China: Adopted Guidelines for the Protection of Workers' Rights in New Employment Forms

On 23 February 2024, the General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued the Guidelines for the Protection of Workers' Rights in New Employment Forms. The guidelines, which apply to platform intermediaries in e-commerce and other sectors, aim to standardise the development of new employment forms and strengthen the protection of workers' rights. They cover aspects such as working hours, rest, labour remuneration, publicity of labour rules, and service guidelines for workers' rights protection. Specifically, platforms should be clear about which kinds of activities are counted as working hours, remind workers to take breaks, and forbid paying workers in gifts instead of cash.