Effective 10 September 2026, Decree 283/2026/ND-CP replaces in full Decree 12/2022/ND-CP — the framework that governed administrative sanctions for labor and social insurance violations for more than four years. This full replacement directly affects compliance costs for employers and investors: new penalties on employee-data misuse, a new labor-registration obligation tied to social insurance filings, fines scaled by headcount, a structural split between “late” and “evaded” social insurance contributions, and a standalone article for criminal case transfers. This article explains the key changes so businesses and investors can review their compliance position.
Overview and entry into force
Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP dated 15 July 2026 (signed by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra on behalf of the Government) regulates administrative sanctions in three areas: (a) labor — employment, recruitment and labor management; working conditions and labor relations; occupational safety and hygiene; grassroots employee representative organizations; (b) social insurance; and (c) Vietnamese employees working abroad under contracts (Article 1). The Decree has 6 Chapters and 68 Articles and took effect on 10 September 2026 (Article 66.1).
Under Article 66.4, Decree 12/2022/ND-CP dated 17 January 2022 ceased to be effective from the date Decree 283/2026/ND-CP took effect — a complete replacement as of 10 September 2026. Acts in the three regulated areas that the Decree does not address are sanctioned under the rules of the relevant state management sector (Article 1.2).
The Decree is issued on the basis of, among others: Law on Government Organization 63/2025/QH15; Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 15/2012/QH13 (amended by Laws 67/2020/QH14 and 88/2025/QH15); Labor Code 45/2019/QH14; Employment Law 74/2025/QH15; Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15; Law on Vietnamese Employees Working Abroad under Contracts 69/2020/QH14; Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 84/2015/QH13; Trade Union Law 50/2024/QH15 (amended by Law 97/2025/QH15); and Investment Law 143/2025/QH15. The Minister of Home Affairs provides implementation guidance (Article 68).
Note on deferred effectiveness: under Article 66.2 and 66.3, the sanctioning authority of the Director of the Wage and Social Insurance Department and certain provisions at Article 7.2(e), (g), (h) and Article 14 (violations concerning Vietnamese employees working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam) take effect pending decrees amending Decree 189/2025/ND-CP and Decree 152/2020/ND-CP — they are not presented here as already applicable.
The baseline rule: organizations pay double
Before reading any fine amount (Article 7): the fines stated in the Decree apply to individuals; organizations face fines twice the individual amount (Article 7.1). Business households and family households are fined as individuals (Article 7.3). An individual fine of VND 75 million therefore means up to VND 150 million for a company.
Where late or evaded social insurance/unemployment insurance contributions occur at multiple different times (Article 42.1; Articles 43, 44, 45, 46) and have not yet been handled within the statute of limitations, only one violation is sanctioned, with “multiple administrative violations” applied as an aggravating circumstance (Article 7.4).
Limitation periods (Article 3.4): 1 year for labor and social insurance violations; 2 years for violations concerning Vietnamese employees working abroad under contracts.
Key changes
1. Penalties on employee-data misuse (Article 10)
The Decree adds penalties for illegally exploiting, sharing or using information and data in the employee database and unpublished labor-market information: VND 20–40 million where the act does not attract criminal liability (Article 10.2).
At a heavier tier, Article 10.4 imposes VND 50–70 million for: (a) fraud or falsification of dossiers in implementing employment policies or in assessing and granting national occupational-skill certificates, not yet reaching the threshold of criminal liability; (c) illegally trading, exchanging or appropriating employee data and unpublished labor-market information. Falsified dossiers are subject to confiscation as an additional sanction.
Practical takeaway: employers that collect, store and share candidate data need tight access controls and purpose documentation — buying or trading unpublished employee data is now directly sanctioned.
2. A new article: labor registration (Article 12)
Article 12 is entirely new. Employees subject to compulsory social insurance who fail to provide, provide incompletely or inaccurately provide information for labor registration face fines of VND 1–2 million (Article 12.1). Employers that fail to register or adjust labor-registration information when filing social insurance dossiers are fined by headcount: VND 5–10 million (1–50 employees); VND 10–15 million (51–100); VND 15–20 million (101+) (Article 12.2), and are ordered to complete the registration (Article 12.3).
3. Recruitment and foreign workers (Articles 11, 13)
Article 11 fines of VND 1–3 million apply for failing to declare labor usage, collecting money from employees during recruitment, and incomplete labor-management books (Article 11.1); VND 5–10 million for labor discrimination, using untrained workers for jobs requiring training or national skill certificates, and unreported labor fluctuations (Article 11.2); and VND 50–75 million for luring, enticing, promising or deceptively advertising to defraud employees, or recruiting for labor exploitation or forced labor, not reaching the criminal threshold (Article 11.3). Illegally collected money must be returned (Article 11.4).
Article 13 sanctions violations involving foreign workers in Vietnam, referencing the framework of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP: VND 15–25 million against the foreign worker working without a work permit or with an expired permit (Article 13.3); VND 40–60 million for altering or falsifying documents, or using forged papers in work-permit dossiers, not reaching the criminal threshold (Article 13.4); employers using foreign workers without permits face VND 30–45 million (1–10 workers); VND 45–60 million (11–20); VND 60–75 million (21+) (Article 13.5). Deportation applies as an additional sanction against foreign workers violating Articles 13.3 and 13.4 (Article 13.6).
4. Wages and working hours (Articles 23, 24)
Article 23: VND 5–10 million for violations on salary scales, labor norms, bonus rules and payslips (Article 23.1); late, unpaid or underpaid wages fined by headcount: VND 5–10 million (1–10 employees) → 10–20 (11–50) → 20–30 (51–100) → 30–40 (101–300) → 40–50 million (301+) (Article 23.2); paying below the regional minimum wage: VND 20–30 / 30–50 / 50–75 million by headcount (Article 23.3). Employers must pay the wage arrears plus interest (Article 23.5). Article 23.4 sanctions failing to pay, together with each payroll, the amount equivalent to compulsory social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance contributions for employees not covered by these schemes: VND 3–20 million for individuals depending on headcount, plus repayment of the equivalent amount with interest.
Article 24: VND 2–5 million for personal-leave and overtime-notification violations (Article 24.1); VND 10–20 million for weekly, annual and public-holiday leave violations (Article 24.2); VND 20–25 million for exceeding normal working hours or requiring overtime without employee consent (Article 24.3); excessive overtime and rest-break violations fined by headcount: VND 5–10 → 10–20 → 20–40 → 40–60 → 60–75 million (301+ employees) (Article 24.4).
5. Worker protection: document retention, forced labor, harassment, discipline (Articles 15, 17, 25)
Article 15.2 fines of VND 20–25 million apply for retaining employees’ original identity papers, diplomas or certificates, or requiring cash or asset guarantees; remedies include returning the documents, money or assets plus interest at the highest demand-deposit rate of state commercial banks at the time of sanctioning.
Article 17: VND 15–30 million for sexual harassment in the workplace not reaching the criminal threshold (Article 17.3); VND 50–75 million for forced labor or mistreatment of employees, or forcing employees to perform labor contracts to repay debts to the employer, not reaching the criminal threshold (Article 17.4); with a mandatory public apology (Article 17.5). Repeated forced labor is referred to criminal proceedings (Article 4.2(i)).
Article 25.3 imposes VND 20–40 million for disciplinary actions endangering employees’ health or life, violating their honor, reputation or dignity, imposing monetary fines or wage cuts as discipline, disciplining acts not listed in internal labor regulations, or disciplining employees during illness, convalescence, detention or investigation.
6. Female employees and juvenile workers (Articles 26, 27)
Article 26: VND 5–10 million for gender-equality failures in recruitment, placement, training, working hours and pay, or failing to consult female employees (Article 26.1); VND 10–20 million for, among others: requiring overtime, night work or distant business trips from pregnant employees (from the 7th month; 6th month in highland, remote, border or island areas); overtime/night work from employees nursing children under 12 months without their consent; failure to transfer or reduce hours as required; failure to grant 30 minutes/day rest during menstruation or 60 minutes/day for nursing children under 12 months; failure to secure employment after maternity leave; disciplining female employees during legally protected periods; and dismissing or unilaterally terminating contracts on grounds of marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave or nursing a child under 12 months (Article 26.2(i), with specified exceptions) (Article 26.2). Employers must reinstate the employee.
Article 27.3 fines of VND 50–75 million for violations concerning juvenile workers: using workers aged 13 to under 15 outside the permitted list; using workers under 13 without consent of the specialized labor authority; using workers aged 15 to under 18 in prohibited jobs or workplaces, not reaching the criminal threshold. Repeated violations are referred to criminal proceedings (Article 4.2(k)).
7. Social and unemployment insurance: “late” vs “evaded” split (Articles 43–47)
The most important structural change in the insurance group: the Decree separates late and evaded compulsory social insurance and unemployment insurance contributions into standalone articles.
Late compulsory social insurance (Article 43): a warning if the violated amount is under VND 400,000 (Article 43.1); failure to register within 60 days (not constituting evasion): fines by headcount from VND 5 million to VND 60–75 million (1,000+ employees) (Article 43.2); late payment of contributions: 12–15% of the late amount, capped at VND 75 million (Article 43.3); mandatory full payment plus 0.03%/day on the amount and days of delay (Article 43.4).
Evaded compulsory social insurance (Article 44): failure to register after 60 days: fines by headcount from VND 6 million to VND 70–75 million (1,000+ employees) (Article 44.1); 18–20% of the evaded amount, capped at VND 75 million, for under-declaring the contribution salary base or failing to pay after 60 days despite reminders, not reaching the criminal threshold (Article 44.2); full payment plus 0.03%/day (Article 44.3).
Unemployment insurance (Articles 45, 46) carries lower brackets. Late UI contributions (Article 45): warning if under VND 400,000; fines by headcount from VND 0.5–2.5 million (under 10 employees) up to VND 30–35 million (1,000+); 12–15% of the late amount, capped at VND 75 million. Evaded UI contributions (Article 46): fines by headcount from VND 1 million to VND 40 million across eight headcount tiers; 18–20% of the evaded amount, capped at VND 75 million; full payment plus 0.03%/day.
Benefit dossiers (Article 47): falsifying social insurance or unemployment insurance benefit dossiers, or intentionally distorting information in them, not reaching the criminal threshold: VND 10–20 million per dossier, capped at VND 75 million (Article 47.2); failure to prepare or timely submit benefit dossiers: VND 2–4 million per employee, capped at VND 75 million (Article 47.3); mandatory return of all wrongfully received benefits (Article 47.4).
Note: social insurance and unemployment insurance violations are sanctioned independently — one act (e.g., under-declaring the contribution salary) can be penalized separately under each regime.
Criminal case transfers and electronic proceedings
The Decree carves out the mechanism for transferring violation dossiers with criminal signs into a standalone Article 4 (3 clauses), expanding the list from the narrow scope previously set out generally in Article 58.2 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP (forgery of permits, certificates and official documents) to 12 groups (Article 4.2(a)–(l)), including: forged work-permit dossiers; illegal exploitation, trading or appropriation of employee data; abuse of employment services against security and order; organizing illegal exit, exploitation or forced labor of Vietnamese workers sent abroad; repeated forced labor; repeated use of workers aged 15–18 in prohibited jobs; repeated evasion of compulsory social insurance (Article 44) and unemployment insurance (Article 46); disciplinary action violating employees’ honor or reputation; and coercing Vietnamese employees to remain working abroad unlawfully. Where the criminal proceeding authority declines prosecution, the dossier is returned for administrative sanctioning (Article 4.3).
Article 6 adds rules on handling administrative violations in the electronic environment, under Article 18a of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and Chapter IIIa of Decree 118/2021/ND-CP (amended by Decrees 68/2025/ND-CP and 190/2025/ND-CP).
Transitional provisions (Article 67)
First, violations committed and completed before 10 September 2026 that are discovered or being handled after Decree 283 took effect are governed by the rules in force at the time of the act — i.e., Decree 12/2022/ND-CP.
