- Full title: Decree on administrative penalties in the fields of labour, social insurance and Vietnamese workers working abroad under contract, No. 283/2026/ND-CP
- Issued by: the Government on the proposal of the Minister of Home Affairs, 15 July 2026 (signed by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra)
- In force from: 10 September 2026 (Clause 1, Article 66)
- Structure: 6 chapters, 68 articles, no appendix
- Replaces: Decree 12/2022/ND-CP of 17 January 2022, which ceases to apply when Decree 283 takes effect (Clause 4, Article 66)
- Legal basis: the Law on Government Organisation No. 63/2025/QH15, the Law on Handling Administrative Violations No. 15/2012/QH13 (as amended by Laws No. 67/2020/QH14 and No. 88/2025/QH15), the Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14, the Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15, the Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15, the Law on Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad under Contract No. 69/2020/QH14, the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene No. 84/2015/QH13, the Law on Trade Unions No. 50/2024/QH15 (as amended by Law No. 97/2025/QH15) and the Law on Investment No. 143/2025/QH15
- Official Vietnamese text: Official Gazette portal · Official Gazette No. 448, 28 July 2026
Note: this page is LexData’s own unofficial English summary of the main rules. It is not the full text of the Decree or an official translation. It focuses on employer violations; the chapter on sending Vietnamese workers abroad and the powers of each sanctioning official are only outlined. Only the Vietnamese text has legal effect.
Scope and structure
The Decree sets the violations, sanctions, fines, remedial measures and the power to record and sanction violations in three fields: labour (employment, recruitment and labour management; working conditions and labour relations; occupational safety and hygiene; grassroots employee representative organisations), social insurance, and Vietnamese workers sent abroad under contract (Clause 1, Article 1). Violations not covered here fall under the penalty decree for the relevant sector (Clause 2, Article 1).
| Chapter | Subject | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| I | General rules: who is covered, sanctions, limitation periods, individual and organisation fines | 1–7 |
| II, Section 1 | Employment, recruitment, labour management, foreign workers | 8–14 |
| II, Section 2 | Working conditions and labour relations: contracts, wages, working time, discipline | 15–30 |
| II, Section 3 | Occupational safety and hygiene (OSH) | 31–38 |
| II, Section 4 | Employee representative organisations and trade union fees | 39–42 |
| III | Social insurance (SI) and unemployment insurance (UI) | 43–48 |
| IV | Vietnamese workers sent abroad under contract | 49–53 |
| V | Power to record and sanction violations, enforcement | 54–65 |
| VI | Entry into force, transition, implementation | 66–68 |
General rules (Articles 3–7)
Sanctions and limitation periods (Article 3)
- Main sanctions: a warning or a fine (Clause 1).
- Additional sanctions: confiscation of exhibits; suspension of a practising certificate for a fixed term; suspension of operations for a fixed term; expulsion of a foreign worker (Clause 2).
- Limitation period: 1 year for labour and social insurance violations; 2 years for violations on Vietnamese workers sent abroad (Clause 4). Whether a violation has ended or is continuing is decided under Clause 1, Article 8 of Decree 118/2021/ND-CP (Clause 5).
Individual and organisation fines (Article 7)
- The fines in Chapters II, III and IV are fines for individuals. An organisation pays twice the individual fine (Clause 1, Article 7).
- Exceptions: the following provisions already state the organisation fine and are not doubled: Articles 8 and 9; Clause 3, Article 10; Clauses 3 to 6, Article 19; Clauses 2 and 4, Article 36; Clause 1, Article 37; Clauses 1 and 5 to 8, Article 38; Clause 3, Article 42; Clauses 6 and 11, Article 48; Article 49; Clauses 1 to 8, Article 50; Clauses 1 to 6, Article 52; Clause 4, Article 53 (Clause 1, Article 7). These mainly target employment service providers, labour leasing companies, OSH training, inspection and workplace monitoring bodies, and companies that send workers abroad.
- Organisations fined at double rate include enterprises set up under Vietnamese law, branches and representative offices of Vietnamese or foreign enterprises operating in Vietnam, cooperatives, public service units, non-profit representative offices of foreign organisations, education and health facilities and other organisations (Clause 2, Article 7).
- Household businesses and households are fined as individuals (Clause 3, Article 7).
- Repeated violations are fined one by one. For union fee violations (Clause 1, Article 42) and late payment or evasion of SI and UI (Articles 43 to 46) committed at different times, not yet sanctioned and still within the limitation period, only one violation is fined, with repeated violation as an aggravating factor (Clause 4, Article 7).
How to read the tables below: an employer company is an organisation. Unless a provision is on the exception list, a company pays twice the figure in the Decree. The tables show both. All amounts are in VND; “m” means million.
Referral for criminal prosecution (Article 4)
A case must go to the criminal prosecution authorities where it shows signs of a crime, for example forged documents in a work permit file (Point b, Clause 4, Article 13), a repeat offence of forced labour, or a repeat offence on compulsory SI (Article 44) or UI (Article 46) contributions (Clause 2, Article 4).
Recruitment, labour management and labour registration (Articles 10–12)
| Violation | Individual | Company (x2) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failing to declare the use of labour; charging job applicants; not keeping or not showing the labour management register | 1–3m | 2–6m | Clause 1, Art. 11 |
| Discrimination at work; failing to report workforce changes; not setting up a labour management register | 5–10m | 10–20m | Clause 2, Art. 11 |
| Deceiving or luring workers, or recruiting them for exploitation or forced labour | 50–75m | 100–150m | Clause 3, Art. 11 |
| Unlawfully using or sharing unpublished worker database information | 20–40m | 40–80m | Clause 2, Art. 10 |
Labour registration (Article 12): an employer that does not register or update a worker’s labour registration details when filing SI registration pays VND 5–10m (1 to 50 workers), 10–15m (51 to 100) or 15–20m (101 or more), as an individual; a company pays double (Clause 2). An SI-covered worker who gives no, incomplete or wrong information pays VND 1–2m (Clause 1).
Foreign workers (Article 13)
The amounts in Article 13 are individual fines. Article 13 is not on the exception list in Clause 1, Article 7, so a company pays double. References are to Decree 219/2025/ND-CP.
| Violation | Individual | Company (x2) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| No notice, late notice or incomplete notice: exempt cases that need no exemption certificate (Clause 4, Art. 9, Decree 219); work in another province (Clause 5, Art. 9 and Clause 5, Art. 22, Decree 219) | 1–3m | 2–6m | Clause 1 |
| Foreign worker doing work that does not match the work permit or exemption certificate; not collecting, collecting late or not returning a permit or certificate under Articles 31 and 33 of Decree 219 | 5–10m per worker, capped at 75m | 10–20m per worker, capped at 150m | Clause 2 |
| Altering documents, or using forged documents, in a file to issue, re-issue or extend a work permit or exemption certificate | 40–60m | 80–120m | Clause 4 |
| Employing foreigners without a work permit or exemption certificate, or with an expired permit or certificate: 1 to 10 workers | 30–45m | 60–90m | Point a, Clause 5 |
| Same: 11 to 20 workers | 45–60m | 90–120m | Point b, Clause 5 |
| Same: 21 workers or more | 60–75m | 120–150m | Point c, Clause 5 |
The foreign worker who works without a work permit or exemption certificate, or with one that has lapsed, pays VND 15–25m (Clause 3). Additional sanctions: confiscation of altered or forged documents (Point a, Clause 6), and expulsion of the foreign worker for violations under Clauses 3 and 4 (Point b, Clause 6). Remedial measures: the employer must give the missing notice (Clause 1 violations) and return the permit or certificate to the issuing authority (Points b, c, d and dd of Clause 2, Point b of Clause 3 and Clause 4) (Clause 7).
For the exempt cases and when a notice is enough, see work permit exemption in Vietnam.
Labour contracts, probation and termination (Articles 15–18)
Many fines scale with the number of workers affected. Individual / company (x2):
| Workers affected | Entering into contracts (Clause 1, Art. 15) | Termination payments and papers (Clause 2, Art. 18) |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 | 2–5m / 4–10m | 1–2m / 2–4m |
| 11–50 | 5–10m / 10–20m | 2–5m / 4–10m |
| 51–100 | 10–15m / 20–30m | 5–10m / 10–20m |
| 101–300 | 15–20m / 30–40m | 10–15m / 20–30m |
| 301 or more | 20–25m / 40–50m | 15–20m / 30–40m |
- Clause 1, Article 15 covers: no written contract for work of 1 month or more; the wrong type of contract; a contract missing the mandatory terms. The employer must sign a written contract of the right type (Clause 3).
- Clause 2, Article 18 covers: changing the contract term by an annex; late payment of amounts due on termination; unpaid or underpaid severance allowance or job-loss allowance; failing to complete the confirmation of SI and UI contribution periods; not giving copies of employment records on request. Unpaid allowances must be paid with interest (Point a, Clause 4).
- Keeping original ID papers, degrees or certificates, requiring a cash or asset deposit, or contracting with a worker aged 15 to under 18 without the legal representative’s written consent: VND 20–25m (Clause 2, Article 15).
- Probation (Article 16): VND 0.5–1m (probation under a contract of less than 1 month; no notice of the result); 2–5m (more than one probation for the same job, probation beyond the agreed or legal period, probation pay below 85%, no contract after a successful probation).
- Performing the contract (Article 17): temporary reassignment without 3 working days’ notice, VND 1–3m; wrong place of work or refusing to take a worker back after suspension of the contract, 3–7m; sexual harassment at the workplace, 15–30m; forced labour or abuse of workers, 50–75m.
- Dismissals for structural or technological change or economic reasons without consulting the employee representative organisation or without 30 days’ notice to the provincial People’s Committee or the worker; no labour use plan; applying performance criteria without consulting the representative organisation: VND 5–10m (Clause 3, Article 18). No written notice of termination: 1–3m (Clause 1, Article 18).
Wages (Article 23)
| Violation | Individual | Company (x2) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not publishing the wage scale, payroll, labour norms or bonus rules; no wage scale, payroll or labour norms, or labour norms not trialled before formal adoption; not consulting the grassroots employee representative organisation (where there is one) on the wage scale, payroll, labour norms or bonus rules; no payslip notice; unequal pay | 5–10m | 10–20m | Clause 1 |
| Late or short payment of wages; unpaid overtime, night work or stoppage pay; unlawful deductions; no pay for untaken annual leave on leaving: 1–10 workers | 5–10m | 10–20m | Clause 2 |
| Same: 11–50 / 51–100 / 101–300 / 301 or more workers | 10–20m / 20–30m / 30–40m / 40–50m | 20–40m / 40–60m / 60–80m / 80–100m | Clause 2 |
| Pay below the statutory minimum wage: 1–10 / 11–50 / 51 or more workers | 20–30m / 30–50m / 50–75m | 40–60m / 60–100m / 100–150m | Clause 3 |
| Not paying, with the wages, the amount equal to the employer’s SI, health insurance and UI contributions to workers outside those schemes: 1–10 / 11–50 / 51–100 / 101–300 / 301 or more | 3–5m / 5–8m / 8–12m / 12–15m / 15–20m | 6–10m / 10–16m / 16–24m / 24–30m / 30–40m | Clause 4 |
The employer must pay the shortfall plus interest at the highest demand deposit rate of the State-owned commercial banks at the time of the penalty (Clause 5).
