Vietnam Employment Law 2025: unemployment insurance basics

Vietnam employment law 2025 brings a new Law on Employment (Law No. 74/2025/QH15), which the National Assembly passed on 16 June 2025. It takes effect on 1 January and replaces the 2013 law. For leaders, the biggest change is who must join unemployment insurance, and what employers owe when a worker leaves.

This note covers the basics. It is general information, not legal advice. Check the final text and any guiding decrees before you act.

Who must join unemployment insurance

The new law widens the list. Workers on fixed-term contracts of one month or more now count. Under the 2013 law, the minimum term was three months. Part-time workers count too, if their monthly pay is at least the lowest salary level used as the base for compulsory social insurance.

Salaried managers of enterprises and cooperatives are also covered. This includes salaried board members and executives of cooperatives. The National Assembly Standing Committee may add other groups with stable, regular income later.

Some people stay outside the scheme. These are people who receive or qualify for a pension, probationary workers, and domestic workers.

If an employee holds more than one qualifying contract, the employee and each employer take part. It is no longer only the employer under the first contract.

Sources: Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, Article 31 (english.luatvietnam.vn); Vietnam Law Magazine, 4 September 2025, on new points for unemployment insurance participants.

Premiums and the salary cap

The rates in the law are simple. Employees pay up to 1% of monthly salary. Employers pay up to 1% of the monthly salary fund. The State pays up to 1% for staff paid from the central budget.

The salary used to work out premiums is capped at 20 times the regional minimum monthly wage. The Government announces that wage, and the cap follows it.

An employee with no pay for 14 or more working days in a month does not pay premiums for that month. Employers may also get premium reductions for employees with disabilities, for up to 12 months.

Sources: Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, Articles 33 and 34 (english.luatvietnam.vn).

How the benefit works

The monthly allowance is 60% of the worker's average premium salary over the last six months. The amount is capped at five times the regional minimum monthly wage.

The length of the benefit depends on how long the worker paid in. With 12 to 36 months of premiums, the worker gets three months of benefit. Each extra full 12 months adds one more month. The maximum is 12 months.

To qualify, a worker needs at least 12 months of premiums in the 24 months before the job ends. For fixed-term contracts of one to under 12 months, the window is 36 months. The worker must file a complete claim within three months of leaving. The agency checks the claim within 10 working days, and payment starts on the 11th working day after a complete file is filed.

Sources: Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, Articles 38 and 39 (english.luatvietnam.vn).

Job support beyond cash

The law is not only about payments. It also sets out job counseling and job placement help. Training support can run up to six months and can cover tuition and meal costs. People who receive a benefit must report their job search status each month.

Employers can also get support for training that helps them keep staff during certain qualifying events. This gives leaders a tool when business turns slow and they want to avoid layoffs.

Sources: Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, Articles 36, 37, 40 and 42 (english.luatvietnam.vn).

What employers should do now

The law adds a labor registration step. Employers and employees must both register and update labor registration information when they register or change social insurance details. The data covers identity, education, job status, and insurance records. It will feed a central national database on workers.

Employers must pay premiums every month and deduct the employee share from pay. They must pay in full. If an employer fails to pay premiums in full when a worker leaves, the employer must pay the worker an amount equal to the benefit the worker would have lost.

A short checklist for leaders:

• List every worker on a contract of one month or more, and check each one is registered.
• Review part-time staff pay against the social insurance base salary.
• Add salaried managers and board members to the payroll records for premiums.
• Confirm premiums are paid in full each month, with no gaps.
• Prepare to keep labor registration data accurate and up to date.

Sources: Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, Articles 17, 32 and 33 (english.luatvietnam.vn); Vietnam Law Magazine, 4 September 2025.

The short version

More workers and managers are covered. The rate stays at up to 1% on each side. The benefit follows a clear formula with a cap. Employers carry real financial risk if they underpay. Start the checks early, because the new rules apply from 1 January.

Sources list: Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, 16 June 2025 (english.luatvietnam.vn); Vietnam Law Magazine, "Law on Employment: notable new points on labor registration, unemployment insurance participants", 4 September 2025.