From July 1, 2026, the 2025 Population Law and Decree No. 168/2026/ND-CP officially take effect, supplementing regulations on maternity benefits for the case of having a second child. Accordingly, both female and male workers who meet the conditions are entitled to maternity benefits according to the provisions of the law on social insurance (SI).
Conditions for enjoying maternity benefits
According to point a, clause 1, Article 14 of the Population Law No. 113/2025/QH15 and clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 168/2026/ND-CP, employees are entitled to maternity benefits when giving birth to a second child if they meet the conditions according to the provisions of the law on social insurance.
For female workers, the condition is to have a second child and at the time of birth, one biological child is still alive.
For male workers, the employee must be participating in compulsory social insurance, the wife has a second child, and at the time of birth, the wife has a surviving biological child.
Maternity leave
Female workers who give birth to their second child are entitled to maternity leave for 07 months, including prenatal and postnatal leave. In which, the prenatal leave period is a maximum of 02 months.
In case of twins or more, from the second child onwards, for each child, the mother is entitled to an additional 1-month holiday.
For male workers whose wives give birth to the second child, the maternity leave period is 10 working days. If the wife gives birth to three or more children, from the third child onwards, for each child, the father is entitled to 03 working days more.
Level of maternity benefits
Female workers who give birth to their second child are entitled to maternity benefits according to the provisions of the 2024 Social Insurance Law.
The subsidy level is determined by the formula:
Maternity allowance = Number of months of maternity leave × One-month maternity allowance
In which, one-month maternity allowance is equal to 100% of the average salary used as the basis for compulsory social insurance contributions for the last 06 months before maternity leave.
In addition to the monthly allowance, female workers also receive a one-time allowance when giving birth, with a level equal to 02 times the reference level in the month of birth for each child according to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 58 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance. Currently, the reference level is determined to be 2,530,000 VND/month, equivalent to a one-time allowance of 5,060,000 VND for each child.
