Vietnam: Summary of Wages and Salaries of Employees in Specific Cases

Vietnam: Summary of employee salary, wages in specific cases (Illustrative Image)

1. Important Content Regarding Salary and Wages in Vietnam

* Concept of salary, wages

- The salary according to the job or position must not be lower than the minimum wage. Minimum wage is established regionally on a monthly and hourly basis. Specifically, the current minimum wage is stipulated in Decree 90/2019/ND-CP as follows:

- 4,420,000 VND/month applicable to Region I.

- 3,920,000 VND/month applicable to Region II.

- 3,430,000 VND/month applicable to Region III.

- 3,070,000 VND/month applicable to Region IV.

- Wages are the amount of money that the employer pays the employee by agreement to perform work, including salary according to the job or position, salary allowances, and other additional payments.

* Principles of wage payment in Vietnam

According to Article 94 of the 2019 Labor Code, the following principles must be ensured when paying wages to employees:

- Wages must be paid directly, fully, and on time.

- The employer can pay wages to a legally authorized person if the employee is unable to receive the wage directly. This is a new regulation in the 2019 Labor Code.

- The employer must not restrict or interfere with the employee's right to make independent decisions on their wage spending. Additionally, the employer must not force the employee to spend their wages on purchasing goods or using services provided by the employer or designated by the employer. This is another new regulation in the 2019 Labor Code.

* Methods of wage payment

The methods of wage payment for employees are specifically regulated in Article 96 of the 2019 Labor Code as follows:

- The employer and the employee can agree on the method of wage payment based on time, product, or job package.

- Wages can be paid in cash or transferred to the employee's personal bank account.

- If wages are paid through the employee's personal bank account, the employer must cover the related fees for opening the account and transferring the wages.

* Wage payment period

The wage payment period for employees can be calculated as follows:

- Hourly, daily, weekly: wages can be paid after the hour, day, or week of work or paid cumulatively but not exceeding 15 days for cumulative payment.- Monthly: wages can be paid once a month or half a month.

- Based on products or job package: wages are paid according to the agreement of both parties, with monthly wage advances based on the amount of work completed within the month.

- In cases of force majeure, wages may be delayed but not exceeding 30 days.

Note: If wages are delayed for 15 days or more, the employer must compensate the employee with an amount at least equal to the interest of the delayed wage calculated according to the one-month deposit interest rate announced by the bank where the employer opens the account to pay the employee at the time of wage payment.

2. Employee Salary, Wages in Specific Cases:

(*) This wage does not include the holiday, Tet, paid leave salary for employees who are paid on a daily basis.

Note: The wage in these cases is the wage paid based on the wage rate or the actual wage for the current job during normal workdays/weekly rest days/holidays, Tet, as stipulated in Article 98 of the 2019 Labor Code.

Thus, the salary and wages for employees vary depending on the conditions and working time. Employees need to understand this regulation to ensure their right to work and receive appropriate wages.

Thuy Tram

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