Vietnam: What should I do if my maternity benefit is not paid on time?

According to Article 102 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 of Vietnam and Clause 2 Article 14 of Circular No. 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam, the employees shall submit their dossiers for maternity benefits enjoyment to the employers but not later than 45 days after returning to work.

Within 10 days after receiving a complete dossier from an employee, the employer shall make a dossier for maternity benefits enjoyment and submit it to the social insurance agency, which includes the list of employees taking leave for enjoyment of the maternity benefits.

Where the employees terminate their labor contract, work contract or resign before the time of birth giving, child receipt, child adoption, they should submit their dossier and present their social insurance book to the social insurance body of their residence.

According to Clause 4 Article 5 of the Procedures for processing of applications for social insurance benefits and payment of social insurance and unemployment insurance benefits issued together with Decision No. 166/QD-BHXH dated January 31,2019, time-limit for application processing and payment of maternity benefits for employees are specified as follows:

- An application submitted by the employer shall be processed within 06 working days from the receipt of sufficient application as regulated.

- If an application is submitted by the worker or his/her relative directly to the social security office, it shall be processed within 03 working days from the receipt of sufficient application as regulated.

Thus, employees may receive their maternity benefits within a maximum of 16 days from the date of submitting the maternity benefit application to the employer. If this deadline has passed and the employee has not yet received their maternity benefits, they should directly contact the employer or the social insurance agency where the application was submitted.

In case the employee has already contacted these entities but has still not received a resolution, according to Article 119 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, the employee can file an initial complaint to the authority or individual who made the decision or committed the violation. This means filing a complaint against the employer if the employer is at fault, or directly filing a complaint to the social insurance agency if the agency is responsible for the error.

In case complainants disagree with the first-time complaint settlement decisions, or when the prescribed time limit expires but the complaints have not yet been settled, they may initiate lawsuits at a court or lodge complaints with provincial-level state management agencies in charge of labor (i.e. the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs).

In case complainants disagree with the complaint settlement decisions of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, or when the prescribed time limit expires but the complaints have not yet been settled, the complainants may initiate lawsuits at a court.

- Nguyen Trinh -

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