NEW POINTS ON COMPULSORY SOCIAL INSURANCE FROM 01/09/2021

Below are the highlights of the compulsory social insurance regime in Circular No. 06/2021/TT-BLDTBXH amending Circular No. 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH guiding the regulation on compulsory social insurance, effective from September 1, 2021.

1. . Subjects participating in compulsory social insurance

Clause 1, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021 amends Clause 1, Article 2 of Circular No. 59/2015 as follows:

Non-specialized persons in communes, wards and townships who are also persons entering into labor contracts specified in Point a and Point b Clause 1 Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance shall participate in compulsory social insurance according to the subjects specified in Point a and Point b Clause 1 Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance.

Specifically, Point a, b Clause 1 Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance stipulates:

"Article 2. Object of Application

1.1. Employees are Vietnamese citizens who are subject to compulsory social insurance, including:

a) Persons working under indefinite-term labor contracts, labor contracts defining the term, seasonal labor contracts or under a certain job with a term of from full 03 months to less than 12 months, including labor contracts signed between the employer and the legal representative of persons under the age of 15 according to provisions of the labor law;

b) Persons working under labor contracts with a term of from full 01 month to less than 03 months;…"

Thus, in case non-specialized employees in communes, wards or townships but at the same time working under the labor contract have a term of from full 01 month to less than 03 months,… then participate in compulsory social insurance according to the group of employees working under the contract.

2. Level of sickness benefits when taking a full month's leave

Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021 amends Point b Clause 2 Article 6 of Circular No. 59/2015 as follows:

The month of sick leave is calculated from the date of starting the sick leave of that month to the adjacent previous day of the next month. In case there are odd days not full month, the level of sickness benefits of odd days not full month is calculated according to the formula below but maximum equal to the one-month sickness allowance:

Of which:

– The rate of entitlement to sickness benefits as prescribed in Point a of this Clause.

– The number of days off from work enjoying sickness benefits including public holidays, Tet holidays, weekly holidays.

Compared to the current, Circular No. 06/2021 supplemented the level of entitlement to sickness benefits of odd days not full month maximum equal to the one-month sickness allowance.

In addition, employees who are subject to compulsory social insurance payment to the sickness and maternity fund are sick or have an accident without a labor accident or have to quit their jobs to care for their sick children under 7 years of age but the time off work for 14 or more working days in the month (including unpaid leave) shall be entitled to benefits. sickness is calculated on the social insurance premium of the month preceding leaving work.

(Currently, according to Circular 59/2015, it is calculated on the monthly salary as the basis for social insurance payment of that month itself.)

In case the next consecutive months the employee continues to be sick and has to quit his/her job, the level of entitlement to sickness benefits shall be calculated on the monthly salary as the basis for social insurance payment of the month immediately before quitting. (New content)

3. Clarifying the case of one-time benefits when giving birth to a child with male workers

Clause 5 Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021, supplementing Point c Clause 2 Article 9 of Circular No. 59/2015 as follows:

In case the mother participates in social insurance but is not eligible for maternity benefits at childbirth that the father is eligible for as prescribed in Point a Clause 2 Article 9 of Circular No. 59/2015, the father shall be entitled to a one-time allowance upon childbirth under Article 38 of the Law on Social Insurance.

The addition of this provision is intended to clarify the provisions on one-time allowances for childbirth in Article 38 of the Law on Social Insurance.

Thus, in case both spouses participate in social insurance and the wife is not eligible for maternity benefits, the husband who pays social insurance for 6 months in the 12 months before giving birth will be entitled to a one-time allowance when giving birth equal to 2 months of base salary at the month of childbirth for each child.

In addition, the determination of the period of 12 months before the birth of a child for male employees and husbands of the mother who ask for a one-time surrogacy when the wife gives birth shall comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 9 of Circular No. 59/2015.

4. Annual leave coincides with maternity leave

Clause 7, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021 adds guidance in cases where the duration of maternity benefits coincides with the annual permit.

