In case a Vietnamese employee who is off due to Covid-19 concerns according to regulations and infected (F0), is he eligible for sickness benefits?
Conditions for enjoying the sickness regime of Vietnamese employees according to the law
Article 25 of Law on Social Insurance 2014 of Vietnam stipulates conditions for enjoying the sickness regime as follows:
- Employees who have to take leave due to sickness or accidents other than labour accidents, with the certification of a competent health establishment under the Ministry of Health’s regulations.
The sickness regime does not cover employees who take leave due to sickness or accidents as a result of self-infliction, drunkenness or use of narcotics or narcotic precursors on the Government-prescribed list.
- Employees who have to take leave for caring for sick children aged under 7 years, with the certification of a competent health establishment.
What are allowance levels of the sickness regime?
Article 28 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 of Vietnam stipulates the level of sickness benefits as follows:
- Employees entitled to the sickness regime prescribed in Clause 1, or at Point a, Clause 2, Article 26, or in Article 27, of this Law are entitled to a monthly allowance equal to 75% of the salary of the month preceding their leave on which social insurance premiums are based.
An employee who has just started working or who previously paid social insurance premiums and then ceased working for a certain time and has to take leave under the sickness regime right in the first month after return to work, is entitled to an allowance equal to 75% of the salary of that month on which social insurance premiums are based.
- For employees who continue enjoying the sickness regime prescribed at Point b, Clause 2, Article 26 of this Law, the allowance must equal:
a/ 65% of the salary of the month preceding their leave on which social insurance premiums are based, if they have paid social insurance premiums for full 30 years or more;
b/ 55% of the salary of the month preceding their leave on which social insurance premiums are based, if they have paid social insurance premiums for between full 15 years and under 30 years;
c/ 50% of the salary of the month preceding their leave on which social insurance premiums are based, if they have paid social insurance premiums for under 15 years.
- For employees entitled to the sickness regime prescribed in Clause 3, Article 26 of this Law, the allowance must equal 100% of the salary of the month preceding their leave on which social insurance premiums are based.
- The per-diem sickness allowance must equal the monthly sickness allowance divided by 24 days.
Sickness regime in Vietnam
In case a Vietnamese employee who is on sick leave according to regulations and has Covid-19 (F0), is he eligible for sickness benefits?
Pursuant to Article 3 of Circular 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH in Vietnam detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance regarding compulsory social insurance in Vietnam, stipulating conditions for enjoying the sickness benefits for employees working under labor contracts with indefinite term as follows:
- The employees specified under Points a, b, c, d, dd, Clause 1 and Point b, Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree No. 115/2015/ND-CP shall enjoy the sickness benefits in the following cases:
a) The employees have disease or accident which is not work accident or treatment of injury or disease recurred due to work accident, occupational disease and must take sick leave with certification from the competent medical facility as regulated by the Ministry of Health.
b) The employees must take leave to take care of their sick children under 07 years of age with certification of the competent medical facility.
c) Female employees return to their work befire the expiration of maternity leave subject to one of the case specified under Point a and b of this Clause.
- The employees are not entitled to sickness benefits in the following cases:
a) The employees have disease or accident and must take sick leave due to self-infliction, drunkenness or abuse of drug or drug precursor according to the law.
b) The employees take sick leave for the first treatment due to work accident or occupational disease.
c) The employees have disease or accident which is not work accident during their annual leave, personal leave, unpaid leave as prescribed by labor law; maternity leave under the law on social insurance.
Accordingly, if an employee who is off due to Covid-19 concerns, and the company has paid the salary for furlough, he/she will not be entitled to the insurance regime, because the insurance regime pays compensation to the employee when he or she loses income from the employer. If an employee takes a leave of absence without salary, he or she will not be supposed to enjoy sickness benefits.
In general, if an employee who is off due to Covid-19 concerns according to regulations and infected (F0), he/she will not be supposed to enjoy the sickness benefits.
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