China: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security Issued the Guidelines for Credit Rating Evaluation of Labour Dispatch Units

On 21 March 2025, the General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued the Guidelines for Credit Rating Evaluation of Labour Dispatch Units (the “guidelines”).

The General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security requires local human resources and social security departments to regularly evaluate the credit status of labour dispatch units in accordance with the Guidelines and to implement classified and graded supervision of labour dispatch units based on credit evaluation results, thereby, improving the effectiveness of labour dispatch supervision.

Firstly, the Guidelines clarify the evaluation levels. A total of five evaluation levels are established, with the evaluation standards for each level clearly defined. Secondly, the guidelines standardised the evaluation process. The main body for organising and implementing the level evaluation, the evaluation cycle, the acquisition of evaluation materials, the evaluation process, the handling of objections, and the methods of supervision are clearly outlined. Thirdly, the guidelines emphasise the application of results. The level evaluation results are explicitly included in the national directory database of labour dispatch units, shared with relevant departments, exploring the provision of inquiry services to the public, and strengthening credit incentives and constraints.

The entities participating in the evaluation are specified as municipal and county-level human resources and social security departments authorised by provincial human resources and social security departments to implement the evaluation. Moreover, the guidelines clearly state that provincial human resources and social security departments can formulate specific implementation methods for the credit rating evaluation of labour dispatch units in their respective regions, which implies that it is possible to set rules for other legal consequences through local implementation methods.

Key Action Points

Building on regulations and policies related to labour dispatch such as the Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch, the guidelines establish a rigorous evaluation system, proposing to assess the credit rating of labour dispatch agencies from multiple aspects including qualifications, compliance with the law, and more. The design of the evaluation criteria is very comprehensive, and the setup of the evaluation process is also highly standardised, requiring provincial human resources and social security departments to formulate specific implementation methods for the credit rating evaluation of labour dispatch agencies in their respective regions and to organise and implement them. For enterprises in need of labour dispatch services, this means a new reference basis for labour employment.