In 2020: Employees in Vietnam are guaranteed higher salaries when they have following degrees and certificates

According to this Decree, from January 1, 2020, the regional minimum wage applied to employees working under a contract in Vietnam is significantly increased (from 150,000 VND/month to 240,000 VND/month), with specific regional minimum wages as follows:

Decree 90 stipulates that the regional minimum wage from January 1, 2020, prescribed in this Decree is the lowest basis for enterprises and employees to negotiate and pay wages, in which the wage paid to employees working under normal working conditions, ensuring sufficient normal working hours in the month and completing the agreed workload or job must ensure:

- Not lower than the regional minimum wage for employees doing the simplest jobs;

- Higher by at least 7% compared to the regional minimum wage for employees doing jobs requiring vocational training or apprenticeship.

The minimum wage for jobs or positions requiring trained or vocationally trained laborers in Vietnam is as follows:

In which, employees who have undergone vocational training or apprenticeship mentioned in the above regulation include:

- Those who have been granted a vocational certificate, vocational diploma, professional high school diploma, vocational high school diploma, college degree, pre-university certificate, university degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctoral degree according to the provisions of Decree 90-CP dated November 24, 1993, of the Government of Vietnam, regulating the structured framework of the national education system, the system of diplomas, certificates of education and training;

- Those who have been granted a professional secondary education diploma, vocational training diploma, college diploma, university diploma, master's degree, doctoral degree; vocational education diplomas or certificates; university education diplomas and continuous education diplomas or certificates according to the provisions of the Education Law 1998 and Education Law 2005;

- Those who have been granted certificates under the regular vocational training program, primary vocational certificates, secondary vocational diplomas, college vocational diplomas, or have completed vocational training programs under vocational training contracts prescribed in the Law on Vocational Training;

- Those who have been granted a national vocational skills certificate according to the provisions of the Law on Employment;

- Those who have been awarded diplomas or certificates for vocational education at primary, secondary, and college levels; continuous education and other vocational training programs as prescribed in the Law on Vocational Education;

- Those who have been granted diplomas for training levels of university education according to the provisions of the Law on Higher Education;

- Those who have been granted diplomas or certificates by foreign training institutions.

Thus, when an employee holds one of the above-mentioned diplomas or certificates in Vietnam, the minimum wage as a basis for enterprises and employees to negotiate and pay wages will be at least 7% higher than the mentioned regional minimum wage. Additionally, employees who are trained by the company or self-taught and verified by the company for placement in work requiring vocational training are also considered to have undergone vocational training.

Notice: When implementing the regional minimum wage prescribed in Decree 90, enterprises are not allowed to abolish or reduce compensation policies for overtime work, night work, work in hazardous or toxic conditions, in-kind benefits for heavy and hazardous job titles, and other policies as stipulated by labor law. Additional allowances, supplements, subsidies, and bonuses as regulated by the enterprise should be implemented according to the agreements in labor contracts, collective labor agreements, or the enterprise's regulations.

Nguyen Trinh

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