Main Amendments to Employment Law in 2025
2025/11/12
- Tran Thanh Phuong Thao
Introduction
On June 16, 2025, the 2025 Employment Act was passed in the National Diet and will come into effect on January 1, 2026. Compared to the previous 2013 Employment Act, the revised law introduces numerous significant amendments regarding unemployment insurance, unemployment benefits, and the management of labor data. It aims to expand workers’ benefits and welfare, while also imposing stricter responsibilities and obligations on employers. This article explains the main amendments of the 2025 Employment Act to encourage companies to take proactive measures with compliance in mind.
1. Expansion of the scope of unemployment insurance coverage
The 2025 Employment Law expands and tightens the eligibility for unemployment insurance to ensure consistency with the 2024 Social Insurance Law (to be enforced from July 1, 2025); unemployment insurance applies only to workers who are Vietnamese nationals. The specific contents are as follows.
| Content | 2025 Employment Law | 2013 Employment Law | Perspectives |
| Eligibility 1 | Working under an indefinite-term labor contract or a fixed-term labor contract of one month or more. (Even if an agreement or contract is made under a name different from a labor contract, it is included as long as the person receives wages and is subject to the employer’s management, operation, or supervision.) |
Working under an indefinite-term labor contract or a fixed-term labor contract of one month or longer. | In reality, there are cases where some employers avoid their obligation to enroll employees in social insurance or unemployment insurance systems by concluding agreements or contracts under different names, such as joint work agreements or subcontracting agreements, without entering into a formal labor contract.
Therefore, in the 2024 Social Insurance Law and the 2025 Employment Law, it is clearly stated that, even if the agreement or contract has a different name from a labor contract and lasts for one month or more, if the nature of the contract is regarded as a labor contract, it will be subject to unemployment insurance. |
| Eligibility 2 | Part-time workers who meet the following conditions are eligible for unemployment insurance. ・Working part-time under a fixed-term labor contract of one month or more, or under an indefinite-term labor contract. ・The monthly salary is equal to or greater than the lower limit of the social insurance premium calculation standard. |
Not applicable. | Under the 2025 Employment Act, based on the policy of expanding social security to supplement income loss due to unemployment, a new group of workers with both the need to join unemployment insurance and the ability to pay has been added. This revision not only broadens the scope of benefits but also contributes to improving the fairness and operational efficiency of the system.
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| Eligibility 3 | Company managers, board directors, presidents, directors, members of the audit committee, auditors, etc., who do not receive salaries. (Note: These regulations apply only to Vietnamese and not to foreign workers) |
Not applicable |
In accordance with this amendment, after the revised law comes into effect next year, employers will be required to identify workers newly eligible for unemployment insurance and carry out the registration procedures for such employees.
2. Revision of Unemployment Insurance System
| Contents | 2025 Employment Law | 2013 Employment Law | Perspectives |
| Unemployment Insurance System | (1) Support for employment consultations and job placement (2) Support for worker vocational skill training and skill improvement (3) Unemployment benefits (4) Support for employers for vocational skill training, development, and skill improvement (for employment retention due to structural or technological changes, economic reasons, natural disasters, fires, war damage, infectious disease pandemics, etc.) |
(1) Unemployment benefits (2) Support for employment consultations and job placement services (3) Support for vocational learning (4) Support for vocational training, development, and skill improvement to maintain workers’ employment |
Traditional unemployment insurance mainly supported workers, but now, in cases such as organizational restructuring, technological innovation, economic difficulties, or infectious diseases, employers can also receive support under the unemployment insurance system. With this regulation, employers will be able to maintain employment and stabilize production activities, while also expecting more effective utilization of the unemployment insurance fund.
The amount of support, application documents, and procedural details are scheduled to be stipulated in ministerial ordinances to be announced later. |
| Support during emergencies | In the event of an economic crisis, recession, natural disaster, fire, war damage, or an infectious disease outbreak, the government shall determine a reduction in unemployment insurance contribution rates, financial assistance, or other support measures based on the actual situation and the surplus funds of the unemployment insurance fund. | None | This amendment is designed to respond flexibly and proactively to extraordinary and urgent situations such as crises, natural disasters, and infectious disease outbreaks.
This helps to ease the economic burden on workers and employers during difficult times, contributing to the achievement of stable employment, the continuation of production and management activities, and the securing of social security. |
3．Clarification of employers’ obligation to contribute to unemployment insurance.
In the Employment Law of 2025, employers’ obligations to contribute to unemployment insurance are more strictly defined. Therefore, employers are fully obligated to contribute to unemployment insurance for their workers. Acts of delayed or unpaid contributions will be subject to the following penalties under the Social Insurance Act of 2024.
(i) Payment of unpaid or delayed insurance premiums, and payment of overdue charges calculated as the number of days unpaid or delayed × 0.03%.
(ii) Administrative penalties such as fines, or pursuit of criminal liability based on laws and regulations.
(iii) Exclusion from eligibility for awards in competition commendations or recognition systems.
The addition of these regulations is expected to help protect workers’ rights, strengthen employers’ responsibilities, and curb actual cases of non-payment or delayed payment of unemployment insurance. To avoid penalties prescribed by law, employers must fulfill their obligations to declare and pay unemployment insurance within the designated timeframe.
4．New provisions regarding worker registration and the worker database
The 2025 Employment Law sets out a policy to promote the use of science and technology and electronic transactions in labor management, and adds provisions requiring the registration of workers by employers and workers. This information will be linked, updated, synchronized, and shared with the Integrated National Database, National Database, specialized databases, and other related databases. Therefore, both employers and workers will be required to register or update worker registration information when registering or modifying social insurance enrollment information.
(1) Basic information: surname, middle name, given name, personal identification number, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, and current address.
(2)Educational information: secondary education, vocational education, university education, vocational skill certificates, and other certificates.
(3) Information regarding employment status and employment needs.
(4) Information on social insurance and unemployment insurance.
(5) Other information regarding the characteristics and features of the registrant.
From January 1, 2026, the registration of worker information will become an obligation for both employers and workers. At present, the specific procedures and methods for the registration process have not been established, but they are scheduled to be announced in a government ordinance in the future. Once the relevant regulations are enforced, employers and employees will be required to proactively understand the contents, make preparations and carry out implementation, ultimately contributing to the development of a national data infrastructure for labor and employment.
Conclusion
In this way, the 2025 Employment Act introduces many important new provisions that impose additional obligations on both employers and workers, such as the expansion of unemployment insurance coverage and the strengthening of worker rights protection. With this amendment, the risks associated with unemployment in particular are expected to be reduced, aiming to realize a better labor market.
References:
・2019 Labor Law
・2024 Social Insurance Act
・2013 Employment Act
・2025 Employment Act
This report was translated by Yarakuzen.
