Minimum Wage

General

In Vietnam, the statutory minimum wage is set per zone as designated by the Government.

• Zone 1: 4,680,000 VND – urban Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
• Zone 2: 4,160,000 VND – rural Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City plus Da Nang
• Zone 3: 3,640,000 VND – provincial cities and districts of Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Phu Tho, Binh Phuc and other provinces not listed in Zones 1 and 2 above
• Zone 4: 3,250,000 VND – all remaining localities

It also increases minimum hourly wages as follows:

• Zone 1: 22,500 VND

• Zone 2: 20,000 VND
• Zone 3: 17,500 VND
• Zone 4:  15,600 VND

Wages for employees that are paid daily or on a weekly basis, must not be lower than the minimum wage when converted to monthly or hourly rates.

Payroll

Payroll Cycle

The payroll cycle in Vietnam is generally monthly and is usually paid on the last working day, or as agreed within the employment contract.

13th Salary

In Vietnam, it is customary to pay a 13th-month salary at the Lunar New Year or the end of the year.

Working Hours

General

In Vietnam, working hours must not exceed 8 hours a day or 48 hours per week.

Overtime

Work that exceeds the standard weekly working hours is optionally paid as overtime and is regulated by the employment contract or collective agreements.
Under Article 107.2(c) of the Labor Code 2019 and Article 61 of Decree 145/2020, the overtime hours of employees are capped at 200 hours per year, except for certain specific cases where the employees can work overtime up to 300 hours per year. Exceptional cases are limited to some production industries, certain circumstances, or other cases allowed by the Government. However, Resolution 17/2022 releases this restriction by allowing the employer to reach an agreement with its  employees to increase the annual overtime hours up to 300 hours regardless of its industry or circumstances, except where the relevant employees are:

• aged between 15 and under 18 years old;
• have mild disabilities with work capacity reduction of at least 51% or employees with severe disabilities or extremely severe disabilities;
• undertake heavy, hazardous, dangerous or extremely heavy, hazardous or dangerous work;
• female employees in their 7th month or later of their pregnancy (or the 6th month or more of her pregnancy in case they work in a highland, deep-lying, remote, border, or island area); or
• female employees raising a child under 12 months

The employer is required to notify the labor authority upon organizing for employees to work overtime under Resolution 17/2022.

In addition, Resolution 17/2022, where an employer is allowed to arrange for employees to work up to 300 hours/year, upon having demand and subject to the consent of the employees, can also arrange for their employees to work overtime up to 60 hours per month. This cap under the Labour Code 2019 is 40 hours only.  

Working Week

Monday-Saturday/Monday- Friday

Leave

Paid Time Off

Paid leave in Vietnam is set in the employment contract as a minimum of 12 days paid leave a year, in addition to any public holidays.  This increases by one day for every five years of completed service.

Public Holidays

There are 13 official paid holidays.

Sick Days

All employees are entitled to up to 30 days of paid sick leave per year, increasing to 60 days in exceptional circumstances. Sick leave is paid by the Social Insurance Authority.  

The social insurance fund pays the sick pay at 75.00% of the salary rate, based on the salary received in the month preceding the sickness absence.

All employees must provide a medical certificate within 48 hours of the first day of sickness.    

Maternity Leave

A pregnant employee is entitled to 6 months of maternity leave, potentially increasing to 7 months for complicated/multiple births.  

The maternity payment is paid by the Social Insurance Authority at a rate of 100.00% of the salary received in the month preceding the start of the maternity absence.

The new Labour Code stipulates that a female employee is entitled during her menstruation to a fully-paid break of 30 minutes every day (for at least three working days in a month), and during the period of nursing, a child under 12 months is entitled to a fully paid break of 60 minutes every day during her working hours. However, Decree 145 states that where a female employee does not wish to take these breaks and the employer agrees for her to continue working, then the employee must be paid an additional salary according to the work that the employee has carried out during the time of the break.

Paternity Leave

New fathers are entitled to between 5 and 14 days paid paternity leave.

The leave is paid by the Social Insurance Authority at a rate of 100.00% of the salary received in the month preceding the start of the paternity absence.

Parental Leave

Parental leave in Vietnam is available for childcare and entitles employees to up to 20 days parental leave per year until the child reaches the age of 3 and thereafter up to 15 days per year until the child reaches the age of 7.  The childcare leave is paid by the Social Insurance Authority at the rate of 75.00% of the employees’ salary in the month preceding the start of the leave.

Other Leave

Depending on the contract, employees may be allowed additional leave types, once approved between the employer and employee for the following:

• Bereavement: employees are entitled to 3 days of paid leave for the death of a family member.   
• Marriage: Employees are entitled to up to 3 days in case of marriage and one day for a child’s marriage.

Termination

Termination Process

The termination process is standard in Vietnam and is based on the Labour Law requirements unless an employer can provide sufficient cause for dismissal without notice (due to misconduct, etc.)  

Notice of termination must be in writing and sent to the relevant governmental authorities.

Upon termination of the labor contract, all employees are entitled to:

• receive the rest of the salary for the days worked in that month.
• an allowance when they leave the job due to termination of labor contract because of changes in structure, technology or economic reasons, division, separation, consolidation, or merger; sale, lease, conversion of types; transfer of ownership, right to use property and have worked regularly for the employer for one year or more.
• any untaken leave (pro-rata) entitled.

The employer is also responsible for paying the rest of the salary within 14 working days from the date of termination of the labor contract (Article 48 of the Labour Code 2019). This period may be extended but it shall not exceed 30 days.  

The employer must provide copies of documents relevant to the process of the employee’s job if the employee so requests and pay the costs of copying and sending such documents, together with notice of terminations sent to the relevant governmental authorities.

Notice Period

Notice periods within Vietnam are generally between 30 and 45 days, but differ based on the type of contract:

• 3 working days for the seasonal contract (contract of less than one year);
• 30 days for a definite labor contract (between 1-3 years)
• 45 days for an indefinite labor contract.

Severance Pay

In Vietnam, severance pay is mandatory if applicable and determined by the employee’s contract terms and length of service.  

Statutory severance pay is calculated at 50.00% of an employee’s regular monthly salary rate for each year of service. However, suppose the severance payment is due to changes in the company structure, technology, or economic reasons. In that case, the severance pay is calculated at one month’s salary for each year of service.

In addition, should an employee terminate their employment before being eligible for pension, they are to receive a severance allowance.

Probation Period

For permanent employees, the probation period in Vietnam is generally based on the complexity and skill required to do the role and varies between 6 to 60 days. The wage for an employee during the probation period must be agreed upon in writing but cannot be less than 85.00% of the full-time permanent salary for the role.

Employees working under seasonal labor contracts are not subject to probation.

Common Benefits

General

• Meal allowance per month (non-taxable)
• Commuting expenses (from and to the office e.g train tickets/bus, average petrol) per month (taxable income)
• Gym membership
• Internet coverage (taxable income)

VISA

VISA

Foreign nationals typically require a work permit before entering Vietnam to take up employment. The Vietnamese work permit is a legal document authorizing the person to engage in employment and receive compensation from a company in Vietnam.

However, a foreigner may work in Vietnam without a work permit but a work permit exemption certificate in certain circumstances. This certificate is equivalent to the work permit, valid for up to 2 years, and serves as a basis for applying for a temporary residence card.

VAT

General

VAT is a 10% standard rate. (There is a 2% VAT reduction for goods and services which are currently subject to 10% VAT from 1 February to 31 December 2022, except for certain goods and services, e.g., telecommunications, IT services; finance and banking services, securities, insurance; real estate business; metal production and manufacture of prefabricated metal products; etc.)