Short answer: Platform workers — ride-hailing drivers, delivery riders and freelancers who take jobs through apps — mostly fall outside Vietnam’s compulsory social insurance net, with only about 20% participating. The 2024 Law on Social Insurance (effective July 1, 2025) broadened coverage but did not fully solve this group’s problem. The newest policy proposals go in two directions: bringing tech drivers into compulsory coverage under a three-party contribution model (driver – platform – State), and assigning direct responsibilities to platform operators in the draft Law on Digital Transformation. Neither proposal has become law at the time of writing — platforms and workers should track the legislative process closely.
Why platform workers slip through the compulsory net
The relationship between a ride-hailing driver and a platform company is not a traditional employment relationship — the parties sign “cooperation contracts” or “service provision contracts.” Yet compulsory social insurance under the 2024 Law on Social Insurance and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP (which replaced Decree 143/2018 from July 1, 2025) is tied to employment contracts. The result: hundreds of thousands of drivers can only join voluntary social insurance — paying 100% of the contribution themselves for narrower benefits — so participation stays very low.
The group’s characteristics defeat old policy designs: one person may drive for two or three platforms at once, income fluctuates daily, and people switch between full-time and side-gig work. The draft criterion of “regular stable income” was criticized by National Assembly deputies as too rigid and likely to miss the target population.
Proposal 1: compulsory coverage for tech drivers via a three-party model
During deliberations on the bill amending the Law on Social Insurance, Deputy Tran Thi Dieu Thuy (Ho Chi Minh City delegation) proposed treating tech drivers as a distinct group subject to compulsory social insurance — regardless of whether their relationship with platforms has been classified as employment. Vietnam now has more than 700,000 drivers active on major ride-hailing and delivery platforms.
The core of the proposal is a three-party contribution mechanism:
- Platform companies must not “stand aside”: they would withhold the driver’s share, add their own employer-equivalent share, and remit both fully and on time to the social insurance fund;
- Drivers contribute at an affordable level, with rules for those working across multiple platforms;
- The State subsidizes low-income drivers or those transitioning from voluntary to compulsory coverage.
Eligibility criteria would shift to verifiable metrics: days or hours active on the platform, completed trips or transactions, and the degree of management and dispatch control exercised by the platform.
Proposal 2: platform duties in the draft Law on Digital Transformation
The draft Law on Digital Transformation (opened for public comment by the Ministry of Science and Technology in August–September 2025) places direct duties on digital platform operators toward platform workers. Article 40(5) of the draft requires platforms to: disclose pay calculations and job-allocation algorithms; guarantee rest rights and reasonable working-hour limits; and contribute to, or coordinate contributions to, occupational injury insurance, health insurance and social insurance for platform workers where coverage is mandatory or agreed, in line with the law.
If adopted, this would be the first time Vietnamese law imposes social protection duties directly on digital platforms instead of relying solely on the traditional employment relationship.
Context: the safety net is widening, but non-traditional work lags
The 2024 Law on Social Insurance and its guiding documents expanded compulsory coverage. In the first eight months of 2025, more than 22.4 million people participated in social insurance, reaching 46.7% of the workforce. Yet Vietnam Social Security’s leadership acknowledges that non-traditional employment demands further research into wage bases, procedures and contribution methods suited to this group.
Directions suggested by experts and the World Bank (drawing on Indonesia’s experience): flexible contribution levels and payment methods tied to income and work frequency; shared contribution responsibility among workers, platforms and the State; portability of benefits when workers change jobs; and using platform data to identify workers, determine income and simplify enrollment.
What platforms and workers should prepare
- Platform companies: review driver and rider contract models; prepare data systems (active hours, trip counts, earnings), since these will likely become the contribution base if the new policy passes; follow the draft Law on Digital Transformation.
- Drivers and gig workers: join voluntary social insurance now to avoid gaps — contribution history is preserved when switching to compulsory coverage later; keep app transaction records as income evidence.
- Both sides: note that these proposals remain at the discussion stage — no new legal obligation arises until the National Assembly passes a law and guiding documents follow.
Frequently asked questions
Do tech drivers currently have to join compulsory social insurance?
Not yet. At the time of writing, tech drivers under cooperation contracts with platforms are not in the compulsory category under the 2024 Law on Social Insurance — they can only join voluntarily. The proposal to make coverage compulsory is still under discussion.
What is the three-party contribution model for driver social insurance?
A proposal by Deputy Tran Thi Dieu Thuy: drivers pay one share, platform companies withhold it and add their own share, and the State supports low-income drivers during the transition from voluntary to compulsory coverage.
What does the draft Law on Digital Transformation say about platform workers?
Article 40(5) of the draft requires platform operators to disclose algorithms and pay, guarantee rest rights, and contribute to or coordinate social, health and occupational injury insurance for platform workers where mandatory or agreed.
How would gig workers on multiple apps contribute?
This is exactly the unresolved point. The proposed direction: aggregate data across platforms (active hours, trip counts) to determine eligibility and contribution levels, avoiding duplication or gaps when each platform calculates separately.
Is there any benefit to joining voluntary social insurance now?
Yes — contribution periods under the voluntary scheme are preserved and count toward later compulsory coverage, so workers keep their accumulated record and reach long-term benefit thresholds such as pensions sooner.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council