Adding 3 new groups of subjects
Compared to the 2013 Law on Employment, the 2025 Law on Employment has expanded coverage to ensure the rights of workers in the context of changing the labor market. According to Article 31 of the new Law, the following groups of subjects will be subject to compulsory unemployment insurance participation:
Employees with contracts of 1 month or more
Previously, the 2013 Law on Employment only stipulated mandatory participation in unemployment insurance for labor contracts with a term of 03 months or more. However, from January 1, 2026, people working under a fixed-term labor contract of 01 month or more will be subject to unemployment insurance. This regulation applies even if the two sides agree on another name but the content showing the job has payment, salary and management, operation, and supervision by one party.
Part-time workers
For the first time, part-time workers are eligible to participate in unemployment insurance (UI) if their monthly salary is equal to or higher than the lowest salary used as the basis for compulsory social insurance contributions. This is a change to protect the rights of flexible labor groups, which are increasingly popular in the modern economy.
Business and cooperative managers receive salaries
The new law also legalizes the regulation on participating in unemployment insurance for business managers, inspectors, representatives of business capital, members of the Board of Directors, General Directors, Cooperative Directors... who are paid. Previously, this subject was not clearly regulated in the 2013 Employment Law but was only mentioned in guiding documents under the law.
In addition, the 2025 Law on Employment also assigned the National Assembly Standing Committee to decide on the participation in unemployment insurance for other subjects with stable jobs and incomes based on the Government's proposal, creating an open mechanism to continue expanding coverage in the future.
