Clause 3, Article 17 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP stipulates fines for employers for paying employees less than the minimum wage prescribed by the Government at the following levels:
- From 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for violations from 1 person to 10 employees;
- From VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 for violations from 11 people to 50 workers;
- From 50,000,000 VND to 75,000,000 VND for violations by 51 or more employees.
In addition to the fine, the employer must pay the full salary plus the interest of the late and underpaid wages to the employee calculated according to the highest interest rate for non-term deposits announced by state-owned commercial banks at the time of sanctioning the above violation.
The above fine is the fine for individuals and organizations with the same violation, the fine is twice that of individuals (Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP).
Thus, enterprises that do not increase wages for employees and have wages lower than the new regional minimum wage from January 1, 2026 can be fined from VND 40,000,000 to VND 150,000,000 depending on the number of employees.
According to Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, from January 1, 2026, the minimum monthly salary in 4 regions is stipulated as follows:
Region I: increased by 350,000 VND, from 4,960,000 VND/month to 5,310,000 VND/month;
Region II: increased by 320,000 VND, from 4,410,000 VND/month to 4,730,000 VND/month;
Region III: increased by 280,000 VND from 3,860 VND/month to 4,140,000 VND/month;
Region IV: increased by 250,000 VND from 3,450,000 VND/month to 3,700,000 VND/month.
