Fine up to VND 150 million if employers do not return social insurance books to employees upon resignation

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To be specific, according to this Decree, a fine ranging from 2,000,000 VND to 4,000,000 VND shall be imposed for each employee violation, with the maximum penalty not exceeding 75,000,000 VND for employers with any of the following actions:

- Failure to file mandatory social insurance and unemployment insurance documents for the employee within 30 days from the date of signing the labor contract or recruitment;- Failure to file documents or submit proposals within the specified deadlines as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 102; Clause 1, Article 103; Clause 1, Article 110; Clause 2, Article 112 of the Social Insurance Law;- Failure to refer employees who fall under the provisions of Article 47 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene and Article 55 of the Social Insurance Law for occupational disease and impairment assessment at the Medical Assessment Council;- Failure to return the social insurance book to employees as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 21 of the Social Insurance Law.

Clause 5, Article 21 of the 2014 Social Insurance Law stipulates the employer's responsibilities as follows:

Article 21. Responsibilities of the Employer

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5. Coordinate with the social insurance agency to return the social insurance book to employees, certify the period of social insurance contributions when employees terminate their labor contracts, employment contracts, or resign in accordance with the law.

Thus, as per this regulation, when an employee terminates their labor contract, employment contract, or resigns according to the law, and the employer fails to return the social insurance book, a fine ranging from 2,000,000 VND to 4,000,000 VND per violation shall be imposed, with a maximum fine of 75,000,000 VND. This is a new provision introduced in Decree 28/2020/ND-CP, as the current Decree 95/2013/ND-CP and Decree 88/2015/ND-CP amending several provisions of Decree 95/2013/ND-CP do not address this issue.

Note, the above-mentioned fine applies to individual employers. For employers who are organizations, the fine shall be doubled, amounting to 4,000,000 VND to 8,000,000 VND per violation, with a maximum fine of 150,000,000 VND.

Imposing fines for the failure to return social insurance books when employees terminate their labor contracts will help enhance the employer's responsibility awareness and protect the legal rights and interests of employees.

Nguyen Trinh

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