Vietnam Tightens Labour and Social Insurance Sanctions: Key Changes under Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP

Executive Summary

On 15 July 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP on administrative sanctions in the fields of labour, social insurance, and Vietnamese workers working abroad under contract (“Decree 283“). Decree 283 takes effect on 10 September 2026 (“Effective Date“) and replaces Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP (“Decree 12“), which has governed administrative sanctions in these fields since 2022.

Decree 283 was promulgated in the context of the Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15 (“SI Law 2024“), effective from 1 July 2025, which introduces a statutory distinction between “late payment” and “evasion” of compulsory social insurance (“SI“) contributions. Decree 283 operationalises this distinction through two separate and more granular fine structures. It also expressly establishes a sector-specific mechanism for referring cases showing indications of criminal offences to the competent criminal proceedings authorities, clarifies the fine multipliers applicable to organisations and household businesses, and enables the fully electronic processing of administrative violations.

This Update provides a high-level overview of the key features of Decree 283 and highlights its practical implications for local employers, foreign-invested enterprises, employees in Vietnam, and Vietnamese workers working abroad under contract (“WA Workers“).

For businesses, Decree 283 significantly increases enforcement and compliance risk. Employers should therefore review their compliance procedures well before its effective date.

Key Features

Scope, Persons Affected, and Sanction Framework

Decree 283 sets out the applicable administrative violations, sanctions, remedial measures, sanctioning authorities and enforcement procedures across labour, SI and overseas employment. Specifically, it covers:

1. labour matters, including employment services, recruitment and labour management, working conditions and labour relations, occupational safety and health, and grassroots employee representative organisations;

2. compulsory SI; and

3. WA Workers.

It applies to employers, employees, and other individuals or organisations committing administrative violations in these fields, as well as to persons with sanctioning or record-taking authority.

As under the previous regime, the principal sanctions remain a caution or a fine. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, additional sanctions may be imposed, including the confiscation of exhibits, suspension of a practising certificate, suspension of operations, or deportation of a foreign employee.

Statute of Limitations: Two Years for WA Worker Violations

 Decree 283 departs from Decree 12, which applies a uniform one-year limitation period to all violations within its scope. Under Article 3.4 of Decree 283, the limitation period is now distinct:

1. one year for labour and SI violations; and

2. two years for violations concerning WA Workers.

This extension reflects the practical difficulty of detecting and investigating violations arising from overseas labour placement, where the relevant conduct or resulting harm may only be revealed after the worker’s return to Vietnam.

New Mechanism for Referral to Criminal Prosecution 

Article 4 of Decree 283 expressly requires the competent authority handling an administrative violation case where there are indications that the subject conduct may constitute a criminal offence, to refer the same to the criminal proceedings authorities. The categories of conduct subject to potential criminal referral include, among others:

1. forgery of licences, certificates, or official documents, or use of forged documents;

2. illegal exploitation, sharing, use, trading, exchange, or appropriation of labour and labour-market database information not yet officially published;

3. infringement of a worker’s honour, reputation, or dignity in the course of labour discipline;

4. exploitation of the WA Workers placement mechanism to organise illegal exit, or to subject workers to exploitation or forced labour; and

5. repeat violations of the rules on employing minors, or on compulsory SI or unemployment insurance (“UI“) contributions.

Where the criminal proceedings authority subsequently declines to pursue criminal liability, the file is referred back to the competent authority for administrative sanctioning under Decree 283.

Clarified Principles on Fine Multipliers

Article 7 of Decree 283 preserves the general rule that fines under the Decree are expressed as the rate applicable to an individual, with the fine for an organisation set at twice that amount. It also expands the illustrative list of entities treated as “organisations” for this purpose, which now included state agencies acting outside their assigned management function, Vietnamese and foreign-invested enterprises, cooperatives, non-business units, socio-political and professional organisations, foreign representative and diplomatic offices, and registered domestic or foreign  non-governmental organisation (NGOs), among others. Notably, household businesses and family households are now expressly sanctioned at the individual (rather than organisation) rate (Article 7.3).

Multiple violations of trade union fee obligations, or of compulsory SI/UI late-payment or evasion rules, committed at different times are, where none of the instances has yet been sanctioned and the limitation period has not expired, treated as a single violation with repetition applied as an aggravating factor, rather than being separately fined for each instance under the general multiple-violation principle (Article 7.4).

SI Penalties

Decree 283 restructures the SI penalty framework introduced under SI Law 2024 into two distinct violation categories:

1. Late payment (Articles 43 and 45):

• • A caution applies to the late-payment violations specified in Article 43.3 where the amount involed in the violation, calculated at the time the administrative violation record is made, is less that VND400,000. These violations comprise: (i) failure to pay, or failure to pay in full, the compulsory SI contributions due under the registered compulsory SI participation dossier from the day following the statutory payment deadline; and (ii) failure to pay, or failure to pay in full, the registered compulsory SI contributions for more than 60 days after the statutory payment deadline and following a reminder from the competent authority, where such failure is not regarded as evasion of compulsory SI contributions under applicable law.

