Nguyen Thanh Tram, Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Le Nguyen Anh Vu
Vision & Associates[1]
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| Export garment production at NV APPAREL Co., Ltd., Binh Hoa Industrial Park, An Giang province__Photo: Le Huy Hai/VNA |
On June 16, the National Assembly passed Law 74/2025/QH15 on Employment (the 2025 Law), which is set to take effect from the beginning of 2026 and will replace the 2013 Law on Employment (the 2013 Law). Below is a summary of remarkable new provisions introduced in the 2025 Law as compared to the 2013 version.
Labor registration information and database on laborers
For the first time, the 2025 Law stipulates that both employers and employees must register and update labor registration information when registering or adjusting information on employees’ social insurance (SI) participation.
The labor registration information on an employee includes:
(i) Basic information, including family name, middle name and first name; personal identification number; date of birth; gender; ethnicity; current residence address;
(ii) Information on general education, vocational education, higher education, occupational skills certificate and other certificates;
(iii) Information on employment status and job seeking needs;
(iv) Information on SI, unemployment insurance (UI); and,
(v) Other information regarding characteristics of the employee.
The above information will be connected to, updated from, synchronized with, and shared via the National General Database, national databases, specialized databases, and other databases as prescribed under the laws on employment and data, and other relevant laws. The Database on Laborers will be established and managed centrally and uniformly nationwide in accordance with the law on data.
Unemployment insurance participants
The 2025 Law expands the categories of UI participants. The first category includes persons working under indefinite-term employment contracts, employment contracts with a term of one month or more (instead of full three months or more as stated in the 2013 Law), including cases in which employees and employers agree on a different name of the contract but it contains terms that involve paid employment and wages and management, administration and supervision by one party.
The second category covers employees working under the above-mentioned employment contracts on a part-time basis, with a monthly salary at least equal to the lowest salary level used as the basis for payment of compulsory SI premiums as stipulated by the 2024 Law on Social Insurance - SI Law (it is noted that Decree 158 dated June 25, 2025, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the SI Law regarding compulsory SI provides that when the basic salary has not yet been cancelled, the reference level prescribed in the SI Law is equal to the basic salary).
The third group embraces persons working under working contracts (as defined in Article 3.5 of the 2010 Law on Public Servants, as amended in 2019, working contract means a written agreement between a public servant or a person recruited to work as public servant and the head of a public non-business unit on the working position, salary, benefits, working conditions and rights and obligations of each party).
The last group, which is added under the 2025 Law, includes enterprise managers, supervisors, representatives of capital contributions of enterprises as prescribed by law; members of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officers, members of the Supervisory Board or supervisors and other elected holders of management positions of cooperatives and cooperative unions as stipulated by the Law on Cooperatives who receive salaries.
In addition, the National Assembly Standing Committee will decide on UI participation for other subjects who have stable and regular employment and income based on the Government’s proposal in conformity with socio-economic development conditions in each period.
The 2025 Law clearly stipulates that in case an employee falls into multiple categories as stated above, both the employee and the employer (not just the employer under the first signed employment contract as stipulated in the 2013 Law) will have to participate in UI alongside compulsory SI. However, for employees who currently receive pension, SI allowance or monthly allowance according to the Government’s regulations or who are eligible for pension; employees working under probationary contracts under the Labor Law; and employees who are domestic workers, are not eligible to participate in UI.
Unemployment insurance premium payment
The 2025 Law states that employers are responsible for fully paying UI premiums (but removes the stipulation that employers must participate in UI for an employee at the SI agency within 30 days from the effective date of the employment contract or the working contract according to the 2013 Law); and that delay and evasion of SI premium payment will be dealt with in accordance with the SI Law.
At the same time, the 2025 Law supplements the provisions that in case of failure to fully pay SI premiums for an employee upon termination of the employment/working contract or termination of employment, the employer is responsible for paying an amount corresponding to the UI benefits which the employee is entitled to under law.
It flexibly sets the maximum UI premium payment rate of 1 percent instead of fixing at 1 percent as under the 2013 Law; and allows the Government to regulate the reduction of UI premium payment rate in cases of crisis, economic recession, disasters, fires, hostilities or dangerous epidemics, based on actual situation and the balance of the UI Fund to ensure policy flexibility and enhance the Government’s proactive management.
The 2025 Law provides specific guidelines for some cases. It says that in case an employee ceases work but continues to receive monthly salary equal to or higher than the lowest salary level used as the basis for compulsory SI premium payment, the UI premium payment will be based on the salary actually received during the cessation period. As for employees working under employment contracts remunerated on a piece-rate basis or a lump-sum basis at enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative unions or business households operating in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and salt production, employers must register with the SI agency and pay UI premiums monthly, quarterly or biannually. The deadline for payment is the last day of the month immediately following the payment cycle.
