Parental Leave Regulations 2017

We would like to bring to you all highlights of the 2017 Regulations on Parental Leave for employees as follows:

I. Related legal framework

• The 2014 Law on Social Insurance 
• The 2012 Labor Code
• The Circular No. 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH providing specific regulations and guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Social Insurance with regard to the compulsory social insurance.
• The Decree No. 115/2015/ND-CP providing guidance on the Law on Social Insurance with regard to the compulsory social insurance

II. Maternity and paternity leave benefits

  1. Persons entitled to parental benefits (hereinafter referred to as beneficiary)

- Employees hired under an indefinite-term, fixed-term or seasonal contract or contract for a particular work for the period from 03 full months to under 12 months, including the employment contract between the employer and the legal representative of the person under 15 years of age in accordance with legislation on labor;

- Employees hired under a fixed-term employment contract for the period from 01 full month to below 3 months;

- Public officials, officers or employees;

- National defense workers, People’s Security policemen and other duty holders in ciphering organizations;

- Specialized officers and soldiers of the People’s Army of Vietnam; operations or technical engineering officers, non-commissioned officers of the People’s Police of Vietnam; 

- Company managers or operators of cooperatives paid salaries.

2. Eligibility requirements for entitlement to maternity and paternity leave

3. Entitlement period

a. Antenatal care 

- 05 times, 01 day off for each appointment

- If pregnant women are living away from healthcare establishments, have been found with pathological conditions or carried a fetus with some abnormalities, they can take 02 days off for each appointment.

The allowable number of days of maternity leave is counted on the basis of business days, exclusive of national holidays and Lunar New Year holidays and weekdays or weekends off.  

b. Miscarriage, suction aspiration, dilation and extraction, stillbirth or forced abortion due to pathological conditions  

Maximum period:

- 10 days off for 05 weeks’ gestation;

- 20 days off for 05 – under 13 weeks’ gestation;

- 40 days off for 13 – under 25 weeks’ gestation;

- 50 days off for at least 25 weeks’ gestation.

The allowable number of days of maternity leave is counted on the basis of business days, national holidays, Lunar New Year holidays and weekdays or weekends off.  

c. Childbirth

Female employees:

- 06 months before and after birth

- In the case of giving birth to twins or multiples, one more month off of maternity leave from the second child onward will be offered.

- Postnatal period:

+ In the case of early neonatal death (2 months or less), 04 months’ maternity leave that begins on the baby delivery date will be offered;

+ In the case of neonatal death (2 months or more), 02 months’ maternity leave that begins on the newborn death date will be offered,

(The maternity leave timelength shall not exceed the timelength stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and shall not be included in personal leave)

Male employees (even when his spouse acts as a surrogate mother giving birth to a child):

- 05 business days off of paternity leave;

- 07 business days’ paternity leave for his spouse’s surgical baby birth or under 32 weeks’ premature birth; 

- In the case of his spouse’s giving birth to twins, 10 business days' paternity leave shall be offered. In the case of his spouse's twins or multiple births, more 03 business days' paternity leave from the third child onward will be offered;

- In the case of his spouse’s surgical birth to twins or multiples, 14 business days' paternity leave shall be offered.

(The paternity leave timelength specified in this Clause shall be valid within the duration of 30 days following the date of his spouse's baby delivery).

* In the case of the maternal death occurring after childbirth, when either only the mother or both parents makes social insurance contributions,

- The father or the primary carer shall be entitled to the time off equivalent to the remaining days off for maternity leave that the dead mother has not taken yet.

- If the mother is dead before satisfying requirements concerning the required timelength of social insurance contribution for entitlement to social insurance benefits, the father or the primary carer will be entitled to parental leave till his/her child reaches 06 months of age.  

   

* If the father or the primary carer making social insurance contribution does not take parental leave, (s)he is paid parental benefits in addition to his/her salary calculated based on the remaining days of maternity leave that the dead mother has not taken yet.

* If the father is the only one participating in social insurance and the mother is dead or facing health risks after birth that result in incapacity to care for her child, the father will be entitled to paid parental leave till his child reaches 06 months of age.     

The said parental leave shall include national holidays, Lunar New Year holidays, weekdays or weekends off which are excluded from paternity leave granted to the male employee married to his child’s mother.

d. Surrogacy and commissioning mothers

Surrogate mothers:

- Paid maternity leave is offered if the surrogate mother has had miscarriage, undergone suction aspiration, dilation and extraction operation, stillbirth or forced abortion due to pathological conditions which are the same as other normally pregnant female employee. 

- Maternity leave during pre-natal, postpartum and baby handover period shall be the same as the maternity leave provided to other normally pregnant female employee. 

If 60 days’ maternity leave has not been fully taken within the period from the childbirth date to the baby handover date or to the child death date, the surrogate female employee shall be entitled to a full period of 60 days’ maternity leave, inclusive of national holidays, Lunar New Year holidays, and weekdays or weekends off.

Commissioning mothers:

- The commissioning mother shall be entitled to maternity leave upon receipt of the surrogate baby till the baby gets 06 months old. - In the case of surrogate twins or multiple births, one more month off of maternity leave granted to the commissioning mother from the second child onward will be offered;

e. Adoption 

- In case of adoption of a child under 06 months of age, paid parental leave shall be offered till the adopted child gets 06 months old.

 If both parents have participated in social insurance to the extent that they meet eligibility requirements for entitlement to parental benefits referred to in Clause 2 Article 31 of this Law, either of them shall be entitled to paid parental leave.

f. Birth control

Maximum period:

- 07 days’ maternity leave provided for female employees wearing vagina rings; 

- 15 days’ maternity or paternity leave for female or male employees, respectively, undergoing the sterilization process 

The allowable number of days of the said maternity and paternity leave shall include national holidays, Lunar New Year holidays and weekdays or weekends off.  

4. Parental benefit rates

a. One-off payment of benefits for childbirth or adoption 

One-off payment/child = 02 x Base pay rate

- The base pay rate used for calculation is the rate determined in the childbirth or adoption month.  

- In case of childbirth, if the father is the only participant in social insurance, he shall be entitled to the one-off payment of benefits calculated as 02 multiplied by the base pay rate determined in the childbirth or adoption month. 

b. Maternity and paternity pay rates

01-month pay rate shall equal 100% of the base pay rate used for calculation of social insurance contribution rate on a monthly basis paid during 06 months before the beneficiary takes days off for his/her parental leave

- If 06 months’ social insurance contributions have not been fully made, the 01-month pay rate shall equal the base pay rates of months in which social insurance contributions have been made.  

- The pay rate per a day off paid for the antenatal care or to the male employee whose spouse is giving birth shall be calculated as the maternity and paternity benefit rate divided by 24 days.  

- The rate of benefits paid for childbirth or adoption shall be calculated as the month-based benefit rate if there is any day left to a full month or in case of miscarriage, suction aspiration, dilation and extraction operation, stillbirth or forced abortion due to pathological conditions; in case of the birth control, the rate of parental benefit payment per a day shall be calculated as the month-based benefit rate divided by 30 days.

See in Vietnamese: Chế độ thai sản năm 2017