Unifying the ceiling for unemployment benefits
The 2013 Employment Law stipulates 2 ways to calculate the maximum unemployment benefit (UI) ceiling depending on the group of subjects: Not exceeding 5 times the base salary/month for employees receiving salaries under the State regime; Not exceeding 5 times the regional minimum wage/month for employees receiving salaries decided by enterprises.
Because the base salary is often significantly lower than the regional minimum wage, this has created a large gap in benefits between the two groups of workers.
The 2025 Employment Law has eliminated this difference by unifying a common calculation formula in Clause 1, Article 39.
Accordingly, the maximum benefit level for all employees will not exceed 5 times the regional minimum wage at the time of termination of the labor contract.
Regarding this content, Mr. Tran Tuan Tu - Head of the Unemployment Insurance Department, Department of Employment (Ministry of Home Affairs), said that previously the law had stipulated the insurance premium ceiling for each region.
According to Mr. Tu, for social insurance and health insurance, the maximum contribution ceiling is 20 times the base salary. As for unemployment insurance (BHTN) according to the 2013 Employment Law, there is a distinction between the 2 sectors.
For the salary-receiving sector decided by enterprises, if the employee's salary is 20 times higher than the regional minimum wage, the maximum contribution level is calculated as 20 times the regional minimum wage. Meanwhile, the salary-receiving sector according to the State regime applies a ceiling contribution level equal to 20 times the base salary.
However, in reality, in the administrative and non-business sectors, very few cases reach 20 times the base salary due to the salary payment mechanism based on coefficients. This leads to differences in contribution ceilings and benefit ceilings between sectors.
Mr. Tu said that when the contribution ceiling is regulated, there needs to be a benefit ceiling, because unemployment insurance is risk-sharing, it needs to have limits to both support workers and create motivation to return to the labor market.
The current UI benefit level is designed to be about 60% of salary, in accordance with international practices and recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO). If 100% of salary is supported, it will not create motivation for workers to return to work" - Mr. Tu said.
Encourage workers to actively look for new jobs
According to him, the policy is designed at the necessary support level to ensure the lives of workers in the period of job loss but still encourage them to actively find new jobs to have higher incomes.
In the 2025 Employment Law, the ceiling contribution regulation has been agreed upon between the state and non-state sectors. Accordingly, if the salary is 20 times higher than the regional minimum wage, the maximum contribution level is calculated as 20 times the regional minimum wage.
Correspondingly, the unemployment benefit ceiling is also agreed upon according to the contribution ceiling, with a maximum level not exceeding 5 times the regional minimum wage.
According to Mr. Tu, this regulation aims to ensure the principle of risk sharing, and at the same time, the benefit is still based on the contribution period and contribution level but with a certain limit to control the fund's ability to pay.
The unification of the contribution ceiling and benefit ceiling helps ensure fairness between regions. Workers with higher incomes will receive higher allowances, but still within a certain limit," he said.
Mr. Tu cited an example, in Hanoi, the regional minimum wage is currently about more than 5 million VND/month, so the maximum unemployment benefit level can be up to about 25 million VND/month. Meanwhile, the average salary for unemployment insurance contributions is currently only about over 6 million VND/month.
According to him, this shows that the current benefit ceiling is relatively suitable for the general income level, although unemployment benefits are only short-term support when employees face job loss risks.
The policy is built on the basis of calculations according to the general level of the majority, while still ensuring the principle of contribution - benefit and risk sharing" - Mr. Tu emphasized.
