The definition of salary used to calculate contribution of social insurance shall also include allowances
Decree No. 115/2015/ND-CP (“Decree 115”) promulgated by the Government on November 11th, 2015 stipulates that the salary used to calculate contribution of social insurance shall include not only the monthly salary rate but also the allowances.
The roadmap applied to such provisions is as follows: (i) from January 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2017, the monthly salary used as the basis for social insurance payment will be salary plus allowances; (ii) since January 1st, 2018 this amount will be the salary plus allowances and additional payments as prescribed in the labor law.
Decree 115 took effect on January 1st, 2016.
The maximum rate for contributing social insurance
Decision No. 959/QD-BHXH promulgated by Vietnam Social Insurance on September 9th, 2015 defines the salary rate for contributing the compulsory social insurance not under the region minimum salary at the contribution date. In case such amount exceeds 20 times of the basic salary, the contribution rate is equal to 20 months of the basic salary.
The salary written in labor contract
The salary written in the labor contract is agreed between the employee and employer, including (i) the pay rate corresponding to the job or position; (ii) the allowances (sum of money makes up for working conditions, work complications, living conditions, necessity of labor attraction); (iii) the additional payments.
The salary written in the labor contract and the salary paid to employees shall be specified in Vietnam Dong except salaries and allowances paid to non-residents, foreign residents under the provisions of the law on foreign exchange.
Such provisions are provided in Decree No. 05/2015/ND-CP issued on January 12th, 2015 and Circular No. 23/2015/TT-BLDTBXH promulgated on Jun 23rd, 2015.
Paternity leave
From January 1st, 2016, male employees currently paying social insurance premiums whose wives give birth to children are entitled to a paternity leave of from 05 to 14 days depending on the circumstances. The paternity leave period must be within the first 30 days after the date of childbirth. This content is stipulated in Law on social insurance 2014 passed by National Assembly on November 20th, 2014 and took effect on January 1st, 2016.