Specifically, when calculating the time of maternity benefits as prescribed in Article 32, Article 33, Clause 2, Article 34 and Article 37 of the Law on Social Insurance for employees who are on annual leave, separate leave, unpaid leave as prescribed by labor law:

– The time to coincide with the period of annual leave, private leave, unpaid leave is not counted as entitled to the regime;

– The time of leave outside the annual leave period, separate leave, unpaid leave shall be calculated as prescribed in Article 32, Article 33, Clause 2, Article 34 and Article 37 of the Law on Social Insurance.

5. About rest and recovery after maternity

Clause 8 Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021 adds: "The first 30 days of work as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 41 of the Law on Social Insurance is a period of 30 working days from the expiration of the period of entitlement to maternity benefits that the employee's health has not yet recovered.

The addition of this content is aimed at the direction specified in Clause 1, Article 41 of the Law on Social Insurance:

Female employees immediately after the period of maternity benefits, during the first 30 days of work but their health has not yet recovered, they are entitled to rest and recovery from 05 days to 10 days.

At the same time, supplementing the provisions: Female employees who go to work before the end of the maternity leave period as prescribed in Article 40 of the Law on Social Insurance shall not settle the health care and recovery regime after the period of entitlement to the regime when giving birth.

6. Conditions for pension with persons who have been stripped of their nationality or cand title

Clause 13 of Circular No. 06/2021 adds Clause 5 to Article 15 of Circular 59/2015 as follows:

Employees specified in Point dd, e Clause 1 Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance shall be stripped of their nationality or stripped of their titles of people's police:

The conditions for enjoying pensions comply with Clause 1, Article 54 and Clause 1, Article 55 of the Law on Social Insurance as amended at Point a and Point b Clause 1 Article 219 of the Labor Code 2019 and guided in Circular No. 59/2015 (amended in Circular No. 06/2021).

Thus, the school is stripped of their nationality or the title of people's police if it meets the conditions as with ordinary employees, they are entitled to pensions.

(Meanwhile, if they are not stripped of their national titles or titles of people's police, they can retire up to five years before the age of up to five years under Clause 2, Article 54 of the Law on Social Insurance.)

7. Supplementing regulations on monthly salary paid for social insurance to calculate pension entitlement

Clause 19 Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021 adds Clause 3a after Clause 3, Article 20 of Circular No. 59/2015 as follows:

When calculating the average monthly salary paid for social insurance to calculate pensions and one-time allowances that have a time of social insurance payment before October 1, 2004 under the salary regime prescribed by the State, the monthly salary paid for social insurance of this time is converted according to the salary regime at the time of enjoying the pension regime, death.

Particularly for employees who have worked in enterprises paying social insurance under the salary regime prescribed by the State and enjoying social insurance from January 1, 2016 onwards, the monthly salary paid for social insurance before October 1, 2004 above is converted according to the salary prescribed in Decree No. 205/2004/ND-CP.

8. Amending a number of regulations to comply with the Labor Code 2019 and the guiding document

– For example, from January 1, 2021, the conditions for enjoying pensions when the employee's working capacity is reduced shall comply with Article 55 of the Law on Social Insurance as amended and supplemented at Point b Clause 1 Article 219 of the Labor Code. (Clause 1, Article 16 of Circular No. 59/2015)

– From January 1, 2021 onwards, the age mark for calculating the number of years of retirement before the age as a basis for calculating the reduction of the rate of pension entitlement shall comply with Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree No. 135/2020/ND-CP. (Clause 1, Article 17 of Circular No. 59/2015)

9. Supplementing regulations on cases of monthly death benefits

Clause 23 Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021 supplemented at the end of Clause 1 Article 25 of Circular No. 59/2015 as follows:

The time of consideration of the age for relatives of employees as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 67 of the Law on Social Insurance is the end of the last day of the month of the employee's death.

When settling the death regime if the dossiers of relatives of employees do not specify the date and month of birth, take the january 1st of the year of birth to calculate the age as the basis for settling the death regime.

The determination of the income level of employees' relatives as a basis for settling monthly death benefits as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 67 of the Law on Social Insurance is determined at the month of the employee's death.

Relatives who have been settled to enjoy monthly death benefits in accordance with regulations and then have higher incomes than the base salary are still entitled to monthly death benefits.