Abstract: Network platforms promote the rise of the gig economy, which brings impacts and challenges to the current Labor Law. On one hand, if we simply define the relationship between the laborers and the network platforms as employment relationship, it will cause some unreasonable burden. On the other hand, if we define it as non-employment relationship, some rights and interests of the laborers can’t be guaranteed. The impacts and challenges caused by the platform economy result from the recognition of whether there is employment relationship or not. To regulate the platform economy by the Labor Law, it shall change the approach of imposing or exempting from liabilities according to the recognition of employment relationship and adopt functionalist and anti-essentialist approaches. Specifically speaking, it shall make a functionalist analysis on the liabilities regulated by the Labor Law and analyze what kind of network platforms should assume what kind of liabilities. When it comes to the whole concept, it shall adopt “promotion-based regulations” on the labor problems of the platform economy. It shall also keep balance between promoting the labor market to work well and protecting the rights and interests of the laborers.

Keywords: network platforms; the gig economy; employment relationship; promotion-based regulation

(Editor: XU Jing)