Key Provisions of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP on Administrative Penalties in the Fields of Labor and Social Insurance

On 15 July 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP on administrative penalties for violations in the fields of labor and social insurance and in relation to Vietnamese workers working abroad under contracts. The Decree takes effect from 10 September 2026 and replaces Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP from that date (Clauses 1 and 4, Article 66 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP). For the first time, the Decree clearly distinguishes between the "late payment" and "evasion" of compulsory social insurance contributions, with separate penalty frameworks for each, while substantially increasing the fines for a range of other violations. All enterprises employing workers in Vietnam fall within its scope.

⚠️ Important note on penalty levels: Under Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP, the monetary penalties specified in the Decree, including all penalties referred to in this newsletter, apply to individuals; the penalties applicable to organizations are twice the amounts applicable to individuals, except for certain exceptions expressly listed in this Article. Accordingly, for enterprises, the amounts below stated as "up to VND 75 million" may in practice reach VND 150 million. Household businesses and households are subject to the same penalties as individuals (Clause 3, Article 7).

1. Unlawful trading in workers' data: fines of up to VND 70 million

Under Point c, Clause 4, Article 10 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP, the unlawful purchase, sale, exchange, or appropriation of information and data in databases on workers, or labor market information not yet disclosed by a competent state authority, is subject to a fine of VND 50 million to VND 70 million, provided the conduct does not reach the threshold for criminal prosecution.

A lower penalty is also noteworthy: unlawfully extracting, sharing, or using such information or data is subject to a fine of VND 20 million to VND 40 million under Clause 2, Article 10 of the same Decree. Enterprises with recruitment or human resources functions, or those using candidate data services, should carefully review the sources of the data they use.

2. Deceiving or recruiting workers for labor exploitation: fines of up to VND 75 million

Under Clause 3, Article 11 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP, acts of enticing, inducing, making false promises, publishing misleading advertisements, or using other deceptive methods to defraud workers, or recruiting workers for the purposes of exploitation or forced labor, where the conduct does not reach the threshold for criminal prosecution, are subject to a fine of VND 50 million to VND 75 million. This provision targets deceptive recruitment practices; enterprises should control the content of job advertisements and commitments made to candidates.

3. Late payment of compulsory social insurance contributions: fine of 12% to 15% of the overdue amount (Article 43)

Article 43 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP prescribes the following penalties for late payment:

(a) A warning applies where the amount in violation at the time the administrative violation record is drawn up is less than VND 400,000 (Clause 1, Article 43).

(b) Failure to register, or incomplete registration, of employees subject to compulsory social insurance within 60 days after the expiry of the deadline specified in Clause 1, Article 28 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, or after that 60-day period where the case is not deemed by law to constitute contribution evasion: a fine based on the number of affected employees, ranging from VND 5 million to VND 10 million for fewer than 10 employees and increasing progressively to VND 60 million to VND 75 million for 1,000 employees or more (Clause 2, Article 43).

(c) A fine of 12% to 15% of the total amount of late-paid contributions at the time the administrative violation record is drawn up, capped at VND 75 million (Clause 3, Article 43), applies to: failure to pay or fully pay the amount stated in the registration dossier after the latest payment deadline prescribed in Clause 4, Article 34 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance (except for the case specified at Point dd, Clause 1, Article 39 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance); or failure to pay or fully pay after 60 days from the latest payment deadline, despite having been urged to pay under Article 35 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, where the conduct is not deemed to constitute contribution evasion.

Remedial measures: the violating party is required to complete the registration, pay the full amount of late-paid contributions, and pay an additional 0.03% per day calculated on the late-paid amount and the number of days of late payment into the social insurance fund (Clause 4, Article 43).

4. Evasion of compulsory social insurance contributions: higher fine of 18% to 20% of the evaded amount (Article 44)

Article 44 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP prescribes two groups of penalties that are considerably higher than those for late payment:

(a) Failure to register, or incomplete registration, of employees subject to compulsory social insurance after 60 days from the expiry of the deadline prescribed in Clause 1, Article 28 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance: a fine based on the number of affected employees, ranging from VND 6 million to VND 12 million for fewer than 10 employees and increasing progressively to VND 70 million to VND 75 million for 1,000 employees or more (Clause 1, Article 44).

(b) Fine calculated as a percentage of the evaded contribution amount: a fine of 18% to 20% of the total amount of compulsory social insurance contributions evaded, capped at VND 75 million (Clause 2, Article 44), applies where an enterprise declares the salary used as the contribution base at a level lower than that prescribed in Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, or fails to pay or fully pay the registered amount after 60 days from the latest payment deadline prescribed in Clause 4, Article 34 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance and after having been urged to pay under Article 35 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, provided the conduct does not reach the threshold for criminal prosecution.

Remedial measures: as with late payment, the violating party is required to complete the registration, pay the full amount of evaded contributions, and pay an additional 0.03% per day calculated on the evaded amount and the number of days of evasion into the social insurance fund (Clause 3, Article 44). The additional 0.03% per day, equivalent to nearly 11% per year, may substantially exceed the principal fine if the violation continues for an extended period.

Key distinction: late payment generally involves an overdue payment despite accurate declaration, subject to a fine of 12% to 15%; evasion involves declaring a salary for contribution purposes below the prescribed level, failing to register, or continuing not to pay after being urged to do so, subject to a fine of 18% to 20%. The case may also be referred for criminal prosecution where the relevant elements are present.

5. Other related provisions to note

Repeated late-payment or evasion violations: under Clause 4, Article 7 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP, where violations prescribed in Articles 43, 44, 45, and 46, and Clause 1, Article 42, are committed at different times, have not yet been handled, and remain within the limitation period, the violating party is penalized for only one violation, with the aggravating circumstance of "repeated administrative violations" applied.

Unemployment insurance is subject to corresponding penalties: the Decree contains separate Article 45 on late payment and Article 46 on evasion of unemployment insurance contributions, with a similar penalty structure; enterprises should review their social insurance and unemployment insurance obligations concurrently.

💡 Immediate actions for enterprises

1. Review the full list of employees subject to compulsory social insurance before 10 September 2026 to ensure complete and timely registration in accordance with Clause 1, Article 28 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance.
2. Review the salary bases used for social insurance contributions against Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance; declaring salaries below the prescribed level constitutes contribution evasion and is subject to a fine of 18% to 20%.
3. Fully settle any outstanding social insurance and unemployment insurance contributions, particularly amounts for which the social insurance authority has issued payment reminders, to prevent a case of "late payment" from becoming "evasion", which attracts more severe penalties.
4. Take into account that the actual fines applicable to enterprises are twice the amounts specified in the Decree (Clause 1, Article 7) when assessing compliance risks.
5. Verify the sources and use of candidate and employee data within the human resources and recruitment functions; review job advertisement content to ensure it contains no false promises or misleading advertising.

>>> Tải Nghị định 283/2026/NĐ-CP

This newsletter has been prepared by Crowe Vietnam for general information and reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal, tax or accounting advice in relation to any specific circumstances. Laws and regulations may be amended or may no longer be in effect at the time this newsletter is accessed. Readers should consult the original legal instruments and seek advice from Crowe Vietnam’s professionals before applying the information to any particular situation. Crowe Vietnam accepts no responsibility for any loss arising from reliance on the information contained in this newsletter without obtaining appropriate professional advice.