Abstract: With the official establishment of the occupational injury protection system for flexible employees on platforms, a new round of pilot programs will soon be launched. Regarding the questions of how the occupational injury protection system is formed and how the future pilot programs will be carried out, the path dependence and constraining conditions of the system development should be explored at the early stage of the pilot programs. The reason for the initiation of the pilot programs is the lack of institutional protection of flexible employees from occupational injury risks. The pilot programs implemented in various regions mainly include such plans as "direct participation in work-related injury insurances", "voluntary participation in single work-related injury insurance", and "non-work-related injury insurances". "Non-work-related injury insurances" include social compensation, government-led commercial insurance and new insurances. The main problems of the pilot programs are insufficient legitimacy, insufficient coverage of guarantees to adapt to new business forms, poor effect of voluntary insurance, unclear identification of occupational injuries, and insufficient protection benefits. The new occupational injury protection system solves most of the problems that have arisen in the pilot programs, draws on the experience and lessons of the pilot programs, and is the optimum result under the constraints of the current system.

Author:Wang Tianyu, deputy head and an associate research fellow of the Social Law Department, CASS Law Institute.

Source: 4 (2021) China Law Review