On February 19, the food delivery industry ushered in a major change. JD.com and Meituan successively announced that they would pay social security for food delivery riders, which aroused widespread social attention. This move not only concerns the vital interests of millions of food delivery riders, but also marks a key step for the food delivery industry in terms of labor protection.

JD.com takes the lead

On the morning of February 19, the "JD.com Blackboard" announced that from March 1, 2025, JD.com will gradually pay five insurances and one fund for JD.com's full-time food delivery riders, and provide accident insurance and health insurance for part-time riders.

Previously, on February 11, JD.com announced the official launch of JD.com food delivery, dropping a depth bomb in the local life track. On the same day, JD.com food delivery officially launched the recruitment of "quality dine-in catering merchants", and merchants who settled in before May 1, 2025 can enjoy commission-free throughout the year. In order to better meet consumers' pursuit of "food safety and quality food delivery", recruitment is limited to "quality dine-in restaurants".

As the first platform to pay five social insurances and one housing fund for food delivery riders, JD.com is at the forefront in protecting the rights and interests of riders. Previously, JD Logistics has provided five social insurances and one housing fund for couriers. This time, the policy has been extended to food delivery riders, which reflects the company's emphasis on employee welfare. JD.com said that it hopes to allow food delivery riders to "have old-age care, medical treatment, and compensation for injuries" through this move, and is willing to work with all sectors of society to promote and continuously improve the protection of food delivery riders' rights and interests. 

Meituan followed closely

Meituan announced on the same day that it is expected to start implementing it in the second quarter of 2025, and gradually pay social insurance for full-time and stable part-time riders.

Meituan said that since July 2022, it has invested 1.4 billion to pay occupational injury premiums for all riders in seven pilot provinces and cities, and will further cover all riders in all provinces and cities in the future. Since last year, Meituan has conducted serious research on social security schemes such as pension insurance for riders, selected different regions and cities for in-depth research, and formed a preliminary pilot plan under the guidance of relevant departments. It is currently building an information system related to rider social security.

In addition, in 2025, Meituan will completely cancel the fine for overtime delivery, implement "anti-fatigue" measures, and accelerate the construction of friendly scenarios in all fields such as "rider-friendly communities" to improve the working environment and welfare benefits of riders.

The takeaway industry may usher in a new pattern

The rider social security policies launched by JD.com and Meituan may trigger a new round of competition in the takeaway industry. Industry insiders believe that these measures will promote the industry to develop in a more standardized and healthy direction, and help to form a stable and professional delivery team.

Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, said that JD.com and Meituan pay social security for takeaway riders, which has a demonstration effect on the standardized and healthy development of the entire takeaway industry. This will promote the takeaway industry to pay more attention to the protection of workers' rights and interests, promote the industry from disorderly competition to orderly competition, and improve the overall service level and competitiveness.

However, the implementation of the protection of riders' rights and interests still requires the joint efforts of multiple parties, including government departments, enterprises and all sectors of society, in order to establish a complete protection system for workers in the new employment form. 

Editor's note:

For a long time, the group of food delivery riders has faced the problem of high work intensity, high risk and insufficient protection. The measures taken by JD.com and Meituan to pay social security for food delivery riders reflect the attention and protection of JD.com and Meituan as e-commerce platforms to the rights and interests of food delivery riders, and are also in line with the trend of my country's continuous strengthening of the protection of the rights and interests of workers in new employment forms in recent years.

From the perspective of enterprises, paying social security for riders can help enhance the sense of belonging and loyalty of riders, reduce personnel turnover, and thus ensure the stability and quality of food delivery services. From a social perspective, paying social security for food delivery riders can help promote social equity and stability. As an emerging employment group, food delivery riders have made great contributions to economic development and the convenience of residents' lives. Giving them due protection can enable them to better integrate into society and share the fruits of development. At the same time, this also provides valuable experience for solving labor security issues under emerging employment forms.

Of course, there may be some challenges in the implementation process. For example, how to balance corporate costs and protect the rights and interests of riders to ensure the sustainability of policies; how to formulate more suitable social security payment and use plans based on the flexibility of riders' work. However, with the joint efforts and exploration of all parties, these problems are expected to be gradually resolved.

In general, JD.com and Meituan have successively paid social security for food delivery riders, which is an important milestone in the development of the food delivery industry. This move will promote the industry to develop more healthily and sustainably, so that the food delivery rider group can get due care and protection, and also explore a feasible path for labor protection in emerging employment forms.

Intern Editor:Yinghao HUANG