Vietnam: What are the cases of suspension from payment of compulsory social insurance?

According to Article 88 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 of Vietnam and Article 16 of Decree No. 115/2015/ND-CP of Vietnam’s Government and Article 29 of Circular No. 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam, employers shall be suspended from payment to the fund of retirement and survivorship in the following cases:

1. Suspend business operation in 01 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.

2. The employers meet with difficulties due to natural disasters, conflagration, epidemic diseases, or bad harvest.

However, in order to be considered for suspension from payment of compulsory social insurance, these enterprises must satisfy any of the following conditions:

- Failing to provide works for employees, in which there are 50% or more of total employees determined before the business suspension that are subject to social insurance;

- Suffering damage of 50% of total assets' value due to natural disasters, conflagration, epidemic diseases, or bad harvest (excluding land value).

This regulation aims to protect the rights and benefits of employees and prevent unjustified suspension of social insurance contributions by employers.

The period of suspension of payment to the fund of retirement and survivorship not exceeding 12 months. In the period of suspension of payment to the fund of retirement and survivorship, the employer must still contribute to the fund of sickness and maternity and the fund of occupational accidents and occupational diseases.

Upon the expiration of the time limit for payment suspension specified above, employers and employees shall continue paying social insurance premiums and make supplementary payment for the suspension period. The supplementary amount paid for the suspension period is not subject to late-payment interest under Clause 3 Article 122 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014.

3. If an employee who is participating in compulsory social insurance is put in temporary detention, both the employee and the employer are allowed to suspend social insurance contributions during the period of detention.

In case the competent authority finds the employee guilty, it is not required to make supplementary payment of social insurance for the temporary detention period. The supplementary amount paid for the suspension period shall not be charged late-payment interest under Clause 3 Article 122 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014.

Note:

- In case the employee is an official, a public employee, a national defense worker, a public security worker or a person doing other jobs in a cipher organization, the employee and his/her employer must pay supplementary social insurance. In other cases, the supplementary payment shall be made by an authority responsible for compensation prescribed in the Law on State compensation liability through the employer.

- In case the competent authority finds the employee guilty, it is not required to make supplementary payment of social insurance for the temporary detention period.

4. Each guest worker prescribed in Clause 2 Article 2 of Decree No. 115/2015/ND-CP that loses a 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.

After the temporary unemployment, if the employee returns to work, he/she shall continue paying social insurance as prescribed without paying supplementary social insurance the temporary unemployment.

5. If the employees whose work is temporarily suspended, the employers and the employees can suspend the social insurance payment.

When the time limit for work suspension is over, if the employees receive adequate salary for the time of work suspension, the employees and the employers shall make compensation payment of social insurance for the time of suspended work. The amount of compensation payment has no interest due to late payment in accordance with the provisions in Clause 3 Article 122 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014.

- Nguyen Trinh -

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