From January 1, 2026, the 2025 Law on Employment will officially take effect, in which it stipulates more clearly the conditions for receiving unemployment insurance.
One of the notable questions is whether employees who are dismissed in the form of discipline are entitled to unemployment benefits or not?
When are workers laid off?
According to Clause 4, Article 125 of the 2019 Labor Code, employers are allowed to apply disciplinary action in the following cases:
- Workers who commit acts of theft, embezzlement, gambling, intentional injury, or use drugs at the workplace;
- Revealing business secrets, technology, infringing on intellectual property rights, causing serious damage to the assets and interests of enterprises;
- Sexual harassment at work;
- Repeat disciplinary action while the disciplinary action has not been cleared;
- Arbitrarily quitting a job after 05 days of accumulation for 30 days or 20 days for 365 days without a legitimate reason (for example: natural disasters, fires, illnesses confirmed by medical facilities...).
Are fired people entitled to unemployment insurance?
The answer is yes, if the employee meets the conditions under Article 38 of the 2025 Law on Employment. Specifically:
1. termination of legal labor contracts: Employees are not subject to unilateral termination of illegal labor contracts or termination of employment to receive pensions.
2. Pay unemployment insurance for enough time:
- For contracts of 12 months or more: Must have paid for 12 months in the last 24 months before leaving work.
- For contracts from 01 to under 12 months: Must have paid for 12 months in the last 36 months.
3. Submit an application for unemployment benefits within 3 months from the date of resignation.
4. Not eligible for exclusion within 10 days from the date of application submission such as: having a new job, attending a long-term school, enlisting in the army, being detained, settling abroad or having passed away.
Thus, even if fired for disciplinary reasons, employees can still receive unemployment insurance if they comply with regulations on payment period, procedures and are not excluded under the 2025 Employment Law.
This is an important new point to ensure the minimum rights of employees, even when their contracts are terminated in unfavorable situations.
