Answers to question regarding new regulations on paying salaries to employees as of January 1, 2021 in Vietnam

Answers to question regarding new regulations on salaries of employees as of January 1, 2021 in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Is it true that a husband's salary can be transferred directly to his wife's account?

According to Clause 1 of Article 94 of the Labor Code 2019, in cases where the employee cannot receive salary directly, the employer can pay salary to the person legally authorized by the employee. This is a new regulation compared to the Labor Code 2012.

At that time, authorization to receive salary is performed when the following two conditions are met:

First, the employee cannot receive salary directly and legally authorize another person to receive it on his or her behalf, specifically the wife. Normally, this regulation will apply to employees who receive their salary in cash for reasons such as being sick, going on a long business trip, or having some other obstacle that prevents them from coming to the company to receive their salary directly. If the salary is received via bank transfer and the husband has no problems, this condition is not satisfied.

Second, the employer agrees to pay salary to the person specifically authorized by the employee, the wife. Because the law stipulates that "employers may...", whether or not to accept a salary for the wife will be decided by the employer. Because here there is no hard rule about "mandatory" or "must," the employer has the right to not agree to pay salary to the person authorized by the employee.

Note: The authorization does not have to be given to the wife; it can be given to parents, spouses, children, or anyone. However, this person must be a legally authorized person, which means that an authorization contract must be notarized and authenticated at the commune People's Committee or notary office.

Talking about new points, this is a new regulation recorded in the Labor Code 2019, previously not in the Labor Code 2012. However, authorization to receive salary can still be done according to the provisions of the Civil Code on authorization contracts.

2. Is it legal to force employees to buy the company's goods and services in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Clause 2 of Article 94 of the Labor Code 2019, employers are not allowed to restrict or interfere with employees' right to decide on salary spending; Employees must not be forced to spend their salary on purchasing goods or using services from the employer or another unit designated by the employer. This is also a new regulation compared to the Labor Code 2012, in the direction of protecting the rights of workers.

This regulation is to avoid cases where businesses "force" workers to use their company's goods and services or take advantage of workers to resolve outstanding goods in the production and business processes. Therefore, from January 1, 2021, the Labor Code 2019 clearly stipulates that employees cannot be forced to buy goods and services from the company.

3. Who will pay the transfer fee if salary is paid via account?

According to the Labor Code 2019, employees' salaries can be paid in cash or through the employee's personal account opened at a bank. In case the salary is paid through the employee's personal account opened at a bank, the employer must pay fees related to opening the account and transferring the salary.

Unlike the Labor Code 2012 (when it is stipulated that in cases of salary payment via bank account, the employer must agree with the employee on fees related to opening and maintaining the account), the Labor Code 2019 specifically stipulates that fees related to account opening and salary transfer will be paid by the employer.

Thus, from 2021, the employer will be the one to pay the transfer fee if salary is paid via account.

4. If salary payment is more than 15 days late, will the employee receive additional money?

According to Clause 4 of Article 97 of the Labor Code 2019, if a salary is paid late for 15 days or more, the employer must compensate the employee with an amount at least equal to the interest on the late payment amount according to the 1-month term deposit interest rate announced by the bank where the employer opens a salary account for the employee at the time of the salary payment.

Accordingly, from 2021, if salary payment is delayed for 15 days or more, employees will receive an additional amount of money in addition to the salary paid. This is a new regulation that does not exist in the Labor Code 2012.

5. Do businesses have to notify employees of payroll statements?

This is newly added content in the Labor Code 2019 compared to the Labor Code 2012. Specifically, according to Clause 3 of Article 95 of the Labor Code 2019, each time a salary is paid, the employer must notify the employee of the salary statement, which clearly states the salary, overtime salary, night work salary, content, and amount deducted (if any).

Thus, from 2021, each salary payment to enterprise employees must be accompanied by a notice of salary statement.

Above is the answer of the Lawnet to questions surrounding salary payments to employees as of January 1, 2021.

Thuy Tram

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