07 things you know about unemployment insurance in Vietnam

07 things you know about unemployment insurance in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. What is unemployment insurance?

Unemployment insurance means a scheme aiming to compensate part of income of a worker when he/she becomes unemployed, support him/her to receive vocational training, maintain employment, or seek employment, on the basis of making contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

(Clause 4, Article 3 of the Law on Employment 2013)

2. Principles of unemployment insurance in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 41 of the Law on Employment 2013, the principles of unemployment insurance are as follows:

- Ensuring risk sharing among unemployment insurance participants.

- The levels of payable unemployment insurance premiums are based on wages of workers.

- The levels of unemployment insurance benefits are based on the levels and duration of payment of unemployment insurance premiums.

- Unemployment insurance is implemented in a simple, easy and convenient manner, promptly and adequately ensuring the interests of unemployment insurance participants.

- The Unemployment Insurance Fund is managed in a centralized, uniform, public, transparent and safe manner and protected by the State.

3. Unemployment insurance benefits in Vietnam

The unemployment insurance benefits specified in Article 42 of the Law on Employment 2013 are as follows:

- Unemployment allowance.

- Job counseling and recommendation support.

- Vocational training support.

- Support for training and retraining to improve qualifications of occupational skills for job maintenance for workers.

4. Compulsory participants in unemployment insurance in Vietnam

- Workers are obliged to participate in unemployment insurance when working under labor contracts or working contracts below:

+ Labor contracts or working contracts of indefinite time;

+ Labor contracts or working contracts of definite time;

+ Seasonal or job-based working contracts with a term of between full 3 months and under 12 months.

In case a worker has signed and is performing more than one labor contract specified in this Clause, the worker and the employer under the labor contract signed first shall participate in unemployment insurance.

- Workers defined in Clause 1 of Article 43 of the Law on Employment 2013 who are currently on pension or doing housework are not required to participate in unemployment insurance.

- Employers obliged to participate in unemployment insurance include state agencies, public non-business units and people’s armed forces units; political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations and socio-professional organizations;

Foreign agencies and organizations and international organizations operating in the Vietnamese territory; enterprises, cooperatives, households, business households, cooperative groups, other organizations and individuals that hire or employ workers under the labor contracts or working contracts specified in Clause 1 of Article 43 of the Law on Employment 2013.

(Article 43 of the Law on Employment 2013)

5. Regulations on participation in unemployment insurance in Vietnam

Article 44 of the Law on Employment 2013 stipulates the participation in unemployment insurance as follows:

- Employers shall pay unemployment insurance premiums for workers to social insurance organizations within 30 days from the effective date of labor contracts or working contracts.

- Monthly, employers shall pay unemployment insurance premiums at the level specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Employment 2013 and make deductions from the wages of workers at the level specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Employment 2013, for simultaneous payment to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

- Based on the balance of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the State shall transfer supporting funds from the state budget to the Fund at the level specified by the Government under Clause 3, Article 59 of the Law on Employment 2013.

6. Period of payment of unemployment insurance premiums in Vietnam

Article 45 of the Law on Employment 2013 stipulates the period of payment of unemployment insurance premiums as follows:

- The period of payment of unemployment insurance premiums for receipt of unemployment insurance benefits is the total of consecutive or interrupted periods of payment of unemployment insurance premiums from the starting time of such payment to the time the worker terminates his/her labor contract or working contract under law but during which he/she has not yet received any unemployment allowance.

- After a worker stops receiving unemployment allowance, his/her previous period of payment of unemployment insurance premiums is not counted for receiving unemployment allowance for the subsequent time.

The period of payment of unemployment insurance premiums for the subsequent receipt of unemployment insurance benefits will be counted from the beginning, except the case of stopping receiving unemployment allowance under Points b, c, h, l, m and n, Clause 3, Article 53 of the Law on Employment 2013.

- The period of payment of unemployment insurance premiums is not counted for receiving job loss allowance or severance pay under the laws on labor and public employees.

7. Receipt of unemployment allowance in Vietnam

Article 46 of the Law on Employment 2013 stipulates the receipt of unemployment allowance as follows:

- Within 3 months after terminating his/her labor contract or working contract, a worker shall submit a dossier for receipt of unemployment allowance to an employment service center established by the state management agency in charge of employment.

- Within 20 days after the employment service center receives a complete dossier, the competent state agency shall issue a decision on unemployment allowance receipt; in case the worker is ineligible for receiving unemployment allowance, the center shall issue a written reply to the worker.

- The social insurance organization shall pay unemployment allowance to the worker within 5 days after receiving a decision on unemployment allowance receipt.

Ngoc Nhi

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