The 2025 Law allows that the UI premiums payable by employers for employees with disabilities may be reduced for a period not exceeding 12 months to encourage the hiring and retention of employees with disabilities. At the same time, employees and employers may suspend UI premium payment if the employee is detained or suspended from work. In case the employee is entitled to receive full salary back, the employee and employer will make back payment for the period of detention or suspension from work with an amount equal to the amount payable for the months of suspension and will have to do so concurrently with their back payment of compulsory SI premiums. The collection and payment of UI premiums in arrears will be carried out together with the collection and payment of compulsory SI premiums in arrears in accordance with the SI Law.
Unemployment insurance regimes
The 2025 Law continues to stipulate the four UI regimes similar to those under the 2013 version. However, the regimes are more clearly defined and increase the benefits for both employees and employers, specifically as follows:
(i) Vocational training support: This regime is expanded to “support for employees in training and vocational skills improvement” regime; accordingly, employees will be supported not only in vocational and skill training but also with food expenses during participation in training, thus helping reduce difficulties for unemployed people when participating in vocational training.
(ii) Unemployment allowance: The 2025 Law adds the case in which employees who resign upon meeting pension conditions will not be entitled to receive unemployment benefits; and the waiting period for unemployment benefit eligibility is reduced to 10 working days from 15 days.
(iii) Support for training, further training, and improving vocational skills to maintain employment for employees: This regime is refocused as “Support for employers to train, further train, and improve vocational skills to maintain employment for employees” regime, which specifies employers as subjects to be supported in cases that affect the employment or are at risk of affecting the employment of many employees participating in UI; and the conditions for applying this support regime are revised, in which: force majeure is defined to include: disasters, fires, enemy sabotage or dangerous epidemics; and implementation of a competent state agency’s decision on relocating or downsizing production and business facilities. The conditions for paying UI premiums are also revised, accordingly, UI premiums must have been paid for at least 12 months within 24 months preceding the time of request for support (instead of full nine months within 24 months before the termination of the employment contract or working contract as under the 2013 Law). The 2025 Law adds the requirement that “A plan to train, further, and improve vocational skills to maintain employment must be in place”, while removing the prior requirement that “There is insufficient fund to organize training, further training, and improving vocational skills for employees”.
Employment services
The 2025 Law amends the scope of employment services to cover job counselling and placement; labor supply and referral to employers; collection, analysis, storage and provision of information on the labor market.
It states that employment service organizations include public employment service organizations (formerly employment service centers) and employment service enterprises. According to the 2025 Law, employment service enterprises are still defined as enterprises established and operating in accordance with the law on enterprises and licensed by a competent state agency to operate in the field of employment services if they satisfy the requirements on physical facilities and personnel and have made the security deposit and maintained these conditions throughout their operation.
Such enterprises may establish a branch if such branch has physical facilities that meet the requirements for provision of employment services and must, before commencing any employment service operation, notify thereof to the agency in charge of employment of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the enterprise’s head office is located.
Prohibited acts in the employment sector
The 2025 Law not only maintains prohibitions on such acts as employment discrimination, fraud, and document falsification but also introduces explicit provisions targeting the misuse of employees’ data and information. These include unauthorized exploitation, sharing, trading, exchange, misappropriation, or illegal use of personal data and labor market information.
Thus, compared with the 2013 Law, the 2025 Law supplements and provides in detail the prohibited acts, with a particular focus on protecting personal data in alignment with the demands of digital transformation and the protection of employees’ rights in the modern era. Furthermore, the 2025 Law clearly defines “Discrimination in employment” and expands the scope of the prohibited act of fraud and falsification of documents covering not only the implementation of employment policies but also employment services, assessments, and the issuance of national occupational skills certificates.
These advancements strengthen the legal framework, better safeguard employees’ lawful rights and interests, enhance the effectiveness of the state management of employment, and facilitate the handling of violations involving labor-related data and information in practice.
The National Employment Fund
The 2025 Law stipulates that the National Employment Fund will be incorporated into the central budget and allocated to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to serve as capital for loans aimed at promoting employment, in accordance with the Government’s regulations. Whereas, under the 2013 Law, the National Employment Fund operated as an independent entity, funded by the state budget, with contributions from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, and other lawful sources.
This reform aims to enhance transparency and efficiency in the management and use of funding sources to support employment creation.-
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