  • Failure to register, or incomplete registration of, employees for compulsory SI/UI within 60 days of the statutory deadline is subject to a new headcount-tiered fine schedule, ranging from VND5 million to VND75 million for SI, with a parallel, lower-banded schedule for UI.

  • Continued non-payment of a registered amount, following the statutory reminder procedure, remains subject to a fine of 12%-15% of the amount concerned, capped at VND75 million.

2. Evasion (Articles 44 and 46):

• • Failure to register employees more than 60 days after the deadline is now subject to its own, higher headcount-tiered schedule, ranging from VND6 million to VND75 million for SI, with a parallel, lower-banded schedule for UI.

  • Under-declaring the wage used as the SI contribution base, or continued non-payment after the reminder procedure, attracts a fine of 18%-20% of the evaded amount, capped at VND75 million. This replaces the flat VND50 million – VND75 million bracket under Decree 12, and now calibrated to the actual amount evaded.

In both cases, the employer remains liable to make up the shortfall in full, together with late-payment/evasion interest of 0.03% per day on the outstanding amount.

New Labour-Registration Obligation Linked to SI Registration

Decree 283 also introduces sanctions supporting the new labour-registration-cum-SI-registration mechanism that has been applied since 1 July 2026 (under Decision No. 645/QD-BNV and Decree No. 318/2025/ND-CP).

Under Article 12 of Decree 283, an employee who fails to provide, or provides incomplete or inaccurate, information for labour registration purposes is subject to a fine of up to VND2 million, while an employer who fails to register or adjust an employee’s labour registration information when submitting SI registration or adjustment documents faces a headcount-tiered fine of up to VND20 million.

Electronic Processing of Administrative Violations 

Article 6 Decree 283 formally enables the processing of administrative violations in this field through electronic means, including delivery of minutes, decisions, and other documents via the violator’s registered email address, the national digital identification application or account (Level 2 authentication or above), Short Message Service (SMS) to the violator’s registered phone number, and email to the relevant revenue-collecting or other concerned authorities.

For administrative violations that occurred and were completed before the Effective Date but are detected or remain under review after that date, the applicable sanctioning rules are generally those in force when the violation occurred. Employers should therefore distinguish between historical exposures arising before the Effective Date and violations occurring on or after the Effective Date, including those that commence on or after that date and continue thereafter. Decree 283 applies to the latter category. Employers should therefore distinguish between violations completed before the Effective Date and continuing violations that extend beyond it.

Practical Implications for Employers

Decree 283 underscores the importance of timely and accurate compliance with compulsory SI/UI registration and contribution obligations. Employers should not view the new distinction between late payment and evasion as merely a change in the applicable fine structure. The classification of a violation may have broader consequences, including significantly higher financial exposure and, in cases involving conduct showing signs of a criminal offence, potential referral to the criminal proceedings authorities.

Against this backdrop, employers should consider taking the following steps before the Effective Date:

1. Reconcile SI/UI registration records. Employers should verify that all employees subject to compulsory SI/UI have been properly registered and that the registered employee population is consistent with their payroll and employment records. Particular attention should be given to employees who have recently joined, transferred internally, changed employment status, or otherwise become subject to compulsory SI/UI.

2. Review contribution salary bases. Employers should review the salary and other amounts used as the basis for SI contributions to identify any under-declaration or inconsistencies. Arrangements involving allowances, supplements, variable remuneration, or other salary components should be reviewed where there is a risk that the declared contribution base does not accurately reflect the amounts required by law.

3. Identify and remediate outstanding contributions. Employers should reconcile their SI/UI payment records with the relevant SI authority’s records and identify any outstanding contributions or periods of delayed payment. Where deficiencies are identified, employers should assess the applicable remedial obligations and consider taking corrective action before the Effective Date.

4. Review labour-registration data. Following the introduction of the labour-registration mechanism linked to SI registration and adjustment from 1 July 2026, employers should ensure that labour-registration information is complete, accurate and consistent with their SI registration and adjustment filings.

5. Strengthen internal compliance controls. Employers should review the internal processes and responsibilities for employee registration, payroll reporting, SI/UI contribution calculations and payments. Clear escalation procedures should be established for delayed registrations, contribution discrepancies and other potential compliance issues.

6. Assess historical exposure. Employers with recurring or unresolved SI/UI registration or contribution issues should assess whether any conduct may constitute repeated violations or otherwise fall within the circumstances requiring referral where there are indications of a criminal offence. Historical cases should also be assessed in light of the transitional rules applicable to violations occurring before the Effective Date.

For employers with material or recurring SI/UI compliance issues, an early review is advisable. Addressing registration, contribution and reporting discrepancies before the new regime takes effect may help reduce the risk of further accumulation of liabilities and facilitate a more controlled response to any subsequent inspection or enforcement action.

Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers will continue to monitor legislative and regulatory developments, including any implementing guidance issued in connection with Decree 283, and will provide further updates as further guidance becomes available.

Further Information

Please feel free to reach out to our contact partners should you have queries on the above development.

For regional Employment matters, please see Rajah & Tann Asia’s Employment Practice for more information.

This Update was authored by Chairwoman Vu Thi Que and Of Counsel Dr. Le Hong Phuc at Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers.