The question from Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy in Dak Lak is whether her husband, who has been participating in social insurance at his company for 2 years, will be entitled to maternity benefits when she gives birth in June (estimated), considering that she herself is not covered by social insurance.
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Regarding Ms. Thuy’s concern, LawNet would like to answer that the husband will indeed be entitled to maternity benefits.
Specifically, according to Clause 2 Article 34 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 of Vietnam, male employees currently paying social insurance premiums whose wives give birth to children are entitled to a paternity leave of:
- 5 working days;
- 7 working days, in case their wives undergo a surgical birth or give birth to children before 32 weeks of pregnancy;
- 10 working days, in case their wives give birth to twins; or additional 3 working days for each infant from the second;
- 14 working days, in case their wives give birth to twins or more infants and take childbirth operation.
The paternity leave period specified above must be within the first 30 days after the date of childbirth.
Thus, depending on the childbirth situation and the number of children born, male employees will be entitled to take a leave of absence and receive maternity benefits for a period ranging from 5 to 14 working days.
Concurrently, according to Article 38 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, in case the mother gives birth to a child but only the father is covered by social insurance, the father is entitled to a lump-sum allowance equaling 2 times the statutory pay rate for each child in the month of childbirth. Specifically, according to Article 38, lump-sum allowance upon childbirth or child adoption is specified as follows:
Article 38. Lump-sum allowance upon childbirth or child adoption
Female employees giving birth or employees adopting an under-6-month child are entitled to a lump-sum allowance equaling 2 times the statutory pay rate for each child in the month of childbirth or child adoption.
In case the mother gives birth to a child but only the father is covered by social insurance, the father is entitled to a lump-sum allowance equaling 2 times the statutory pay rate for each child in the month of childbirth.
Currently, the statutory pay rate is VND 1,490,000/month, so the lump-sum allowance that the husband receives when his wife gives birth is VND 2,980,000 for each child. However, from July 01, 2020, the statutory pay rate will be increased to VND 1,600,000/month. As a result, the lump-sum allowance will also increase accordingly, specifically to VND 3,200,000 for each child.
According to Clause 2 Article 9 of Circular No. 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam regulating the conditions to enjoy the lump-sum allowance upon childbirth:
2. The conditions to enjoy the conditions to enjoy the lump-sum allowance upon childbirth are guided as follows:
a) In case only the father participates in the social insurance, the father must pay the social insurance from full 06 month or more within the period of 12 months before birth giving;
b) For the husband of the mother requesting surrogacy who must pay the social insurance from full 06 months or more within a period of 12 months to the time of child receipt.
Therefore, according to this regulation, in order to be eligible for the lump-sum allowance upon childbirth, the father must have been paying social insurance contributions for at least 6 months within the 12 months prior to the childbirth. In this case, as the father has been participating in social insurance for 2 years, he is fully entitled to the aforementioned maternity benefits. Specifically, he will be able to take a leave of absence for 5 to 14 working days, depending on the childbirth situation and the number of children born. Additionally, he will receive a lump-sum allowance of VND 2,980,000 per child if the child is born before July 01, 2020. After July 01, 2020, the allowance will increase to VND 3,200,000 per child.
Nguyen Trinh
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