If your employer in Vietnam has not paid your social insurance, or has declared a salary lower than your real contractual salary, you can check your record with the social insurance agency, raise it with the employer, complain to the agency or the labour inspectorate, and bring a claim in court, where social insurance disputes can be filed without first going to a labour mediator. An employer that fails to contribute can be ordered to pay the arrears with interest and may have to compensate you for benefits you lost.
This guide explains who must be covered, how under-declaration happens, how to check your record, the routes for complaints and claims, and what is at stake for employers, including foreign-invested companies with foreign staff. It is general information. Social insurance rules were revised by a new Social Insurance Law in force from July 2025, so check the current conditions and rates before relying on any detail.
Who must be covered
Compulsory social insurance in Vietnam covers employees working under employment contracts above a short minimum duration, along with other groups defined by law. Employers and employees both contribute, at rates set by law, to funds that pay for sickness, maternity, occupational accidents and diseases, retirement and survivorship. Health insurance and, for most Vietnamese employees, unemployment insurance are compulsory alongside it, with contributions collected together.
Foreign employees have been subject to compulsory social insurance since 2018 if they hold a work permit or equivalent and work under a contract of a qualifying length, with exceptions such as employees transferred within a multinational group and those who have reached retirement age. The 2024 Social Insurance Law, in force from July 2025, maintained compulsory coverage for foreign employees on the conditions set by the government. Unemployment insurance has historically applied to Vietnamese citizens rather than foreigners; check whether that has changed under the revised employment legislation.
An employer cannot agree with an employee to skip compulsory insurance in exchange for higher take-home pay. Such agreements, sometimes proposed informally to new hires, are invalid, and the employer remains liable for the contributions. An employee who accepted such a deal can still claim coverage later.
How contributions go wrong
Social insurance disputes rarely involve a dramatic refusal to pay. More often the problem is quieter and builds up over years. The patterns that come up most often include:
- Under-declared salary. The employer declares a contribution salary close to the regional minimum wage while paying the rest as allowances or bonuses, even though the law requires the contractual salary and certain allowances to be included.
- Late registration. A new employee works for several months before being registered, leaving a gap in the record.
- Contributions deducted but not paid. The employer withholds the employee's share from payslips but does not transfer the money to the social insurance agency, which is the most serious form of non-compliance.
- Chain of short contracts. Employees are kept on successive short contracts, or labelled as "service providers", to avoid compulsory coverage.
- Foreign staff overlooked. Foreign employees who qualify are not registered because the employer assumes foreigners are exempt or are covered at home.
- Failure to close the record. After an employee leaves, the employer delays confirming contribution periods, blocking unemployment benefits or the transfer of the record to a new employer.
Each pattern has different consequences. Under-declaration reduces future benefits such as pensions and maternity pay; non-payment can leave an employee uncovered at the moment they need sickness or maternity benefits.
Checking your own record
The first step is to see what the social insurance agency actually has on file. Each insured person has a social insurance number, and contribution history can be checked through the agency's official services, including its mobile application VssID, or by asking at the local social insurance office. The record shows the months for which contributions were paid, the employer that paid them, and the salary on which they were calculated.
Compare the record with your employment contract and payslips. If the contribution salary is far below the salary in your contract, or months are missing, take screenshots or obtain a printed statement. That comparison, a simple table of months, contractual salary and declared salary, is the core of any complaint or claim.
Foreign employees sometimes discover their record does not exist at all, either because the employer never registered them or because it registered them under a passport number that has since changed. A hypothetical example: a foreign teacher at a private school in Hanoi renews her passport and finds that her social insurance record still shows the old number and stopped being updated a year ago. Raising it promptly with the school and the agency fixes an administrative mismatch before it becomes a dispute about missing benefits.
What under-declaration actually costs you
Smaller sickness and maternity payments. Short-term benefits are calculated from the salary on which contributions were paid. If your declared salary was a fraction of your real pay, a maternity allowance or sick pay from the fund will be a fraction too, and the gap usually becomes visible only when you need the money.
Lower pension. For Vietnamese employees who stay in the system until retirement, the pension is based on contribution history. Years of under-declaration permanently reduce it, and correcting the record decades later is difficult.
Reduced unemployment benefits. For employees covered by unemployment insurance, the monthly benefit is linked to the salary on which contributions were made, so under-declaration also cuts the support available between jobs.
Occupational accident cover. If you are injured at work, compensation from the fund depends on your contribution status. Gaps or under-declaration can shift part of the burden back onto the employer, but recovering it from the employer may require a dispute.
Mortgage and visa questions. Banks and some foreign authorities ask for evidence of social insurance contributions as proof of stable income. A record showing a tiny salary can complicate applications that have nothing to do with your employer.
