Many "no" workers
Mr. Dao Van Duc (from Kiet Son commune, Phu Tho province) used to work as a class coordinator for an English center in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi). After more than 2 years of working, in August 2025, Mr. Duc quit his job because his salary was low, working hours were mainly evening shifts, which affected his health.
Immediately, Mr. Duc registered to work as a technology driver. In September 2025, income from his new job doubled compared to his old job, making Mr. Duc feel very "excited" and satisfied with his choice. However, the joy did not last long...
In early November 2025, during a trip to a distant province, Mr. Duc returned at night. In a fit of drowsiness, he drove his car to the roadside, suffering soft tissue injuries and a broken right arm; the car was damaged in the front and rear of the car.
I was frantically worried about a part of the money for car repairs, 13 days of hospital stay without health insurance. The money I saved after a few months of working was only enough to cover a part of the expenses, I had to call home to ask my parents to borrow more from relatives to have money for treatment. After being discharged from the hospital, I bore a debt of more than 50 million VND," Mr. Duc said wearily.
Mr. Vu Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of Hanoi Employment Service Center said that records from the reality of labor supply and demand connection in Hanoi show that the group of workers participating in flexible employment, informal sector workers are "many non-existent" groups: No labor contracts, no social insurance, no unemployment insurance. Therefore, this group of workers is facing many long-term risks.
Most workers work through digital platforms or in the form of freelance work without labor contracts, income depends entirely on the number of working hours and market fluctuations. When sick, injured, or policy changes, workers have almost no protection mechanism... Many people accept leaving their official jobs - where there is insurance - in exchange for flexible income in the short term, without fully anticipating the long-term consequences," Mr. Vu Quang Thanh said.
3 major risks
Commenting on the risks that flexibly working workers face, Mr. Le Quang Trung - former Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Employment said that the biggest risk of flexibly working is occupational accidents, especially for the group of technology drivers and delivery workers. When accidents occur, workers often have to pay for treatment costs themselves, losing income during the leave period.
Without occupational accident insurance, without unemployment benefits, many workers fall into difficulty after just one small incident. This is a less mentioned downside when talking about the "freedom" of flexible employment," Mr. Trung said.
Also according to Mr. Trung, this group of workers also faces social security risks in the future because not participating in social insurance for a long time will cause workers to face great risks in old age (no pension, no allowance). Not to mention, if the flexible labor trend continues to expand without coverage policies, the social security system will bear great pressure in the medium and long term.
Finally, flexible labor is in the "gray area" between official and unofficial labor. The legal framework has not kept up with the actual development of the market, making it difficult to protect workers' rights. "So, it is impossible to continue to let workers manage themselves in a risky market, while businesses and the foundation benefit from this flexible model," Mr. Trung asked.
