Firstly, the laws of Vietnam require the employer and the employee to participate in compulsory social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance. The employer and the employee must together contribute 32.5 % of the employee’s gross salary to the social insurance funds.
Under the applicable regulations, the contribution obligations to the social insurance funds in details are as follows:
Payer Social Insurance Health Insurance Unemployment Insurance
The employer 18% 3% 1%
The employee 8% 1.5% 1%
However, the future employee’s salary used for calculating social insurance contribution is currently capped at 20 months of minimum salary.
Secondly, the employee with a definite-term labor contract will be entitled to annual leave. Under the Labor Code, the employee who has worked for any one employer for a full 12 months is entitled to fully paid annual leave pursuant to labor contract as follows: 12 working days applicable to normal job; 14 working days applicable to heavy, toxic or dangerous jobs; 16 working days applicable to extremely heavy, toxic or dangerous jobs. The employer may provide the employee with more annual leaves in accordance with its' policy.
The amount of the employee’s annual leaves will be calculated as a ratio corresponding to the actual working time of this staff at the requesting date for leave taking. For example, if the employee has X annual leave days under the labor contract and has worked for the employer for Y months at the requesting date for annual leave, the amount of annual leave will be equal to: X days divides with 12 and then multiplies with Y months.
Thirdly, the employee will also be entitled to the benefits under the Labor Code, e.g. Public holidays, rest breaks. The foreign employee will be entitled to additionally one traditional public holiday and one national day of their country.
Fourthly, about Tet bonus and other material benefits, e.g. thirteenth salary, lunch, petrol or phone allowances, the Labor Code encourages the employer to provide the employee with more benefits but under applicable regulations, those benefits are not an obligation to the employer. Depending on its’ policy, the employer may provide the employee with those benefits. However, if the employer agrees to provide those benefits with the employee in the labor contract, those benefits will be an obligation to the employer.