Guidelines on Calculating the Duration of Benefits for Occupational Accidents and Diseases

The period of entitlement to occupational accident and disease insurance policies is regulated by Circular 26 as follows:

1. The time used as the basis for calculating entitlement to occupational accident and disease insurance policies is the total time of insurance contributions to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund, excluding overlapping periods of labor contracts. If the contribution time is discontinuous, it will be aggregated. The period the employee held a position under Decree 09/1998/ND-CP before January 1, 1998, which is counted towards social insurance (SI) benefits, shall also be counted towards the occupational accident and disease insurance policies.

2. The period during which the employee is on leave and receiving sickness benefits, the time not working or on unpaid leave for 14 working days or more in a month, the employer is not required to contribute to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund for that month and such period will not be counted as the insurance contribution period except as specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of Circular 26.

3. The period of maternity leave for 14 working days or more in a month, the employer is not required to contribute to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund but it is counted as the insurance contribution period into the occupational accident and disease insurance fund. Specifically:

   - In cases where a labor contract expires while an employee is on maternity leave, the maternity leave period is counted as the insurance contribution period into the occupational accident and disease insurance fund, but the period after the labor contract expires is not counted.- The maternity leave of an employee terminating the labor contract, work contract, or quitting the job before childbirth or adopting a child under 6 months of age is not counted as the period of insurance contribution into the occupational accident and disease insurance fund.- In cases where a female employee returns to work before the end of maternity leave, the period from the leave to the early return to work is counted as the insurance contribution period into the occupational accident and disease insurance fund. From the early return to work, the female employee continues to receive maternity benefits until the end of the statutory period, but the employer must contribute to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund during this period.- In cases where the father or direct caregiver, surrogate mother, or the father requesting surrogacy enjoys maternity benefits without taking leave, the employer must still contribute to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund.

4. Employees specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of Circular 26, who are temporarily detained or suspended from work and must temporarily stop participating in the occupational accident and disease insurance fund, if afterward the contributions are made up, the make-up period is counted as the insurance contribution period into the occupational accident and disease insurance fund.

5. The period already counted towards lump-sum social insurance benefits will not be counted as the basis period for calculating entitlement to occupational accident and disease insurance policies.

6. Total years of contributions to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund:

   - For occupational accident cases, it is the total years of contributions to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund calculated until the month preceding the month of the accident.- For occupational disease cases, it is the total years of contributions to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund calculated until the month preceding the month of working in the job causing the occupational disease.

Note:

- One year is counted as 12 months.- In cases where an employee simultaneously enters into labor contracts with multiple employers, the overlapping periods of contributions to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund from these contracts are only counted once.

Refer to the monthly insurance contribution salary in Circular 26/2017/TT-BLDTBXH effective from December 1, 2017.

- Thanh Lam -

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE