1. Maternity leave entitlement conditions

According to Article 31 of the Social Insurance Law 2014, compulsory social insurance participants are entitled to maternity leave if they fall under one of the following categories:

• Female employees who are pregnant;
• Female employees who give birth;
• Female employees who are surrogates and mothers who request surrogacy;
• Employees who adopt children under 6 months old;
• Female employees who use contraceptive methods or undergo sterilization;
• Male employees who are paying social insurance and have wives who give birth.

In addition, employees must also meet the timeliness requirements to be eligible for maternity leave:

• Female employees who give birth, adopt children under 6 months old, or are surrogates and mothers who request surrogacy must have paid social insurance for at least 6 months out of the 12 months before giving birth or adopting a child.
• Female employees who have given birth and have paid social insurance for at least 12 months but must take leave to rest during pregnancy as recommended by a doctor must have paid social insurance for at least 3 months out of the 12 months before giving birth.
• Employees who meet the conditions under the two specific cases above and terminate their labor contracts, employment contracts, or quit their jobs before giving birth or adopting children under 6 months old are still entitled to maternity leave in accordance with regulations.

2. Maternity Leave Duration

a) For Female Employees

• Female employees who give birth are entitled to maternity leave before and after childbirth for a total of 6 months. In the case of female employees who give birth to twins or more, starting from the second child onwards, the mother is entitled to an additional 1 month of leave for each child.
• The maximum period of maternity leave before childbirth is not more than 2 months.
• In case of death of a child under 2 months old after childbirth, the mother is entitled to 4 months of leave from the date of childbirth; if a child 2 months old or older dies, the mother is entitled to 2 months of leave from the date of the child’s death, but the maternity leave period does not exceed the prescribed period; this time is not counted towards personal leave according to labor law regulations.
• Employees who adopt children under 6 months old are still entitled to leave until the child reaches 6 months of age. If both the father and mother are social insurance participants and meet the eligibility criteria, only father or mother can take leave and receive benefits.

b) For Male Employees

Male employees who are paying social insurance when their wives give birth are entitled to maternity leave as follows:

• 5 working days: Normal cases.
• 7 working days: Wife has to have a cesarean section, gives birth before 32 weeks of pregnancy.
• 10 working days: Twins; for triplets or more, an additional 3 working days are granted for each child.
• 14 working days: Twins or more who require a cesarean section.
• The maternity leave period is calculated within the first 30 days from the date the wife gives birth.

3. Maternity Leave Benefits

a) One-time allowance upon childbirth

According to Article 38 of the Social Insurance Law 2014, female employees who give birth or adopt children under 6 months old will receive an one-time allowance as follows: One-time allowance/child = 2 x Minimum wage

The current minimum wage as of July 1, 2023, is VND 1.8 million/month. Therefore, the one-time allowance upon childbirth is: VND 1.8 million x 2 = VND 3.6 million.

However, the National Assembly has passed Resolution 104/2023/QH15 agreeing to implement wage reform from July 1, 2024, in accordance with Resolution 27/NQ-TW of 2018, which abolishes the minimum wage and the current wage coefficient system.

In case of giving birth but only the father is participating in social insurance, the father will receive an one-time allowance of 2 times the minimum wage in the month of childbirth for each child.

b) Maternity leave allowance

Maternity Leave Allowance for Female Employees who Give Birth

Benefit Level: 100% x Average monthly salary level of social insurance contribution 6 months prior to retirement x 6 months

For those who have not paid for 6 months, the benefit level is calculated based on the average monthly salary of the months that have been paid.

Maternity Leave Allowance in Other Cases

Benefit Level: Average monthly salary level of social insurance contribution 6 months prior to retirement / 24 x Number of days of leave

4. Procedures for Receiving Maternity Leave Benefits

Step 1: Employee Submits Application

Within 45 days from the date of returning to work, the employee submits an application for maternity leave benefits to the employer.

In case of termination of employment before giving birth or adopting a child, the employee submits an application and presents the social insurance book to the social insurance agency.

Step 2: Employer Prepares Application

Within 10 days from the date of receiving complete documents from the employee, the employer is responsible for preparing the application (including the employee’s application and the List of Employees on Leave for Maternity Leave Benefits) and submitting it to the social insurance agency.

Step 3: Social insurance Agency Processes Application

The social insurance agency pays maternity leave benefits to the employee within:

• 06 working days from the date of receiving complete documents from the employer;
• 03 working days from the date of receiving complete documents from the employee who terminates employment before giving birth or adopting a child.

5. References

https://luatvietnam.vn/bao-hiem/che-do-thai-san-563-19578-article.html

https://thuvienphapluat.vn/phap-luat/ho-tro-phap-luat/dieu-kien-huong-che-do-thai-san-2024-muc-huong-tro-cap-mot-lan-khi-sinh-con-hoac-nhan-con-nuoi-la-b-7614-142387.html

https://thuvienphapluat.vn/chinh-sach-phap-luat-moi/vn/ho-tro-phap-luat/tu-van-phap-luat/50808/che-do-thai-san-tu-ngay-01-7-2023-nhan-su-nld-can-biet-dieu-nay