Second, violations committed before 10 September 2026 but still ongoing when Decree 283 took effect are governed by Decree 283/2026/ND-CP. This is the highest risk: continuing violations (unpaid social insurance debts, ongoing below-minimum wages) fall under the new framework.
Third, complaints against sanctioning decisions issued or executed before 10 September 2026 are resolved under the law in force when the decision was issued.
Compliance checklist for employers and investors
1. Audit social insurance obligations now: reconcile actual headcount against registered participants and contribution salary bases; clear arrears — the 0.03%/day surcharge grows with time.
2. Control employee data: review collection, storage and sharing of candidate files; restrict access; never buy or trade unpublished data.
3. Standardize recruitment and labor management: complete labor registration when filing social insurance dossiers (Article 12); declare labor usage; maintain labor-management books; collect no money from candidates; remove clauses retaining original documents or requiring cash guarantees.
4. Review wages and working hours: publish salary scales; benchmark actual pay against regional minimum wages; pay on time; verify overtime, annual leave and public-holiday compliance.
5. Protect female and juvenile workers: secure menstruation and nursing breaks, post-maternity employment; never dismiss on pregnancy grounds; keep juveniles out of prohibited jobs.
6. Foreign workers: verify work permits or exemption confirmations for all foreign employees under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP — unauthorized employment can cost up to VND 60–75 million (individual rate) plus deportation of the worker.
Frequently asked questions
How do the Decree’s fines apply to companies?
Stated fines are individual rates; organizations pay double (Article 7.1, Decree 283/2026/ND-CP). For example, illegal trading of employee data is fined VND 50–70 million for individuals, i.e., VND 100–140 million for a company.
Is Decree 12/2022/ND-CP still in force?
It ceased entirely on 10 September 2026 (Article 66.4, Decree 283/2026/ND-CP). However, under Article 67, violations committed and completed before that date are still governed by the rules in force at the time of the act.
What distinguishes late from evaded social insurance contributions?
The Decree treats them separately: late payment (Article 43) vs evasion (Article 44). The dividing line is 60 days: failure to register within 60 days (not constituting evasion) is “late”; beyond 60 days it is “evasion”. Evasion carries higher rates (18–20% vs 12–15%, both capped at VND 75 million for individuals), and both require full payment plus 0.03%/day.
A violation was ongoing before 10 September 2026. Which rules apply?
Under the second transitional principle (Article 67), violations still ongoing when Decree 283/2026/ND-CP took effect are governed by the new Decree — so continuing wage arrears or social insurance debts fall under the new sanction framework.
What are the consequences of dismissing an employee for pregnancy?
Article 26.2(i) fines VND 10–20 million (individuals; VND 20–40 million for organizations) for dismissing or unilaterally terminating a contract on grounds of marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave or nursing a child under 12 months (with specified exceptions). The employer must reinstate the employee.
Sources
- Decree 283/2026/ND-CP dated 15 July 2026 on administrative sanctions in labor, social insurance, and Vietnamese employees working abroad under contracts (effective 10 September 2026).
- Decree 12/2022/ND-CP dated 17 January 2022 (ceased 10 September 2026).
- Decree 219/2025/ND-CP dated 7 August 2025 on foreign employees working in Vietnam.
- Decree 152/2020/ND-CP on foreign employees in Vietnam and management of Vietnamese employees working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam.
- Labor Code 45/2019/QH14; Employment Law 74/2025/QH15; Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15; Law on Vietnamese Employees Working Abroad under Contracts 69/2020/QH14; Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 84/2015/QH13; Trade Union Law 50/2024/QH15; Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 15/2012/QH13.
Contact
The new sanction framework under Decree 283/2026/ND-CP calls for a comprehensive review of corporate labor and social insurance obligations. For assistance with compliance risk assessment and handling specific sanction cases, please contact FLAT Law Firm.
Content transparency: This article has undergone quality review by the AI Legal Council and QA Board; it has not been reviewed by a human lawyer and does not constitute legal advice for any specific matter.