2016 is a pivotal year for many new policies on labour, employment and social insurance in Vietnam. A lot of policies concerning these fields take effect from January 1, 2016.
1. Salary payment is not necessarily within the month of working
Circular 47/2015/TT-BLDTBXH specifies changes in salary payment term. The ruling says “An employee’s pay is paid salary monthly or semi-monthly and is paid at the time of salary payment.”
The circular provides that the point of salary payment is agreed by both sides, not necessarily within the month of working. This change helps ensure the rights of workers and the production and business pace of enterprises.
Earlier, Circular 23/2015/TT-BLDTBXH provides that the payment of wages must be made within the month of working. However, this provision is very hard for labour-intensive companies.
Circular 47/2015/TT-BLDTBXH takes effect on January 1, 2016.
2. Social insurance counted on salary and allowances written in employment contract
Decree 115/2015/ND-CP on detailed provisions on some articles concerning compulsory social insurance in the Law on Social Insurance applicable to State officials, civil servants and Vietnamese workers with employment. The decree says “From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017, monthly social insurance premiums are counted on salaries and allowances stated in employment contract according to the law on labour.”
This ruling will better provide the rights and interests of workers when they are on pension, in occupational accidents and on maternity leave.
Decree 115/2015/ND-CP comes into force on January 1, 2016.
3. Female workers with gestational surrogacy granted maternity leave
Decree 115/2015/ND-CP also provides maternity regime for female workers who get pregnant on behalf of mothers asking for gestational surrogacy stipulated in the Law on Social Insurance.
Surrogate workers who are paying mandatory social insurance in sickness and maternity fund during the pregnancy period are allowed to be off work for antenatal checks five times, one day each time. In case clinics are far, women with pathological pregnancy or foetal abnormalities will have two days off for each prenatal visit.
The time for prenatal visits is counted as regular working time.
Besides, the decree stipulates that surrogate employees who are paying compulsory social insurance to sickness and maternity funds will be allowed maternity regime designated by relevant medical examination and treatment bodies in case they suffer miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth or medical abortion. The maximum leave period is defined as follows:
Not more than 10 days if the foetus is less than 5 weeks old; 20 days for the foetus aged from 5 weeks to less than 13 weeks; 40 days for the foetus aged from 13 weeks to less than 25 weeks; and 50 days for the foetus aged 25 weeks onwards. The maternity leave also counts holidays and off-days each week.
4. Regional minimum wage added 12.4 per cent
Decree 122/2015/ND-CP on minimum wages for workers, based on regions, provides that from January 1, 2016, the minimum wage shall be increased by 12.4 per cent on average. The new monthly wages of Region 1, Region 2, Region 3 and Region 4 will be VND3.5 million, VND3.1 million, VND2.7 million and VND2.4 million, respectively.
The decree specifies that the wages will be applied to companies operating on affected areas. If a company has its units operating on different regions with different minimum wage rates, the pays will be based on minimum wage rates applied to regions where their units are operating.
Decree 122/2015/ND-CP is effective on January 1, 2016.
5. Exclusive allowances for teachers at public vocational education establishments
Decree 113/2015/ND-CP provides special allowances, supplements, responsibility allowances and allowances for work in heavy, harmful and dangerous situations for teachers in public vocational education establishments.
Accordingly, teachers in charge of teaching the disabled in public vocational education establishments for people with disabilities, or classes for people with disabilities in public vocational education establishments, will enjoy responsibility allowances equal to 0.3 of base salary and allowances for teaching people with disabilities equal to 70 per cent of current salaries, plus executive and/or seniority allowances (if any).
Teachers who are not specialised in teaching people with disabilities in classes in public vocational education establishments for people with disabilities will enjoy responsibility allowances equal to 0.3 of base salary and allowances for teaching people with disabilities equal to 40 per cent of current salaries plus executive and/or seniority allowances (if any).
Besides, teachers specialised in teaching people with disabilities in social integration classes in public vocational education establishments will enjoy responsibility allowances equal to 0.2 of base salary and allowances for teaching people with disabilities with the following rates.
The rate of 35 per cent of current salaries plus executive and/or seniority allowances (if any) will be applied to integration classes with 5 - below 10 per cent of disabled students; the rate of 40 per cent of current salaries plus executive and/or seniority allowances (if any) will be applied to integration classes with 10 - below 20 per cent of disabled students. The rate of 45 per cent of current salaries plus executive and/or seniority allowances (if any) will be applied to integrated classes with 20 - below 30 per cent of disabled students.
