The situation of the COVID-19 epidemic is still complicated throughout Vietnam. The vast majority of self-employed workers are facing difficulties in making daily living expenses and are wondering about support policies for disadvantaged people. So what are the notable points on the policy to support freelancers in Vietnam?
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Which freelancers will be supported?
Laborers who do not have a labor contract are called freelance workers, and the government allows localities, based on specific conditions and budget capacity of localities, provinces, and cities, to set standards and identify the objects.
Thus, in each locality, specific criteria will be determined as to who will be supported. Not all freelance workers will be supported.
For example, in Ho Chi Minh City, at the recent support round under Vietnam's Resolution 09/2021/NQ-HDND dated June 25, 2021, only self-employed workers who meet the following conditions will be supported:
- Legally residing in Ho Chi Minh City (in the case of a temporary residence, a temporary residence registration must be confirmed by the police agency).
- Losing a job, having no income, or earning less than VND 4,000,000/month (the city's near-poor level for the period 2021–2025).
- Doing one of the following:
+ Street vendors, retail trade on the street;
+ Collecting garbage and scrap;
+ Loading and transporting goods;
+ Selling mobile lottery tickets
+ Self-employed or employed in business households in catering, lodging, tourism, and health care (including security);
+ Working in a number of fields and industries that must be temporarily suspended under the direction of the City People's Committee in Vietnam's Official Dispatch No. 1749/UBND-VX dated May 30, 2021.
Or in Dong Nai, according to Vietnam's Decision 2379/QD-UBND dated July 12, 2021, freelance workers with the following conditions will be supported:
- Legally residing in Dong Nai province
- Losing a job, having no income or earning less than VND 1,500,000/month for rural areas and VND 2,000,000/month for urban areas (the national poverty line in 2021–2025)
- Doing one of the following:
+ Collecting garbage, scrap, loading and transporting goods.
+ Operating two-wheeled passenger motorcycles (motorcycle taxis) and two-wheel technology vehicles.
+ Mobile retailing of lottery tickets, street vendors, and retail trade without fixed locations.
+ Domestic workers, workers in preschool educational institutions
+ Self-employed or laborers working in the following industries: dining, lodging, tourism, beauty salons (haircut, perm, nail);Employees working at service establishments that must temporarily suspend operations under the direction of the Provincial People's Committee from May 1, 2021, include: karaoke, bars, discos, tea rooms, cinemas, establishments, massage parlors, saunas, video game stores, gyms, fitness, billiards, and yoga.
Therefore, to determine if you are supported or not, you have to see what policies your locality is following. The government of Vietnam does not have a general regulation.
How much support is there for freelance workers?
The government allows localities to self-determine the level of support but not less than 1,500,000 VND/person/time or 50,000 VND/person/day based on the actual number of days of suspension at the request of the locality.
For example, can be taken,
- In Hanoi, the level of support is 1,500,000 VND/person/time according toVietnam's Decision 3642/QD-UBND dated 21/7/2021.
- In Dong Nai, the support level is 1,500,000 VND/person for employees who have time off from work or have lost their jobs for 15 consecutive days or more (support only 1 time/person) according to Decision 2379/Decision-UBND dated 12/7/2021.
What is the procedure to get support?
Support procedures for receiving support will follow the instructions of each locality:
For example, in Dong Nai, an employee submits an application to the commune-level People's Committee before December 31, 2021. In the event that the employee has a permanent or temporary residence outside of Dong Nai province, he must commit to not making a dossier of application for the support regime at another place where the employee is permanently or temporarily residing.
- Within 05 working days, the commune-level People's Committee shall review and make a list of employees eligible for support with the participation and supervision of representatives of socio-political organizations and publicity. The following: communicate with the residential community; publicly post the list of employees requesting support within 02 working days; compile a list of eligible employees and send them to the district-level People's Committee for appraisal (through the Division of Labor-Invalids and Social Affairs).
- Within 02 working days, the People's Committee of the district shall appraise it and submit it to the People's Committee of the province (through the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs).
- After receiving the complete dossier, within 3 working days, the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs will summarize and submit the list to the Provincial People's Committee for approval.
- The district-level People's Committee shall direct the commune-level People's Committee to pay support within three working days.
Therefore, if freelancers have not received propaganda or notice about this, please actively contact the locality to know the policies and carry out the procedures according to the instructions.