Working time and rest (Article 24)
| Violation | Individual | Company (x2) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not allowing personal leave or unpaid leave; not notifying the Department of Home Affairs of overtime of more than 200 up to 300 hours a year | 2–5m | 4–10m | Clause 1 |
| Breaching the rules on weekly rest, annual leave or public holidays | 10–20m | 20–40m | Clause 2 |
| Normal hours above the legal limit; overtime without the worker’s consent (except Article 108 of the Labour Code) | 20–25m | 40–50m | Clause 3 |
| No breaks during work or between shifts; overtime above the legal cap: 1–10 / 11–50 / 51–100 / 101–300 / 301 or more workers | 5–10m / 10–20m / 20–40m / 40–60m / 60–75m | 10–20m / 20–40m / 40–80m / 80–120m / 120–150m | Clause 4 |
Internal labour rules and discipline (Article 25)
- VND 1–3m: not informing all workers of the internal labour rules or not posting their main points (Clause 1).
- VND 5–10m: no written internal labour rules with 10 or more workers; not registering the rules; not consulting the employee representative organisation; using rules not yet or no longer in force; discipline or damages claims that breach the procedure or time limit; suspension longer than the legal limit (Clause 2).
- VND 20–40m: harming a worker’s health or dignity in disciplinary proceedings; fines or pay cuts instead of discipline; discipline for conduct not covered by the internal rules, the contract or the law; more than one sanction for one breach; discipline during sick leave, custody or detention (Clause 3).
- A worker dismissed in breach of the procedure or time limit, or for conduct not covered by the rules, contract or law, must be reinstated with back pay (Point a, Clause 4).
These are individual fines; a company pays double.
Other labour relations violations (Articles 19–22, 26–30)
- User of leased workers (individual level): VND 3–5m (not briefing leased workers on the rules and OSH; discrimination); 40–50m (leasing outside the permitted list of jobs, from a company not licensed to lease labour, or to replace strikers or workers dismissed for restructuring) (Clauses 1 and 2, Article 19). The labour leasing company pays the organisation fines in Clauses 3 to 6, Article 19, up to VND 80–100m.
- Workplace dialogue and grassroots democracy rules (Article 21): VND 5–10m.
- Collective bargaining agreements (Article 22): from VND 1–3m to 10–15m (refusing to bargain: 10–15m).
- Female workers and gender equality (Article 26): VND 5–10m; 10–20m (overtime, night work or long trips for workers pregnant from the 7th month; dismissal for marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave or raising a child under 12 months; no lactation room with 1,000 or more female workers).
- Minors (Article 27): VND 1–2m; 20–25m; 50–75m.
- Older workers and workers with disabilities (Article 29): VND 5–10m per worker; 10–15m.
Occupational safety and hygiene (Articles 31–38)
| Violation | Individual | Company (x2) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| No OSH report, or a late report | 1–3m | 2–6m | Clause 2, Art. 31 |
| Not recording or reporting workplace accidents, occupational diseases or serious incidents | 5–10m | 10–20m | Clause 3, Art. 31 |
| No OSH or health staff; no or untrained first-aid team | 5–10m | 10–20m | Clause 2, Art. 32 |
| No inspection or maintenance of machinery; not investigating or reporting workplace accidents | 20–25m | 40–50m | Clause 3, Art. 32 |
| No periodic health checks or occupational disease screening | 1–3m per worker, capped at 75m | 2–6m per worker, capped at 150m | Clause 2, Art. 33 |
| No or inadequate personal protective equipment; no in-kind allowance: 1–10 / 11–50 / 51–100 / 101–300 / 301 or more workers | 3–6m / 6–10m / 10–15m / 15–20m / 20–30m | 6–12m / 12–20m / 20–30m / 30–40m / 40–60m | Clause 8, Art. 33 |
| Forcing workers to work where there is an imminent, serious risk to life or health | 30–40m | 60–80m | Clause 10, Art. 33 |
| No prompt first aid; not paying medical costs, compensation or allowances for workplace accidents | 2–4m per worker, capped at 75m | 4–8m per worker, capped at 150m | Clause 1, Art. 34 |
| No safety inspection of equipment with strict safety requirements: 1–3 / 4–10 / 11–20 / 21 or more units | 20–30m / 30–50m / 50–75m / 75m | 40–60m / 60–100m / 100–150m / 150m | Clause 4, Art. 35 |
| No OSH training: 1–10 / 11–50 / 51–100 / 101–300 / 301 or more workers | 5–10m / 10–20m / 20–30m / 30–40m / 40–50m | 10–20m / 20–40m / 40–60m / 60–80m / 80–100m | Clause 1, Art. 36 |
| No workplace environment monitoring | 20–40m | 40–80m | Clause 3, Art. 38 |
Clauses 2 and 4 of Article 36, Clause 1 of Article 37 and Clauses 1 and 5 to 8 of Article 38 apply to training, inspection and monitoring bodies and already state organisation fines (Clause 1, Article 7).
