Draft of decree detailing a number of articles of the Law on Employment in respect to unemployment insurance

Upon Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15 passed by the National Assembly on 16 June 2025 (‘Law on Employment’), a few of draft decrees detailing a number of articles of the Law on Employment have been prepared by relevant drafting committees, including a draft decree detailing regulations related to unemployment insurance premiums (‘Draft Decree’). 

Under Decision No. 1850/QD-TTg dated 27 August 2025 on Planning to implement the Law on Employment 2025, the Draft Decree and the other 4 draft decrees should have been finalized before 15 November 2025. Although the time to officially issue the Draft Decree has not been disclosed so far, it is expected that the Draft Decree together with the remaining draft decree will be issued soon after the Law on Employment takes effect from 1 January 2026, so that the provisions thereof can be specified and implemented.

While awaiting for the final Draft, several highlights of the Draft Decree related to the regulations on payment of the unemployment insurance premiums of employers and employees may be referred as follows:

1 - Determination of employees being paying unemployment insurance premiums

The Draft Decree regulates the following employees who are determined as paying unemployment insurance premiums:

• Employees who have paid unemployment insurance premiums for the month of termination of labor contracts, employment contracts or termination of work, and have been confirmed by the social insurance agency on the social insurance books;
• Employees who have paid unemployment insurance premiums for the month immediately preceding the month of termination of labor contracts, employment contracts or termination of work, and have been confirmed by the social insurance agency on the social insurance books;
• In the month immediately preceding the month of termination of labor contracts, employment contracts, or termination of work, or in the month of termination of labor contracts, employment contracts, or termination of work, employees take leave due to illness or maternity for 14 working days or more in the month without receiving monthly salary, and have been confirmed by the social insurance agencies on the social insurance books;
• In the month immediately preceding the month of termination of labor contracts, employment contracts, or termination of work, or in the month of termination of labor contracts, employment contracts, or termination of work, employees take leave for 14 working days or more in the month without receiving monthly salary, and have been confirmed by the social insurance agencies on the social insurance books;
• Employees quit jobs since employers are no longer able to pay unemployment insurance premiums for them.

2 - Regulations on payment of unemployment insurance premiums 

2.1 Responsibilities for paying unemployment insurance premiums

The purpose of participation in unemployment insurance is to support job maintenance, training, and partially compensate for the income of employees when they become unemployed. Therefore, it requires both employers and employees to fulfill their responsibilities to pay unemployment insurance premiums to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

The Draft Decree provides responsibilities of employers and employees, in which employees' unemployment benefits will depend on employers' fulfillment of their obligation to pay unemployment insurance premiums.

Typically, upon termination of labor contracts/ employment contracts/ termination of work, employees will be promptly settled for unemployment insurance benefits. However, in case an employer fails to fulfill the obligation to pay unemployment insurance premiums, the employee can opt to (i) pay his/her part of the unemployment insurance premium to the Unemployment Insurance Fund to settle the unemployment insurance benefit for his/her first. This amount will be refunded to the employee once the employer completes its part of the unemployment insurance premium to the Unemployment Insurance Fund; (ii) file a lawsuit in court against the employer.

2.2. Levels to pay unemployment insurance premiums:

The Draft Decree indicates the levels to pay unemployment insurance premiums that have been regulated in the Law on Employment as follows:

• • the salaries are formulated by the employers and stated in the labor contracts;
  • the salary-based allowances are to compensate factors related to labor conditions, complexity of work, living conditions, and labor attraction as agreed upon in labor contracts, not including salary-based allowances that depend on or fluctuate under employees' labor productivity, work process, and quality of work performance; and
  • the other additional amounts are determined by a specific amount of money along with the monthly salaries as agreed upon in the labor contracts and not including other additional amounts that depend on or fluctuate under employees' labor productivity, work process, and quality of work performance;
  • for employees who suspend the jobs but still receive the monthly salaries or higher than the lowest salary used as the basis for compulsory social insurance premiums, the payment of unemployment insurance premiums will be made under the salaries received during the period of suspension of the job;
  • separately, for managerial individuals, controllers, representatives of capital, or members of the board of management who receive salaries, the basis for payment of unemployment insurance premiums is their salary.

2.4. Period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums

By the Law on Employment, the period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums to receive unemployment allowance is the total of periods of having paid unemployment insurance premiums from the starting time of such payment to the time the employee terminates his/her labor contract/ working contract or terminates his/her work but during which he/she has not yet received any unemployment allowance.

The Draft Decree provides guidelines on the period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums but during which the employee has not yet received any unemployment allowances in the following cases:

a) In case where the employee has a period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums but has not been received unemployment allowance for some months:

In this regard, the employee’s period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums can be settled as follows:

• • In case the employee has paid unemployment insurance for 36 to 144 months, but the unemployment allowance has not yet been settled for him/her, the period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums will be retained.
  • In case the employee has paid unemployment insurance premiums for more than 144 months, his/her periods that have not yet been settled for unemployment allowance will not be retained.

b) In case the decision on unemployment allowance for the employee is cancelled, the period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums will be retained. By the Draft Decree, such retained period is determined as the period calculated for unemployment allowance under the decision mentioned above.

c) In case the employee is terminated unemployment allowance while he/she is receiving the same, his/her period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums will be retained.

d) In case after 3 months from the expired date of enjoying unemployment allowance under a decision, the employee does not receive unemployment allowance without notifying the relevant social insurance agency, his/her period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums will be retained.

e) In case the employee has a period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums after terminating his/her unemployment allowance which has been additionally confirmed by the relevant social insurance agency, typically, his/her period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums will be retained but taking into account some specific cases for employees with a period of unemployment insurance payment of less than 36 months as a basis for settling unemployment allowance.

In this regard, the period of having paid unemployment insurance premiums which has been additionally confirmed by the relevant social insurance agency will be retained based on the following principle: