"In case an employee has an accident that requires surgery and takes 2 months off work, can the enterprise temporarily suspend paying social insurance for that employee?" This is a question that Ms. H*** sent to the LAWNET for advisory.
Article table of contents
Regarding this issue, LAWNET would like to answer as follows:
According to Clause 1 Article 16 of the Decree No. 115/2015/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, cases where enterprises are allowed to temporarily suspend social insurance contributions for employees include:
- Suspend business operation in 1 month or longer because the employers meet with difficulties due to their structural or technical changes, or economic crisis or recession, or economic restructuring according to state policies or international commitments.
- The employers meet with difficulties due to natural disasters, conflagration, epidemic diseases, or bad harvest.
However, this is the suspension of payment to the fund of retirement and survivorship, for contributions to unemployment insurance and health insurance funds, sickness - maternity, labor accidents - occupational diseases funds, the enterprise must continue to pay for employees during that suspension.
Concurrently, according to Clause 5 and 6 Article 16 of the Decree No. 115/2015/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, there are also 2 more special cases that enterprises are entitled to temporarily suspend social insurance contributions for employees, including:
- Each guest worker that loses job temporarily certified by the enterprise providing guest worker services, such unemployment period shall be entitled to suspension from payment to the fund of retirement and survivorship;
- Employees who are detained, temporarily detained or temporarily suspended from work for investigation and conclusion of whether they have violated the law or not, may temporarily stop paying social insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational accident and disease insurance but still have to pay monthly health insurance equal to 4.5% of 50% of the monthly salary that the employee is entitled to.
Thus, the law on social insurance of Vietnam only stipulates 04 cases in which an enterprise is entitled to suspend payment of social insurance premiums for employees. In addition to these cases, enterprises must pay full social insurance contributions for employees.
In case an employee has to take a long leave from work due to illness (more than 14 days) and is entitled to sickness benefits, the enterprise may base itself on the provisions of Clause 5 Article 42 of the Decision No. 595/QD-BHXH 2017 to implement social insurance for employees:
An employee who takes leave due to sickness for at least 14 working days in a month in accordance with regulations of law on social insurance is not required to pay insurance contributions and premiums but still receives benefits from health insurance.
Thus, according to the above provisions, in case an employee quits his job because he has to undergo surgery after an accident, and the time off is more than 14 days in a month, Ms. H's enterprise does not have to pay social insurance premiums for that month for the employee.
Duc Thao
- Key word:
- Decree No. 115/2015/NĐ-CP
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