The 2025 Law on Employment, effective from January 1, 2026, clearly stipulates cases that are not required to participate in unemployment insurance (UI).
Accordingly, employees who are receiving monthly pensions and social insurance (SI) benefits or are eligible for retirement; employees working under probationary contracts; and domestic help workers are not eligible to participate in unemployment insurance.
In addition, the law also assigns the National Assembly Standing Committee the right to expand the scope of participation to those with stable jobs and incomes, based on the Government's proposal in accordance with the socio-economic situation of each period.
According to Article 31 of the Law on Employment, the mandatory group participating in unemployment insurance is employees working under an indefinite-term contract or with a term of one month or more, even if the contract is called by another name. Part-time workers must still participate if their income is equal to or higher than the minimum wage used as the basis for compulsory social insurance contributions.
The regulation also applies to employees working under contracts in state agencies, public service units and salary managers of enterprises and cooperatives such as board members, directors, general directors, inspectors, etc.
Employers are also required to participate in unemployment insurance if they hire or use workers under contracts from various types such as state agencies, socio-political organizations, enterprises, cooperatives, business households, and international organizations operating in Vietnam. In case the employee is also a member of many social insurance participants, they and the employer are still responsible for paying insurance according to regulations.
