Do workers have to contribute to the flood prevention fund?

Office of Legal Consulting Lao Dong Newspaper replied:

Point a, Clause 1, Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the Law on Dikes 2020 stipulates:

“1. Natural disasters are unusual natural phenomena that can cause damage to people, property, the environment, living conditions and socio-economic activities, including storms, tropical depressions, strong winds at sea, whirlwinds, lightning, heavy rain, floods, flash floods, inundation; landslides, land subsidence due to heavy rain or water flow or drought; rising water, saltwater intrusion, heat, drought, natural forest fires, cold, hail, fog, frost, earthquakes, tsunamis and other types of natural disasters.

Thus, floods are natural disasters.

Article 12, Decree 78/2021/ND-CP stipulates the establishment and management of natural disaster prevention and control funds, and stipulates financial resources as follows:

1. The mandatory contribution level from domestic and foreign economic organizations in the area is 0.02% of the total value of existing assets according to the financial report prepared on December 31 of each year of the organization reporting to the Tax authority, but the minimum is 500 thousand VND, the maximum is 100 million VND and is accounted for in the organization's production and business operating expenses.

2. Contributions, sponsorships, and voluntary support from organizations and enterprises to the Provincial Disaster Prevention and Control Fund are included in deductible expenses when determining taxable income for corporate income tax.

3. Vietnamese citizens who are 18 years of age or older and reach retirement age under normal working conditions according to the provisions of the law on labor make annual contributions as follows:

a) Cadres, civil servants, public employees, people receiving salaries, allowances and employees working in agencies, organizations, public service units of the Party, the State, socio-political organizations and associations receiving state budget support for operating expenses at the central level, in provinces, centrally run cities, in districts, towns, provincial cities, centrally run cities (district level), in communes, wards and towns (commune level), in special administrative-economic units and armed forces contribute one-half of the basic salary divided by the number of working days in the month.

b) Employees working under labor contracts in enterprises pay half of the regional minimum wage divided by the number of working days in a month according to the labor contract. Employees signing multiple contracts with multiple enterprises only have to pay once according to the longest labor contract.

c) Other employees, in addition to those specified in points a and b of this clause, contribute VND 10,000/person/year.

4. Support and voluntary contributions from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals.

5. Regulation from the Central Fund and between Provincial Funds.

6. Earn interest from deposit accounts.

7. Other legal sources (if any).

8. The remaining provincial fund at the end of the previous year is carried over to the following year.

Thus, employees must contribute to the Disaster Prevention and Control Fund, including floods, according to the above regulations.