Effective from July 1, 2025
Starting from July 1, 2025, the Social Insurance Law No. 41/2024/QH15 (referred to as the 2024 Social Insurance Law) officially takes effect, replacing the 2014 Social Insurance Law.
Simultaneously, Decree 158/2025/ND-CP, which provides detailed provisions and guidance on the implementation of certain articles of the Social Insurance Law on regarding compulsory social insurance, also takes effect on July 1, 2025.
Below are some key highlights of Decree 158 that businesses should note:
1. Probationary employees not subject to compulsory social insurance:
The 2024 Social Insurance Law expands the coverage to include cases where the employee and employer enter into the contracts that are referred to by other names, as long as they specify the job, salary, remuneration, and the management of one party (Point a, Clause 1, Article 2).
Clause 5, Article 3 of Decree 158 stipulates the following exceptions:
“People under Point a, Clause 1, Article 2 of the Social Insurance Law who do not work full time and earn monthly wages, as defined in Clause 2, Article 7 of this Decree, that are lower than the minimum wage used as the basis for social insurance contributions; and employees working under probationary contracts in accordance with labor laws are not subject to compulsory social insurance.”
2. New guidelines on wages used as basis for social insurance contributions:
According to Article 7 of Decree 158, the wage basis for social insurance contributions includes new regulations, including the following:
Allowances that depend on or fluctuate based on work performance, experience, or quality of work are not included in the wage base for social insurance contributions.
For non-full time workers, the monthly wage is calculated as follows:
3. Shortened period for retroactive contributions without late payment interest:
The deadline for retroactive payment without late interest is now set to the last day of the month following the month in which the wage adjustment decision is issued.
4. Guidelines on temporary suspension of compulsory contributions:
According to Article 10 of Decree 158, employers may apply to suspend contributions to the retirement and survivorship fund (for up to 12 months) if they: