What is a half-time leave? Can I get my social insurance book if I take a half-time leave? Can I close my social insurance book? Look up the social insurance book when I quit my job. Penalty for not closing my social insurance book.
What is a horizontal break?
Current law does not have specific regulations on the term “leave of absence”. However, it can be simply understood that leave of absence is when an employee unilaterally terminates the labor contract but does not comply with the regulations on the notice period to the employer mentioned below:
| STT | Notice period | Applicable cases |
| 1 | At least 3 days | Employees working under labor contracts with a term of less than 1 year. |
| 2 | At least 30 days | Employees work under labor contracts with a term of 1 – 3 years. |
| 3 | At least 45 days | Employees working under indefinite-term labor contracts. |
| 4 | At least 120 days | Employees working in specific industries, occupations, and jobs under indefinite-term labor contracts or labor contracts with a term of 1 year or more. |
| 5 | 1/4 of the term of the labor contract | Employees working in specific industries, occupations, and jobs (*) under labor contracts with a term of less than 1 year. |
Note:
(*) The specific industries, occupations and jobs here include:
- Business managers: chairman and members of the board of members, chairman of the board of directors, company president, general partner, private business owner…;
- Aircraft crew members, flight dispatchers, flight operators, specialized aviation repair staff, aircraft maintenance technicians;
- Crew members in the following cases:
- Being hired by Vietnamese enterprises to work on foreign ships;
- Are crew members working on Vietnamese ships operating abroad.
>> Learn more: Notice period for termination of employment contract.
Can employees who quit their jobs get their social insurance books?
Pursuant to the 2019 Labor Code, when the labor contract is terminated, regardless of whether the employee is on leave or not, the employer is responsible for completing the procedures to close the social insurance book for the employee. The closing period is within 14-30 days from the date the employee leaves the job.
Note:
1) Employees who quit their jobs will have to compensate the company with the following amounts:
- Half a month’s salary;
- An amount equivalent to salary for days of absence without notice;
- Training costs as prescribed include: costs for teachers, learning materials, schools, classes, machinery, equipment, etc.
2) In addition to closing the book, the employer must also return the social insurance leaflet to the employee.
See also:
>> Get social insurance book at old company;
>> Before and after quitting your job – things to know;
>> Social insurance closing notification service.
How to know if the social insurance book has been closed or not?
To know if the old company has closed the social insurance book for employees when they leave the job, you can check in one of the following 3 ways:
- Method 1: Look up information based on the Social Security agency’s leaflet;
- Method 2: Look up on the Vietnam Social Security Electronic Information Portal;
- Method 3: Look up information via VssID application – electronic social insurance application.
Below, Online Accounting will give detailed instructions on how to look up the status of closing social insurance books when leaving work.
1. Based on the information on the leaflet provided by the Social Security agency
After leaving the job, the employee will be given a separate social insurance sheet. If the old company has completed the procedure to close the social insurance book, the separate sheet will have the words “Total time participating in social insurance is … years”.
2. Look up information at the Vietnam Social Security Electronic Information Portal
You can look up whether the company has closed the social insurance book or not by following these steps:
➧ Step 1: Access the Vietnam Social Security Electronic Information Portal
➧ Step 2: On the homepage, select “Online search” ➞ Select “Search for social insurance participation history”
➧ Step 3: Provide complete information as required on the page
In there:
- Select the correct name and province of the social insurance agency you participated in when working at your old company;
- For information about the period of participation in social insurance, you can choose:
- Enter the period of insurance participation at that agency;
- Enter the entire time from the start of participating in social insurance to the time of the lookup.
- For full name information: Fill in the full name of the employee to be looked up (capitalize the first letters). Whether the name you enter has accents or not, please check the corresponding option below;
- For other personal information: Fill in the correct CCCD/ID number and social insurance code in the corresponding box;
- Enter the phone number where you can receive the lookup code (OTP code) via SMS from the Social Insurance customer care service.
Note:
If you do not remember your social insurance code, you can look up information at the Vietnam Social Insurance Portal using your ID card number or view it at the login interface of the VssID application.
>> See more: Look up social insurance by CCCD (personal identification number).
➧ Step 4: Check the box “I’m not a robot” ➞ Select “Get lookup code”
Note:
In some cases, the system will not send the OTP code to the phone number you provided, but instead to the email address you registered earlier. So, if you do not see the OTP code sent to your phone number, you need to check your email.
➧ Step 5: Enter the search code ➞ Click “Search”
The system will now display the results of the social insurance participation process of the person looking up.
3. Look up information via VssID application
The VssID application provides complete information about the employee’s social insurance participation process each month. Thereby, you can monitor in detail and grasp the specific situation of your social insurance payment.
How to view social insurance book closing on VssID can be done in the following steps:
➧ Step 1: Download VssID application
Go to App Store or CH Play, in the search box, enter the keyword “VssID” and press the install button to download the application to your phone.
