A reader (worker) sent a question to the Ministry of Finance said that he is currently working at a company with a labor contract stipulating a basic salary of 15 million VND per month, with fixed allowances including a fuel allowance of 2.5 million VND, a housing allowance of 2.5 million VND and a phone allowance of 6.2 million VND. If they are on unpaid leave, all four salaries and allowances will be deducted according to the number of working days.
From this reality, readers ask: will the compulsory social insurance (SI) payment facility calculate based on the basic salary or the total salary and allowances? When working overtime, will overtime pay be calculated according to 1.5 times the basic salary or the total salary? Is the company's payment only above the basic salary a violation of State regulations?
Regarding the content of the question, Vietnam Social Security (Ministry of Finance) replied as follows:
1. According to the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 31 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 158/2025/ND-CP of the Government, for those working under indefinite-term labor contracts, labor contracts with a term of 01 month or more, the salary used as the basis for compulsory social insurance contributions is monthly salary, including salary according to job or position, salary allowances and other supplements, including:
- Salary level according to work or position determined by time (by month) of work or position according to salary scale, salary table developed by the employer according to the provisions of Article 93 of the Labor Code agreed upon in the labor contract;
- Salary allowances to compensate for factors related to working conditions, work complexity, living conditions, and labor attraction levels that the salary level at Point a, Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 158/2025/ND-CP has not been taken into account or is not fully calculated, agreed upon in the labor contract; not including salary allowances dependent or fluctuating according to labor productivity, working process and work performance quality of employees;
- Other supplements determined at specific amounts along with salary levels as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 158/2025/ND-CP, agreed upon in labor contracts and paid regularly and stably in each salary payment period; not including other supplements dependent or fluctuating according to labor productivity, work processes and work performance quality of employees.
Pursuant to the provisions of Clause 5, Article 3 of Circular 10/2020/TT-BLDTBXH dated November 12, 2020 of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, items such as mid- shift meal allowance, fuel allowance, phone, housing, travel allowance, childcare allowance, allowance when employees have leniency or sick leave... are recorded as separate items in the labor contract and are not included in the salary as the basis for compulsory social insurance contributions. Thus, if the allowances for gasoline, housing, and phone are determined to be welfare support according to this regulation, they will not be included in the social insurance contribution salary.
2. Regarding the content of the question about overtime wages, this content is under the authority of the state management agency on labor and wages. Therefore, workers need to contact the competent authority in charge of the labor sector for accurate answers.
