The high-temperature allowance standard has not changed for 9 years! Can it be dynamically adjusted?, Continuous record high salary in temperature | allowance | standard

The summer in Beijing this year has been a bit tough, with just one rainfall and another round of hot weather.

The "Measures for the Management of Heatstroke Prevention and Cooling Measures" jointly issued by the State Administration of Work Safety, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the All China Federation of Trade Unions and other units in 2012 stipulated that if an employer arranges for workers to engage in outdoor work in high temperature weather above 35 ℃ and cannot take effective measures to reduce the workplace temperature to below 33 ℃, a high-temperature allowance should be issued to the workers.

Can new forms of employment such as food delivery riders who work outdoors for extended periods of time receive high-temperature allowances due to the ongoing heat? How can their "cooling rights" be protected? It has been over 9 years since the last adjustment of the high-temperature allowance standard. With the increase of average wages and prices, can the high-temperature allowance also be dynamically adjusted? The reporter conducted an interview on this.

Some delivery riders have never heard of the high temperature allowance

Before 10 o'clock in the morning, the temperature had already exceeded 30 ℃. Under an office building in the Wangjing area of Chaoyang, SF Express delivery worker Mr. Niu was busy scanning and sorting parcels.

"We have a high temperature allowance of over 100 yuan per month, which is paid together with the salary." Mr. Niu said that he has signed a labor contract with the company, and every summer, there will be an additional high temperature allowance in his salary. "It's not separately listed, but this amount of money can be seen when compared to other months." Postal courier Mr. Chen was also very certain when asked by reporters, "Yes, it is for six, seven, eight, and three months a year, one hundred and eight yuan per month." Mr. Chen said that in addition to the high temperature allowance, the unit has also prepared heatstroke prevention and cooling materials such as beverages, mung bean soup, and Huoxiang Zhengqi water. "There are also cold drinks and so on, which are quite comprehensive!" In addition, many express delivery companies have prepared heatstroke prevention and cooling materials recently! "We have also adjusted the delivery time to avoid the noon time slot and start early or late to deliver the package.

However, compared to the express delivery industry, delivery riders who find it difficult to adjust their working hours are less optimistic about receiving high-temperature allowances.

Near noon, near the Blue Harbor commercial district in Chaoyang District, Meituan delivery rider Xiao Luo quickly took off his helmet while waiting for a meal to cool down. When asked by the reporter if he received the high-temperature allowance, Xiao Luo shook his head and said, "We don't have this allowance, but we have a 'weather allowance', I don't know if it counts." Delivery rider Xiao Cui also said, "We don't have a high-temperature allowance. But we do have a delivery subsidy, and if it's delivered between 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm every day, the platform will provide subsidies based on the amount of orders delivered." Meituan crowdsourcing rider Xiao Huang said, "We crowdsourcing riders don't have the concept of high-temperature allowance, but when it's particularly hot in summer, we get a little more for delivery fees. In a day, we can earn about 50 yuan more than in spring."

The reporter randomly consulted 10 delivery riders, and most of them stated that the platform had not directly issued this money or clearly listed it, and some riders had not even heard of the high-temperature allowance.

The existence of labor relations is a prerequisite for enjoying allowances

Jin Xiaolian, a partner of Hualun Law Firm in Beijing, told reporters that whether new forms of employment such as delivery riders can enjoy the high-temperature allowance depends on whether the employees have established a labor relationship with the employer, as the high-temperature allowance is a component of the salary, provided that there is a labor relationship.

Jin Xiaolian said that according to Article 2 of the Management Measures for Heatstroke Prevention and Cooling, this measure applies to employers such as enterprises, public institutions, and individual economic organizations that engage in high-temperature operations and arrange workers to work during high-temperature weather. "The term 'employer' is used here, so only when there is a labor relationship between the worker and the employer can they enjoy the high-temperature allowance." Jin Xiaolian said that if the rider establishes a labor relationship or forms a factual labor relationship with the platform enterprise or the enterprise that operates the platform business, including the labor dispatch company, the employer must issue the high-temperature allowance to the rider in accordance with the law. "However, if there is no established labor relationship between workers in the new employment form and the platform, it will be difficult to apply the 'Management Measures for Heat Prevention and Cooling'."

In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet economy, the group of workers in new forms of employment continues to expand. The flexible forms of employment on the Internet platform, including outsourcing, crowdsourcing, and cooperative employment, make the identification of labor relations more complex, and a series of rights and interests protection issues, including high-temperature subsidies, are more prominent.

"In fact, high-temperature allowance is just a means of compensation, and the fundamental problem lies in how to ensure the safety of workers. Ultimately, it is a problem of occupational injury protection for workers in new forms of employment." Jin Xiaolian suggests that relevant departments and platforms should jointly accelerate the promotion of labor protection for workers in new forms of employment, such as establishing a sound occupational injury protection mechanism and regulating the legal relationship between flexible employment personnel and platforms. Jin Xiaolian also called on the platform to strengthen the protection of workers during hot weather and hot periods, such as improving clothing, helmets and other distribution equipment, and providing some subsidies to delivery riders who take orders during hot periods. "New forms of employment workers can also agree with the platform through trade unions on the distribution of subsidies during high-temperature periods."

Can the allowance standard be dynamically adjusted with the salary level

Whether there is a high-temperature allowance is an issue, and the amount of high-temperature allowance is also a focus of concern for workers. The current standard in Beijing is that outdoor workers who meet the prescribed conditions for outdoor operations will receive a high-temperature allowance of no less than 180 yuan per person per month; Workers working in indoor workplaces above 33 ℃ shall be charged no less than 120 yuan per person per month.

The reporter learned that many years ago, the adjustment of high-temperature allowances was relatively frequent. In 2010, the standard for high-temperature allowances for outdoor workers was adjusted from no less than 60 yuan per person per month to no less than 120 yuan per person per month; The high temperature allowance standard for personnel working in indoor workplaces above 33 ℃ has been adjusted from no less than 45 yuan per person per month to no less than 90 yuan per person per month. The adjustment was significant and doubled. In 2014, it was adjusted to the current standard, but since then, the standard for high-temperature allowances has remained stagnant and has not increased.

The reporter noticed that the high temperature allowance standards vary across the country. For example, the outdoor high temperature allowance standard in Shandong, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai and other places is 300 yuan per person per month. There are also many regions that distribute subsidies on a daily basis, such as Henan's high-temperature allowance standard of 15 yuan per person per working day, and Shaanxi's allowance standard of 25 yuan per person per day; Tianjin is determined based on 12% of the average daily salary of employees from the previous year, with dynamic adjustments implemented.

Regarding this, some workers have suggested that compared to 10 years ago, the average salary of employees in Beijing has increased significantly, and the price level is also changing. Can the high-temperature allowance also be dynamically adjusted accordingly?

Related tips

Heatstroke prevention and cooling fee ≠ high-temperature allowance

High temperature allowance is a mandatory allowance that is part of the salary, and employers have a legal obligation to pay it. Moreover, the high-temperature allowance cannot be included in the minimum wage. The heatstroke prevention and cooling expenses are employee benefits, which are generally stipulated or agreed upon by the employer in rules and regulations, collective contracts, or labor contracts, including whether to pay, payment standards, and payment forms.

According to relevant regulations, employers should provide sufficient and hygienic heatstroke prevention and cooling beverages as well as necessary medicines for workers working in high temperature or hot weather. But it is not allowed to replace providing heatstroke prevention and cooling drinks with distributing money and goods. Similarly, heatstroke prevention and cooling beverages cannot be used to offset high temperature allowances.