The region-based minimum wage is the lowest wage level used as the basis for enterprises to determine the wage levels in their wage scales and payrolls; agree on the wage level in the employment contract and pay wages to employees. According to the regulations, enterprises operating in any area shall apply the region-based minimum wage stipulated for that area.
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Recently, the National Wage Council has proposed an increase in the 2018 minimum wage and finalized an average wage increase of 6.5% across four regions (Region I, Region II, Region III, and Region IV) compared to the 2017 region-based minimum wage.
The living standard of workers generally tends to increase over the years, leading to adjustments in the region-based minimum wage to ensure their minimum living needs. Let's look back at the region-based minimum wage over the years according to the table below:
region-based minimum wage OVER THE YEARS
***(From 2009 to 2018)***Units: Dong/month
| Application Period | Region I | Region II | Region III | Region IV | Legal Basis |
| From January 01, 2009 to December 31, 2009 |
800,000 | 740,000 | 690,000 | 650,000 | Decree 110/2008/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2010 to December 31, 2010 |
980,000 | 880,000 | 810,000 | 730,000 | Decree 97/2009/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2011 to October 01, 2011 |
1,350,000 | 1,200,000 | 1,050,000 | 830,000 | Decree 108/2010/ND-CP |
| From October 01, 2011 to December 31, 2012 |
2,000,000 | 1,780,000 | 1,550,000 | 1,400,000 | Decree 70/2011/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2013 |
2,350,000 | 2,100,000 | 1,800,000 | 1,650,000 | Decree 103/2012/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2014 to December 31, 2014 | 2,700,000 | 2,400,000 | 2,100,000 | 1,900,000 | Decree 182/2013/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2015 | 3,100,000 | 2,750,000 | 2,400,000 | 2,150,000 | Decree 103/2014/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2016 | 3,500,000 | 3,100,000 | 2,700,000 | 2,400,000 | Decree 122/2015/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2017 | 3,750,000 | 3,320,000 | 2,900,000 | 2,580,000 | Decree 153/2016/ND-CP |
| From January 01, 2018 (Expected) |
3,980,000 | 3,530,000 | 3,090,000 | 2,760,000 | Draft Decree |
Regardless of the extent of the adjustment in the region-based minimum wage, when paying wages to employees, businesses must always ensure the following principles:
- The wage paid to employees working under normal conditions must not be lower than the region-based minimum wage for employees performing the simplest jobs;- For employees performing jobs that require vocational training, the wage must be at least 7% higher than the region-based minimum wage;- When implementing the region-based minimum wage, businesses may not abolish or cut wage policies such as overtime pay, night work pay, working in strenuous or hazardous conditions, in-kind benefits, as well as other allowances, subsidies, and bonuses.