Trade unions and union fees (Articles 39–42)
- Supporting the employee representative organisation and the union (Article 39): VND 3–5m (no time off, workspace or information); 10–20m (terminating, dismissing or reassigning a representative board member or part-time union officer without written agreement; not extending their contract to the end of the term).
- Discrimination on union grounds (Article 40): VND 15–30m. Interfering with or manipulating the representative organisation (Clause 2, Article 41): 20–40m.
- Union fees (Article 42): late payment, no deduction or payment, or underpayment by amount or headcount: 12% to under 15% of the total due, capped at VND 75m (Clause 1); no payment for the entire workforce: 18%–20%, capped at 75m (Clause 2). These are individual fines; a company pays double, so the cap becomes 150m. Within 30 days of the penalty decision the employer must pay the arrears to the union with interest (Point a, Clause 4).
Social insurance and unemployment insurance (Articles 43–48)
The amounts in Articles 43 to 47 are individual fines; a company pays double. In Article 48 only Clauses 6 and 11 state organisation fines.
Late payment and evasion: headcount violations
| Workers affected | Late SI (Clause 2, Art. 43) | SI evasion (Clause 1, Art. 44) | Late UI (Clause 2, Art. 45) | UI evasion (Clause 1, Art. 46) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5–10 | 6–12 | 0.5–2.5 | 1–5 |
| 10 to under 50 | 10–15 | 12–20 | 2.5–5 | 5–10 |
| 50 to under 100 | 15–20 | 20–30 | 5–10 | 10–15 |
| 100 to under 300 | 20–30 | 30–40 | 10–15 | 15–20 |
| 300 to under 500 | 30–40 | 40–50 | 15–20 | 20–25 |
| 500 to under 700 | 40–50 | 50–60 | 20–25 | 25–30 |
| 700 to under 1,000 | 50–60 | 60–70 | 25–30 | 30–35 |
| 1,000 or more | 60–75 | 70–75 | 30–35 | 35–40 |
VND million, individual level. A company pays double.
- Late payment: not registering, or under-registering, workers within 60 days after the deadline in Clause 1, Article 28 of the Law on Social Insurance (or later, where the law does not treat the case as evasion). For UI, the deadline follows the unemployment insurance rules.
- Evasion: not registering, or under-registering, workers more than 60 days after that deadline.
Amount violations
| Violation | Individual | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Late SI payment (unpaid or underpaid amounts under the registered file) | 12%–15% of the late amount, capped at VND 75m | Clause 3, Art. 43 |
| SI evasion: registering a contribution salary below Clause 1, Article 31 of the Law on Social Insurance; not paying more than 60 days after the deadline despite a reminder | 18%–20% of the evaded amount, capped at VND 75m | Clause 2, Art. 44 |
| Late UI payment / UI evasion | 12%–15% / 18%–20%, capped at VND 75m | Clause 3, Art. 45; Clause 2, Art. 46 |
- Where the late amount is below VND 400,000 when the violation is recorded, the sanction is a warning (Clause 1, Articles 43 and 45).
- Remedial measures: register all workers, pay the full arrears and pay 0.03% per day on the late or evaded amount for each day into the fund (Clause 4, Art. 43; Clause 3, Art. 44; Clause 4, Art. 45; Clause 4, Art. 46).
- Applying the doubling rule in Clause 1, Article 7, a company pays double the percentage and the cap rises to VND 150m. The Decree does not spell out separately how the doubling works for percentage-based fines.