The decree goes into effect on January 1, 2016.
6. Overseas guest workers allowed to pay compulsory social insurance
Decree 115/2015/ND-CP, which guides the implementation of the Law on Social Insurance, provides that “Vietnamese labourers working in foreign countries with employment contracts are allowed to pay compulsory social insurance if they have following contracts:
Contracts on sending of labourers to work in foreign countries with manpower export companies and companies licensed to send workers to work overseas.
Contracts on sending of labourers to work in foreign countries with companies winning bids or receiving bids in foreign countries or investing in foreign countries.
Contracts on sending of labourers to work in foreign countries in the form of internship with companies specialised in sending interns to work foreign countries to improve skills.
7. People’s artisans, elite artisans granted hardship allowances
The Government issued Decree 109/2015/ND-CP on support of low-income people's artisans and elite artisans.
Accordingly, applicable beneficiaries are people's artisans and elite artisans recognised by the State, if their monthly income per capita is lower than the base line provided by the Government (VND1.15 million in this decree).
Support levels include:
The grant of VND1 million will be applied to people specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree 109/2015/ND-CP in case they belong to households with income per capita below 50 per cent of monthly salary base.
The grant of VND850,000 will be applied to people specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree in case they belong to households with income per capita ranging from 50 per cent of monthly salary base to the monthly salary base. People specified in Point d Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree in case they belong to households with income per capita below 50 per cent of monthly salary base.
The grant of VND700,000 will be applied to people specified at Points d, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree in case they belong to households with income per capita ranging from 50 per cent of monthly salary base to the monthly salary base.
Additionally, recipients are also entitled to enjoy health insurance and burial cost support.
This decree takes effect from January 1, 2016.
8. Apprentices under 3 months get maximum support of VND6 million
Decision 46/2015/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated September 28, 2015 provides that the financial support for workers taking part in primary vocational education and have a training period of less than 3 months will be VND6 million at most. They will be given another VND200,000 a course if they live 12 km afar.
The decision governs women, rural workers and people with disabilities taking part in training programmes to acquire primary skills and the training period is less than three months. Priority will be placed on people with disabilities, policy-benefiting people, people with State-recognised contributions to the revolution, ethnic minorities, poor and near-poor households, households with their farming land revoked, unemployed women, organisations and individuals involved.
Training cost support levels:
The maximum support of VND6 million for a person a course: the disabled.
The maximum support of VND4 million for a person a course: poor minority people; people in extremely difficult communes and villages as specified by the Prime Minister.
The maximum support of VND3 million for a person a course: Ethnic minorities, people with recognised contributions to the revolution, poor people, households with their farming land revoked and unemployed women.
The maximum support of VND2.5 million for a person a course: People belonging to near-poor households.
The maximum support of VND2 million for a person a course: Female trainees and rural workers not subjected to the above cases.
This decision takes effect from January 1, 2016.
9. Pension calculating method change
The Law on Social Insurance 2014 will take effect on January 1, 2016. The rate of monthly pensions payable to eligible retirees governed in Article 54 of Law on Social Insurance 2014 will be calculated as follows:
For workers retiring from January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2018, the level of monthly retirement pension is equivalent to 45 per cent of the monthly income on which social insurance premiums are paid corresponding to 15 years of paying social insurance premiums, which shall be then added by 2 per cent for men and 3 per cent for women for each additional year of paying social insurance premiums; the maximum level is equivalent to 75 per cent.
For women workers retiring from January 1, 2018 onwards, the level of monthly retirement pension is equivalent to 45 per cent of the monthly income on which social insurance premiums are paid corresponding to fifteen years of paying social insurance premiums, which shall be then added by 2 per cent for each additional year of paying social insurance premiums; the maximum level is equivalent to 75 per cent.
For male workers retiring from January 1, 2018 onwards, the level of monthly retirement pension is equivalent to 45 per cent corresponding to the number of years of paying social insurance premiums as specified in the following table, which shall be then added by 2 per cent for each additional year of paying social insurance premiums; the maximum level is equivalent to 75 per cent.
Age benchmark for defining early retirement is defined as follows:
The age benchmark for labourers working in normal conditions is 60 full years of age for men and 55 full years of age for women. Workers working in heavy, hazardous, dangerous occupations or extremely heavy, hazardous, dangerous occupations, or in areas with a regional allowance coefficient of 0.7 or more, will have the retirement age landmark of 55 years of age for men and 50 years of age for women. Labourers working in coalmines will have the retirement age landmark of 50 years of age.
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