Social Insurance in Vietnam for Employers: SI, HI and UI Explained (2026)
If you hire in Vietnam, social insurance is the biggest cost on top of salary. For a compulsory schemes Vietnam employer budget, plan on roughly 23.5% of the contribution salary paid by the company and 10.5% deducted from the employee. The rules changed twice in the last 18 months: a new Law on Social Insurance from 1 July 2025 and a new Law on Employment from 1 January 2026. This guide explains what you pay, on which salary, for whom, and what to check before the first payroll. It is the same checklist we use for EOR Vietnam clients.
The three insurances and the legal basis
Vietnam has three compulsory schemes, often grouped as "SHUI":
Social insurance (SI / BHXH) – pension and survivorship, sickness and maternity, and occupational accident and disease. Governed by the Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15 and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP, both effective 1 July 2025.
Health insurance (HI / BHYT) – medical cover under the amended Law on Health Insurance, with rates set in Decree 188/2025/ND-CP.
Unemployment insurance (UI / BHTN) – now under the Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, effective 1 January 2026, guided by Decree 374/2025/ND-CP.
On top of these, employers pay a 2% trade union fee on the same salary base, whether or not the company has a union.
2026 contribution rates
Item | Employer | Employee |
|---|---|---|
Pension & survivorship | 14% | 8% |
Sickness & maternity | 3% | – |
Occupational accident & disease | 0.5% | – |
Social insurance subtotal | 17.5% | 8% |
Health insurance | 3% | 1.5% |
Unemployment insurance | 1% | 1% |
Trade union fee | 2% | – |
Total | 23.5% | 10.5% |
Two notes. First, the occupational accident rate can be 0.3% for qualifying employers in high-risk sectors that receive approval. Second, the new Law on Employment turns the 1% UI rate into a ceiling: the Government may lower it, for example in a downturn. Decree 374/2025/ND-CP keeps it at 1% for now.
Which salary, and what are the caps?
Contributions are calculated on the contribution salary: the salary in the labour contract plus allowances and other regular, stable payments. It is not only base pay. Splitting a salary into many "allowances" to reduce contributions is a common audit finding.
Caps and floors in 2026:
SI and HI cap: 20 × the reference level of VND 2,340,000 = VND 46,800,000 per month.
UI cap: 20 × the regional minimum wage. In Region I (VND 5,310,000) that is VND 106,200,000 per month.
Floor: the contribution salary cannot be lower than the regional minimum wage (Decree 293/2025/ND-CP: Region I 5,310,000 / II 4,730,000 / III 4,140,000 / IV 3,700,000 VND).
Worked example: Region I employee
Here is the monthly cost for two Vietnamese employees in Ho Chi Minh City (Region I). All amounts in VND.
Gross salary 30,000,000 | Gross salary 60,000,000 | |
|---|---|---|
SI base (cap 46.8M) | 30,000,000 | 46,800,000 |
Employer SI 17.5% | 5,250,000 | 8,190,000 |
Employer HI 3% | 900,000 | 1,404,000 |
Employer UI 1% (cap 106.2M) | 300,000 | 600,000 |
Trade union fee 2% | 600,000 | 936,000 |
Total employer cost on top of salary | 7,050,000 | 11,130,000 |
Total cost to company | 37,050,000 | 71,130,000 |
Employee deduction (SI 8% + HI 1.5% + UI 1%) | 3,150,000 | 5,046,000 |
Salary after insurance, before PIT | 26,850,000 | 54,954,000 |
The cap matters. At VND 60 million, the employer pays 18.6% on top of salary, not 23.5%, because SI, HI and the union fee stop at VND 46.8 million.
Who must join: the points employers miss
Contracts of one month or more. Employees with a labour contract of at least one month must join SI, HI and UI. For UI, the threshold dropped from three months to one month on 1 January 2026.
Substance over title. The 2024 SI law covers arrangements that work like employment even if the document has another name. A "service contract" with fixed hours and supervision can still trigger contributions.
Part-time staff. Part-time employees join if their monthly salary is at least the minimum contribution level.
Probation is excluded. Employees on a separate probation contract are not in compulsory SI or UI. Once the labour contract starts, contributions start.
Paid managers. Company managers and controllers who receive a salary are now covered, including for UI.
Foreign employees
Foreigners with a work permit (or exemption) and a labour contract of 12 months or more with a Vietnamese employer must join compulsory SI. Exceptions include intra-company transferees, people who had reached retirement age when signing, and cases covered by an international treaty. Foreigners also join HI, but they are not part of unemployment insurance. In practice the employer pays 20.5% (17.5% SI + 3% HI) plus the trade union fee, and the employee pays 9.5%.
Key takeaways
Budget about 23.5% employer cost and 10.5% employee deduction on the contribution salary.
SI and HI stop at VND 46.8 million per month; UI stops at 20 × the regional minimum wage.
Contribution salary includes regular allowances, not only base pay.
From 1 January 2026, UI covers contracts of one month or more, and the 1% rate is now a ceiling.
Foreign staff on 12-month+ contracts join SI and HI, but not UI.
Check rates again each year: the base figures in this guide come from 2025–2026 laws and decrees.
How HR4U can help
An Employer of Record runs registration, monthly contributions and benefit claims for you, so you can hire in Vietnam without setting up an entity. At HR4U, statutory contributions are passed through at cost, with no markup, and our EOR service fee starts from USD 109 per employee per month, depending on role and team size. That keeps your EOR cost clear line by line. We work with you proactively and keep rules up to date. If you want to see the numbers for your own team, see our EOR Vietnam service or talk to us.
This article is for general information and reflects rules in effect as of October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice.
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