From September 2026, if wages are not paid on time, businesses will be fined up to 100 million VND

Legal Consulting Department of Lao Dong Newspaper answers:

Clause 2, Article 23, Decree 283/2026/ND-CP stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the fields of labor, social insurance, and Vietnamese workers going to work abroad under contracts (effective from September 10, 2026) stipulates as follows:

2. Fines shall be imposed on employers for one of the following acts: paying salaries not on time as prescribed by law; not paying or not paying in full wages to employees as agreed in the labor contract; not paying or not paying in full overtime wages; not paying or not paying in full overtime wages at night; not paying or not paying in full overtime wages to employees as prescribed by law; restricting or interfering in the right to self-determination in wage spending of employees; forcing employees to spend wages on purchasing goods and using services of employers or of other units designated by employers; deducting wages from employees not in accordance with the law; not paying or not paying in full wages as prescribed to employees when temporarily transferring employees to other jobs compared to labor contracts or during strike periods; not paying or not paying in full wages to employees during non-annual leave days or not taking all annual leave days when employees do not pay in full wages.

a) From 5 million VND to 10 million VND for violations from 01 to 10 employees;

b) From 10 million VND to 20 million VND for violations of 11 to 50 employees;

c) From 20 million VND to 30 million VND for violations of 51 to 100 employees;

d) From 30 million VND to 40 million VND for violations of 101 to 300 employees;

e) From 40 million VND to 50 million VND for violations of 301 employees or more.

Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP stipulates the level of fines and principles of application for repeated administrative violations as follows:

1. The penalty level stipulated for administrative violations specified in Chapter II, Chapter III and Chapter IV of this Decree is the penalty level for individuals; except for cases specified in: Article 8; Article 9; Clause 3, Article 10; Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, Article 19; Clauses 2, 4, Article 36; Clause 1, Article 37; Clauses 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, Article 38; Clause 3, Article 42; Clauses 6, 11, Article 48; Article 49; Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Article 50; Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Article 52; Clause 4, Article 53 of this Decree is the penalty level for organizations. The penalty level for organizations is 2 times the penalty level for individuals.

Thus, from September 10, 2026, depending on the number of employees violated in paying salaries not on time, employers may be fined differently, but up to 50 million VND for individuals and 100 million VND for organizations according to the above regulations.