Vietnam: Is it necessary to pay social insurance premiums to employees for part-time employees?
Do part-time employers have to sign contracts in Vietnam?
Currently, the law of our country has no provisions defining or introducing the concept of part-time labor. However, part-time labor, also known as part-time work, is a term used a lot in society.
It can be understood that part-time labor is an individual who works part-time jobs to be able to earn extra income in his free time. The target audience of part-time workers is usually schoolchildren, students, housewives.
In accordance with the law, part-time workers will be identified as part-time employees in Article 32 of the Labor Code 2019 as follows:
Article 32. Part-time employments
1. A part-time employee is an employee who works for less than the usual daily, weekly or monthly working hours as prescribed by labor laws, the collective bargaining agreement internal labor regulations.
2. An employee may negotiate part-time employment with the employer when enter into an employment contract.
3. The part-time employee shall be entitled to receive salary, equal rights and obligations as a full-time employee; equal opportunity and treatment, and to a safe and hygienic working environment.
However, despite working part-time, employees are still guaranteed certain benefits such as salary, equality in exercising rights and obligations as for full-time employees, not being discriminated against.
In addition, the law also stipulates that employees must agree with employers to work part-time when entering into labor contracts.
Therefore, enterprises must be responsible for entering into contracts with employees working part-time, also known as part-time employees, and ensuring their rights in accordance with the labor law.
Vietnam: Is it necessary to pay social insurance premiums to employees for part-time employees?
Is it necessary to pay social insurance premiums to employees for part-time employees in Vietnam?
As mentioned above, although the employer works part-time, the employer is still responsible for entering into a labor contract with the employee. Depending on the working term agreed upon by the parties, the labor contract may be of a fixed-term or indefinite-term type.
The type of contract entered into is the basis for determining whether the employer must pay social insurance premiums for part-time employees. According to Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 stipulates as follows:
Article 1. Scope of regulation
This Law provides for social insurance regimes and policies; the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers; agencies, organizations and individuals involved in social insurance, representative organizations of employee collectives and employers’ representative organizations; social insurance agencies; social insurance funds; and procedures for social insurance implementation, and state management of social insurance.
Article 2. Subjects of application
1. Employees being Vietnamese citizens shall be covered by compulsory social insurance, including:
a/ Persons working under indefinite-term labor contracts, definite-term labor contracts, seasonal labor contracts or contracts for given jobs with a term of between full 3 months and under 12 months, including also labor contracts signed between employers and at-law representatives of persons aged under 15 years in accordance with the labor law;
b/ Persons working under labor contracts with a term of between full 1 month and under 3 months;
c/ Cadres, civil servants and public employees;
d/ Defense workers, public security workers and persons doing other jobs in cipher organizations;
dd/ Officers and professional army men of the people's army; officers and professional non-commissioned officers and officers and technical non- commissioned officers of the people's public security; and persons engaged in cipher work and enjoying salaries like army men;
e/ Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the people’s army; non- commissioned officers and soldiers on definite-term service in the people’s public security; army, public security and cipher cadets who are entitled to cost- of-living allowance;
g/ Vietnamese guest workers defined in the Law on Vietnamese Guest Workers;
h/ Salaried managers of enterprises and cooperatives;
i/ Part-time staffs in communes, wards and townships.
2. Employees who are foreign citizens working in Vietnam with work permits or practice certificates or practice licences granted by competent Vietnamese agencies shall be covered by compulsory social insurance under the Government’s regulations.
3. Employers covered by compulsory social insurance include state agencies, non-business units and people's armed forces units; political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-politico-professional organizations, socio-professional organizations and other social organizations; foreign agencies and organizations, and international organizations operating in the Vietnamese territory; enterprises, cooperatives, individual business households, cooperative groups, and other organizations and individuals that hire or employ employees under labor contracts.
4. Persons covered by voluntary social insurance are Vietnamese citizens aged full 15 years or older and not defined in Clause 1 of this Article.
5. Agencies, organizations and individuals involved in social insurance.
The subjects defined in Clauses 1, 2 and 4 of this Article are below collectively referred to as employees.
Thus, employees working under labor contracts with a term of 01 month or more will be subject to compulsory social insurance.
However, for part-time workers, their working time will not be enough for a month. Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 85 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 stipulates as follows:
Article 85. Levels and methods of payment by employees covered by compulsory social insurance
…
3. Employees who neither work nor receive salary for 14 working days or more in a month are not required to pay social insurance premiums in that month. This period shall not be counted for enjoyment of social insurance regimes, except cases of maternity leave.
Accordingly, in case a part-time employee does not work and does not receive a salary for 14 days in a month, he/she will not have to pay social insurance for that month.
Thus, the employer must only pay compulsory social insurance premiums for part-time employees if they fully meet the following conditions:
- Entering into a labor contract for full 01 month or more
- The period of non-working and unpaid work in the month shall not exceed 14 days.
What will be the regimes of social insurance in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 4 of the 2014 Law on Social Insurance, the following regimes of social insurance are provided:
- For compulsory social insurance, there will be the following regimes:
+ Sickness;
+ Maternity;
+ Labor accidents, occupational diseases;
+ Retirement;
+ Death.
- For voluntary social insurance, there will be the following regimes:
+ Retirement;
+ Death.
Thus, social insurance will be divided into 02 types: voluntary social insurance and compulsory social insurance.
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