Do operators of service apps carry duties of employers?

Chefs create delicately crafted dishes at the culinary contest in Lanzhou on April 27. [Photo/Xinhua]

SEVEN CHEFS have taken the company behind the cooking service app Good Chef to court claiming it has not honored their contracts. Changjiang Daily commented on Thursday:

All types of services can now be sourced through apps, including hiring people with particular skills.

But there is a common problem with the providing of app-based services: Who pays those who actually provide the service to the customer? The company that operates the Good Chef app said it only has cooperation relations with the seven chefs, instead of employing them as stated by the chefs.

If the companies that operate such apps do not have contracts with the people who offer the services, they have no legal obligations as employers.

However, the seven cooks worked together, 9 to 5, and received a monthly "wage" by grabbing orders through the app. These are characteristics of full-time workers.

Without a legally binding labor contract, those who provide the actual service are vulnerable to not being paid, and if they are ever injured on the job, they are unlikely to receive compensation.

With such apps becoming increasingly popular, the various relations between the different parties involved need regulating.