Where to go: complaints, inspection and court
There are several routes, and they can be used in combination:
| Route | What it does | Typical outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Written request to the employer | Asks the employer to correct the declaration or pay arrears | Many cases end here, especially for administrative errors |
| Complaint to the social insurance agency | The agency can check employer declarations, require payment of arrears and interest, and refer violations | Arrears collected; employer sanctioned in some cases |
| Labour inspectorate | Inspects compliance with labour and social insurance law | Administrative sanctions; orders to remedy |
| Court claim | Resolves the dispute between employee and employer; social insurance disputes can be filed without prior labour mediation | Judgment ordering payment or compensation |
| Criminal report | For serious cases of deliberate evasion, the criminal law provides for liability | Reserved for serious, deliberate cases |
Choosing the route depends on what you need. If you are still employed and want your record corrected, the agency route is often efficient. If you have left and lost benefits because of non-payment, a court claim for compensation may be needed.
What employers risk
An employer that fails to register employees, under-declares salaries or does not pay contributions faces several consequences. It must pay the arrears, usually with an additional amount calculated on the late period. It may be subject to administrative sanctions, which have increased over time, and in serious cases of deliberate evasion affecting many employees or large amounts, managers can face criminal liability.
Beyond sanctions, the employer may owe employees directly. If an employee could not receive sickness, maternity or occupational accident benefits because contributions were not paid, the employer can be required to compensate the employee for the benefits lost. For a maternity claim, that can be a significant sum.
For foreign-invested companies, social insurance compliance also affects transactions and audits. Investors buying a Vietnamese company routinely check whether contributions were paid on full salaries; under-declaration becomes a liability on the deal. Fixing it voluntarily, with a plan to pay arrears, is generally better than having it discovered by inspection or by a former employee's claim.
Group policies sometimes add to the confusion. A multinational that provides private health cover and a home-country pension for expatriates may assume these replace Vietnamese compulsory insurance. They do not, unless a specific exemption or a social security agreement between Vietnam and the employee's home country applies. Check rather than assume, because the liability accumulates every month.
A practical sequence for employees
If you suspect a problem, this order of steps keeps your position strong while giving the employer a chance to fix it:
- Check your contribution record and compare it with your contract and payslips.
- Write to HR stating the months and amounts in question and asking for correction by a date.
- Keep the employer's reply, or note that none came.
- If nothing changes, file a complaint with the social insurance agency where the employer is registered, attaching your comparison table and documents.
- Consider informing the labour inspectorate if the problem appears to affect many employees.
- If you have lost benefits or the employer refuses to act, consider a court claim, keeping the limitation period in mind.
- When you leave, ask for confirmation of your contribution periods and check that it matches the record.
Keep copies of everything you send and receive, with dates. Social insurance cases often turn on long periods, and a file that shows you raised the issue early and repeatedly is more persuasive than one assembled after you have left the company.
When you need a Vietnamese lawyer
A missing month caused by an administrative mistake can usually be fixed without a lawyer. Professional help is worthwhile when several years of contributions are under-declared, when you have lost a significant benefit such as maternity pay or an occupational accident payment, when the employer has deducted contributions but not paid them, or when the employer has closed or disappeared.
Employers should seek advice when they discover historical under-declaration, when they are unsure whether foreign staff must be covered, or when they plan to restructure pay into allowances. A lawyer or specialist adviser can help quantify arrears and plan a voluntary correction.
If you want a first view of your situation, you can ask a lawyer on AI Co Van with your contract and record in hand. For rates, conditions for foreign employees and limitation periods, check the current rules with the social insurance agency or a licensed lawyer, as they changed in 2025 and implementing rules continue to be issued.
Frequently asked questions
Can I agree with my employer not to pay social insurance?
No. Compulsory social insurance cannot be waived by agreement. An arrangement in which you receive higher net pay instead of insurance is invalid, and the employer remains liable for the contributions. You can still ask for the arrears to be paid later, though correcting the record may take time.
Do foreigners have to pay social insurance in Vietnam?
Foreign employees with a work permit or equivalent and a qualifying employment contract have been covered by compulsory social insurance since 2018, with exceptions such as intra-company transferees. The 2024 law kept compulsory coverage for foreigners under government rules. Check the current conditions for your situation.
What salary should my social insurance be based on?
Contributions are generally calculated on the salary in your employment contract plus certain allowances and additional amounts agreed in the contract, within a maximum cap. Bonuses tied to business results and some welfare payments are usually excluded. A contribution salary far below your contractual pay is a sign of under-declaration.
My employer deducted insurance from my pay but did not pay it. What can I do?
This is a serious violation. Gather payslips showing the deductions and your contribution record showing the gap, then complain to the social insurance agency and consider informing the labour inspectorate. In serious cases, deliberate non-payment can attract criminal liability for those responsible.
Do social insurance disputes need mediation first?
No. Disputes about social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance are among the labour disputes that can go directly to court without first passing through a labour mediator. You can still use administrative complaint routes, which are often faster for correcting a record.
Can a foreigner get social insurance contributions back when leaving Vietnam?
Foreign employees who stop working in Vietnam may be able to claim a lump-sum payment from the social insurance fund under conditions set by law. The conditions were revised with the 2024 Social Insurance Law, so check eligibility and the documents required with the agency before you leave.