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced that 14 new platform companies, primarily in the online mobility and instant delivery sectors, have been added to the pilot program this month.
The protection scheme operates on a daily enrollment, per-order fee calculation, and monthly payment basis, with the costs fully covered by the platform companies themselves, meaning drivers and delivery riders are not required to pay any fees.
Pilot Coverage Across Three Sectors
Launched on July 1, 2022, the pilot initially covered all active workers for 11 major platform companies across three sectors—mobility, instant delivery, and intra-city freight—in 17 provinces.
As of the end of June 2026, the pilot had enrolled a cumulative total of 29.902 million participants, effectively providing protection against occupational injuries, particularly serious accidents, for these workers.
The recent expansion involves both broadening the geographic scope and increasing the number of participating platforms.
The pilot regions have been expanded from the original 17 provinces to cover all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
A total of 14 new platform companies have been added.
In the mobility sector, the new additions include nine platforms: T3 Go, Huaxiaozhu Chuxing, Sunshine Mobility, Ruqi Mobility, Xiangdao Mobility, Jishi Yongche, Fengyun Chuxing, Shouqi Yueche, and Meituan Taxi.
In the instant delivery sector, five platforms have been included: Xiaoxiang Supermarket, Freshippo (operated by Alibaba), Dingdong Maicai, PUPU Supermarket, and UU Paotui.
Prior to this expansion, the pilot already covered 11 major platform companies, including CaoCao Mobility, DiDi Chuxing, Meituan, Ele.me, Dada Now, Flash Express, SF Intra-City, Huolala, Kuaigou Dache, DiDi Freight, and Manbang/ShengSheng.
With the addition of these 14 new platforms, the total number of major platform companies participating in the national pilot has significantly increased.
Wang Li, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry's Work-Related Injury Insurance Department, stated that beyond these national platforms, provinces will also incorporate relevant small and medium-sized platforms registered within their jurisdictions, following a "include as they mature" approach, aiming for overall inclusion within the year.
In 2027, following further research and assessment, there will be exploration into extending the pilot to platform companies in other sectors with higher occupational injury risks and greater labor management intensity.
Mandatory Coverage for All Eligible Workers
The occupational injury protection is primarily targeted at workers in new employment forms who are registered on platforms, accept orders, and provide labor in the name of the platform company in sectors like mobility, instant delivery, and intra-city freight to earn income.
This means that drivers, food delivery riders, couriers, and intra-city freight drivers who accept orders on platforms included in the pilot are eligible for this protection.
During the pilot phase, the principle is "every order insured, every person insured." Platform companies cannot selectively enroll only some workers, nor can they exclude workers based on low order volume, part-time status, or working for multiple platforms simultaneously.
If a worker is registered on multiple platforms, each platform is required to enroll them in the occupational injury protection scheme.
According to the trial measures, workers like drivers and riders do not need to handle enrollment procedures themselves, nor do they pay any premiums.
Platform companies are required to enroll workers in the local protection scheme at the location where orders are accepted, using real-name registration, and must collect and report daily data on workers and orders.
Costs Borne by Platform Companies
The protection operates on a per-order fee calculation and monthly payment system, with all costs borne by the platform companies.
The premium standards are determined based on the principle of balancing expenditures with income.
Under the current trial measures, the national base premium is 0.01 yuan per order for the mobility sector, 0.07 yuan or 0.25 yuan per order for the instant delivery sector, and 0.18 yuan per order for the intra-city freight sector.
Newly participating platforms will pay the national base rate for their industry in the first year, with the instant delivery sector initially set at 0.07 yuan per order.
Subsequently, provinces can adjust the premium for platform companies within their jurisdiction annually, using the national base rate as a benchmark, with adjustments made in 10% increments (up or down, not exceeding 50%), based on fund usage and injury incidence rates.
For instant delivery platforms using the 0.07 yuan base rate, if the previous year's payout ratio exceeded 100% and balance could not be achieved even after a 50% increase, the rate can be adjusted to 0.25 yuan for the current year, with further adjustments allowed.
Conversely, if the rate was 0.25 yuan and the payout ratio was below 100% with a surplus even after a 50% decrease, the rate can be adjusted to 0.07 yuan for the year.
Procedures Following an Accident
According to the trial measures, an occupational injury is confirmed if a worker suffers an accident, violence, or other unexpected harm, or goes missing, while performing a platform order task.
Deaths from sudden illness during task performance, or within 48 hours of rescue efforts, are also covered.
Injuries sustained while traveling to or from designated platform activities like training, or on a reasonable route home after completing an order, due to traffic accidents not primarily the worker's fault, are also eligible for coverage.
Injuries sustained while engaging in activities to protect national or public interests, such as disaster relief, or recurrence of old injuries for disabled military personnel under certain circumstances, are also included.
The period "while performing a platform order task" is generally defined from the start to the completion of the assigned order.
For workers on multiple platforms, the platform from which the active order was being fulfilled at the time of the accident bears responsibility.
If handling multiple orders simultaneously makes it difficult to determine responsibility, the platform associated with the first accepted order on the same route is held accountable.
In the event of an accident, drivers and riders should seek immediate medical treatment and report the incident through channels like the "one-click report" feature in the platform's app.
Platform companies are obligated to assist workers in receiving treatment and must provide order data, such as pickup times, locations, and travel routes, along with accident documentation.
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