Files and other duties (Articles 47 and 48)
- Forging or deliberately falsifying an SI or UI benefit file: VND 10–20m per file, capped at 75m (Clause 2, Article 47). Not preparing the worker list or file, or filing late under the listed articles of the Law on Social Insurance and the Law on OSH: 2–4m per worker, capped at 75m (Clause 3, Article 47).
- VND 2–4m per worker, capped at 75m (Clause 3, Article 48): paying SI or UI for people outside the schemes; not returning the paper SI book on request; not giving termination papers within 2 working days or not confirming UI contributions.
- A worker who agrees with the employer not to join compulsory SI or UI: VND 0.5–1m (Point a, Clause 2, Article 48).
- Not producing or providing SI and UI information requested by the authorities: VND 5–10m (Clause 8, Article 48). Misappropriating a worker’s SI benefits: 18%–20% of the amount, capped at 75m, with repayment plus interest (Clause 10, Article 48).
- Chapter III has no separate provision on late payment or evasion of health insurance contributions. Health insurance appears only in Clause 4, Article 23 (the equivalent amount paid to workers outside the schemes) and Clause 3, Article 28 (domestic workers).
Vietnamese workers sent abroad (Chapter IV, outline)
- Articles 49 to 52 cover licensed labour export companies, companies that win contracts for projects abroad, Vietnamese investors abroad and companies that send workers abroad for training. Most of these are organisation fines; the highest in Article 49 is VND 180–200m (Clause 10), with suspension of operations as an additional sanction.
- A worker who stays abroad unlawfully after the contract ends: VND 80–100m (Clause 2, Article 53).
Sanctioning powers (Articles 55–63, outline)
The limits below apply to individuals; for organisations the fining power is doubled (Clause 1, Article 63).
| Official | Labour, SI | Workers sent abroad | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair of the commune People’s Committee | up to VND 37.5m | up to VND 50m | Clause 1, Art. 55 |
| Chair of the provincial People’s Committee | up to VND 75m | up to VND 100m | Clause 2, Art. 55 |
| Director of the provincial Department of Home Affairs | up to VND 60m | up to VND 80m | Clause 1, Art. 61 |
| Director of provincial Social Security / Director General of Vietnam Social Security | up to VND 37.5m / 75m (SI and UI) | not applicable | Clauses 1 and 2, Art. 57 |
| Director of the provincial Police | up to VND 75m | up to VND 100m | Clause 7, Art. 58 |
The police may sanction a listed set of violations, including Clauses 3 and 4 of Article 13 (foreign workers) and Articles 44 and 46 (SI and UI evasion) (Clause 5, Article 63). The head of the provincial immigration office and the Director of the provincial Police may order expulsion (Clauses 6 and 7, Article 58).
Entry into force and transition (Articles 66 and 67)
- The Decree takes effect on 10 September 2026, and Decree 12/2022/ND-CP ceases to apply on the same day (Clauses 1 and 4, Article 66).
- Deferred provisions: Points e, g and h of Clause 2, Article 7 (resident offices of foreign press agencies and representative offices of foreign publishers; foreign diplomatic and consular missions and international organisations; Vietnamese and foreign NGOs) and Article 14 (employing Vietnamese workers for foreign organisations and individuals in Vietnam) take effect only when the decree amending Decree 152/2020/ND-CP on that subject takes effect (Clause 3, Article 66). The fining power of the Director of the Department of Wages and Social Insurance takes effect when the decree amending Decree 189/2025/ND-CP takes effect (Clause 2, Article 66). This page has not tracked the status of those two decrees.
- Violations that ended before 10 September 2026 but are found or still being handled after that date: the decree in force when the violation was committed applies (Clause 1, Article 67).
- Violations that began before 10 September 2026 and are still continuing after that date: Decree 283 applies (Clause 2, Article 67).
- Penalty decisions issued or enforced before 10 September 2026 that are still under complaint: the rules in force when the decision was issued apply (Clause 3, Article 67).
For a review of contracts, internal labour rules, payroll or foreign worker files before an inspection, see Vietnam employment law advice and work permits in Vietnam.
