Enterprises have been late in paying social insurance for more than 11 years
Recently, the Trade Union of Export Processing and Industrial Zones (KCX & CN) of Ho Chi Minh City and the Legal Consulting Center under the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation represented 133 workers (CN) to sue Vinh Thong Trading Service Co., Ltd. (specializing in leather shoe production, at Lot 3, Road No. 13, Tan Binh Industrial Park, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City) for wages and social insurance of nearly 20 billion VND.
Ms. Pham Thi Hong Phuong - sewing workshop employee - said that she has worked for Vinh Thong Company since September 2022, but Vinh Thong Company only paid social insurance for her for a few months, then stopped paying. Therefore, she and other employees authorized the Trade Union of Export Processing and Industrial Zones (KCX & CN) of Ho Chi Minh City and the Legal Consulting Center under the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation to sue Vinh Thong Company to receive full social insurance compensation.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation's Legal Consulting Center, Vinh Thong Company alone owes 133 employees over 5 billion VND in unpaid social insurance.
News from Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance, as of March 31, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City, there were 17,898 enterprises and units that were slow to pay social insurance for 3 months or more. In particular, many businesses are slow to pay in a long time, with a very large amount of money, such as: Phuoc Nguyen Supporting Industry Joint Stock Company (Thu Duc City), slow payment of 51 months with the amount of more than 10.2 billion dong; Hoa Hiep Technical Co., Ltd. (Tan Binh District) is slow to pay 109 months of more than 12.5 billion dong; Di Co Printing Co., Ltd. (Tan Binh District) is slow to pay 54 months of more than 12 billion dong; Minh Anh - Gia Bao Co., Ltd. (Tan Binh District) is slow to pay 17 months for more than 8.3 billion dong.
But perhaps the "huge" payment delay belongs to Saigon Post and Telecommunication Service Joint Stock Company, which is 85 months behind with an amount of more than 39.8 billion VND.
Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company No. 8 (Binh Thanh District) was 136 months late in paying with an amount of more than 10 billion VND, meaning that this company has been late in paying social insurance for more than 11 years.
Waiting for stronger sanctions when the Social Insurance Law 2024 takes effect from July 1, 2025
According to Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance, in the first quarter of 2025, Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance has organized a specialized inspection of social insurance payment in 10 units and inspected social insurance payment in 51 employers. However, from the beginning of 2025 to now, Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance has not issued any decision to sanction administrative violations in the field of social insurance.
In 2024, the Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance issued a decision to sanction 93 units for administrative violations in the field of social insurance and submitted to the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to issue 139 decisions on sanctions, with a total fine of VND 23.5 billion. Currently, 129/232 units have complied with the penalty decision, paying a total of 10 billion VND.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thanh - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance - said that according to current law, the crime of evasion of social insurance payment cannot be criminally prosecuted. However, the 2024 Social Insurance Law has clearly separated the provisions on how to late in paying social insurance, how to evade paying social insurance and sanctions for each act of late payment and evasion of social insurance payment.
According to Article 39 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), the compulsory social insurance evasion is the act of the employer who does not pay or insufficient social insurance for the employee after 60 days from the expiry of the time limit prescribed in Clause 1, Article 28 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024 that the employer does not register or registered incomplete the number of people participating in compulsory social insurance; Registration of social insurance premium is lower than the regulations or not having enough compulsory social insurance after 60 days from the deadline under the Law on Social Insurance 2024, despite being urged, will be considered as hiding.
However, cases with legitimate reasons will not be considered tax evasion according to Government regulations.
From September 2025 onwards, when the 60-day deadline from the date of compulsory social insurance payment has expired, employees who evade social insurance payment will face the penalty prescribed in Article 216 of the Penal Code 2015, amended in 2017, with the highest penalty of up to 7 years in prison and the highest penalty for enterprises is up to 3 billion VND.