➧ Step 2: Log in to VssID application
At this step, you can log in in 1 of 2 ways:
- Enter the social security number and password previously registered for the account;
- Choose to log in with your electronic identification account.
>> Learn more: How to log in to VssID using VNeID.
If you do not have a VssID account or have an account but forgot your password, you can proceed with the detailed instructions in the article:
>> How to register a VssID account ;
>> How to retrieve VssID password.
➧ Step 3: After successfully logging in, select “PARTICIPATION PROCESS”
The application will now display specific information about the employee’s social insurance participation process.
Will the company be fined if it does not close the social insurance book for employees who have left halfway?
As mentioned above, even when employees take leave, companies and organizations are still required to close their social insurance books according to regulations.
According to Article 12 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP, in case a company violates and intentionally fails to close the books to cause difficulties for employees, it will be subject to the following administrative penalties:
| Administrative penalty level | Violation |
| From 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 VND | Do not close social insurance books for 1-10 employees |
| From 2,000,000 – 5,000,000 VND | Not closing social insurance books for 11 – 50 employees |
| From 5,000,000 – 10,000,000 VND | Not closing social insurance books for 51 – 100 employees |
| From 10,000,000 – 15,000,000 VND | Not closing social insurance books for 101 – 300 employees |
| From 15,000,000 – 20,000,000 VND | Do not close social insurance books for 301 or more employees |
What should I do if I quit my job and don’t close my social insurance book?
Intentionally not closing the social insurance book is considered a serious violation of the employee’s interests. Accordingly, based on Decree 24/2018/ND-CP, in case the company does not close the social insurance book when the employee quits, the employee can handle the problem in 1 of 3 ways as follows:
➧ Method 1: Complain about the company not closing the social insurance book for employees when they quit their jobs
First, the employee can file a complaint with the company. The company is responsible for receiving and resolving the complaint within the following time limit:
- Maximum 30 days (for complicated cases, maximum 45 days) from the date of receipt;
- Maximum 45 days (for complicated cases, maximum 60 days) from the date of acceptance if located in remote areas with difficult access.
➧ Method 2: Report the company to the Chief Inspector of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs
In case the first complaint at the company does not achieve the expected results or is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, the employee can make a second complaint at the Chief Inspector of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the company’s headquarters is located.
The time limit for resolving the second complaint (from the date of receipt) is specified as follows:
- Not exceeding 45 days (for complicated cases not exceeding 60 days);
- Not exceeding 60 days (for complicated cases not exceeding 90 days) if located in remote areas with difficult access.
➧ Method 3: Sue the company in Court
Finally, if the employee is still not satisfied with the decision to resolve the second complaint or the second complaint is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, he/she has the right to sue the company in court under administrative proceedings.
Frequently asked questions about closing social insurance books for retirees
1. Is it okay not to complete the procedure to close the social insurance book when leaving the job for an employee who is on leave?
In case the company does not complete the procedures to close the insurance book for the employee after leaving the job (even if it is a part-time leave), it will be subject to administrative penalties according to the following regulations:
- From 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 VND: Do not close social insurance books for 1 – 10 employees;
- From 2,000,000 – 5,000,000 VND: Do not close social insurance books for 11 – 50 employees;
- From 5,000,000 – 10,000,000 VND: Do not close social insurance books for 51 – 100 employees;
- From 10,000,000 – 15,000,000 VND: Do not close social insurance books for 101 – 300 employees;
- From 15,000,000 – 20,000,000 VND: Do not close social insurance books for 301 or more employees.
2. Can I close my social insurance book if I quit my job without permission?
Yes. According to current law, when an employee quits his/her job, even if it is a part-time job, the employer is still responsible for completing the procedures to close the social insurance book and return the social insurance leaflet to the employee.
3. Can employees close their insurance books themselves?
No. According to the Labor Code and the Law on Social Insurance, when the labor contract is terminated, the responsibility of completing the confirmation of the social insurance payment period and returning the book to the employee is assumed by the employer. Therefore, the employee cannot carry out the procedure of closing the social insurance book by himself.
4. How to check and look up whether the company has closed the social insurance book?
To check whether the company has closed the social insurance book or not, you can look it up in 3 ways as follows:
- Method 1: Look up information via VssID application;
- Method 2: Look up information at the Vietnam Social Security Electronic Information Portal;
- Method 3: Based on the information on the leaflet provided by the Social Security agency.
>> See details: Look up social insurance book closing.
5. What should I do if the company does not close the social insurance book after the termination?
In case the company intentionally does not close the social insurance book according to regulations after leaving the job (even if it is a part-time leave), the employee can handle the problem as follows:
- Method 1: Carry out complaint procedures against the company for not closing the social insurance book for employees when they leave work;
- Method 2: Report the company to the Chief Inspector of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs;
- Method 3: Sue the company in Court.
>> See details: What to do if you quit your job and don’t close your social insurance book?
Call us at 0978 578 866 (North) – 033 9962 333 (Central) – 0946 724 666 (South) for support.