Regulations, conditions, procedures & documents for maternity benefits. Maternity leave, maternity benefit levels, how to calculate & receive maternity benefits (including maternity benefits for husbands)
I. Regulations on subjects entitled to maternity benefits
Pursuant to Article 31 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, subjects entitled to maternity benefits include:
- Pregnant female workers;
- Female workers giving birth;
- Female workers who are surrogate mothers and mothers who request surrogacy;
- Employees adopting children under 6 months old;
- Female workers with IUDs, workers undergoing sterilization;
- Male workers paying social insurance whose wives give birth.
II. Conditions for maternity benefits
1. For female workers
➧ Female workers giving birth, female workers being surrogate mothers, surrogate mothers, and workers adopting children under 6 months old must pay social insurance for at least 6 months within 12 months before giving birth or adopting a child (based on Clause 2, Article 31 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014).
For example :
On September 1, 2022, Ms. T gave birth. To receive maternity benefits, from August 31, 2021 to September 1, 2022, Ms. T must pay for 6 months.
➧ In case an employee has paid social insurance for 12 months or more, but when pregnant, due to poor health, must take time off work to rest as prescribed by a competent medical facility, he/she must pay social insurance for 3 months or more within the 12 months before giving birth (based on Clause 3, Article 31 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014).
For example:
Ms. T participated in social insurance from January 2021 to the end of December 2021. In March 2022, Ms. T became pregnant and was expected to give birth in December 2022, but due to poor health, the hospital required Ms. T to take time off to rest from August 2022.
Thus, Ms. T is entitled to maternity benefits because she meets the following conditions:
- Paid for 12 months (January 2021 to December 2021);
- Within 12 months before giving birth, paid 3 months in full;
- Have documents proving that the hospital requires maternity leave.
➧ If a female employee meets the above two conditions and terminates her labor contract, work contract, or quits her job before giving birth or adopting a child under 6 months old, she will also be entitled to maternity benefits (based on Articles 34, 36, 38 and Clause 1, Article 39 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014).
2. For male workers
Male workers whose wives give birth must pay social insurance for at least 6 months within 12 months before giving birth.
>> Reference: What benefits do you get when participating in social insurance?
III. Benefits during pregnancy
➧ Pursuant to Article 32 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, female employees are allowed to take 5 days off for prenatal check-ups, each time for 1 day (in case the medical examination and treatment facility is far away or the pregnant woman has a medical condition or an abnormal pregnancy, she is allowed to take 2 days off for each prenatal check-up).
➧ Allowance during maternity leave:
| Salary level | = | (MBQTL month of social insurance payment for 6 consecutive months before leaving work / 24) | x | Number of days off for prenatal checkups |
If an employee takes time off for a prenatal check-up, the company will not have to pay the employee, but the Social Insurance agency will subsidize the amount for the employee.
IV. Maternity benefit level
1. Allowance for female workers (maternity benefits for women)
➧ Maternity benefit: 100% of average monthly salary subject to social insurance for the 6 months prior to leaving work.
| Maternity benefit level | = | 100% | x | MBQTL pays social insurance for 6 months before maternity leave |
➧ One-time subsidy: 2 times the basic salary (current basic salary (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2023) is 1,490,000 VND. From July 1, 2023, the basic salary will increase to 1,800,000 VND (based on Article 39 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014).
| One-time subsidy level | = | 1,490,000 VND | x | 2 | = | 2,980,000 VND |
(The basic salary in 2022 is 1,490,000 VND).
For example:
Ms. T was determined by the Social Insurance agency to be eligible for maternity benefits in January 2022 with an average social insurance salary of 6 months before giving birth of 7,000,000 VND, Ms. T will receive the following benefits:
- Maternity benefit: 7,000,000 VND x 6 = 42,000,000 VND;
- One-time subsidy: 1,490,000 VND x 2 = 2,980,000 VND (basic salary in 2022 is 1,490,000 VND);
Thus, the total amount Ms. T received is: 42,000,000 VND + 2,980,000 VND = 44,980,000 VND.
➧ In case a female employee gives birth to twins or more, from the second child onwards, for each child, the mother is given an additional month off.
| Benefit level | = | MBQTL Social Insurance payment month of 6 months before maternity leave | x | Number of months off |
For example:
Ms. T was determined by the Social Insurance Agency to be eligible for maternity benefits in January 2022 with an average social insurance salary of 6 months before giving birth of 7,000,000 VND. If Ms. T gives birth to twins, she will be entitled to 7 months of leave.
- Maternity benefit: 7,000,000 VND x 7 = 49,000,000 VND;
- One-time subsidy: 1,490,000 VND x 2 = 2,980,000 VND (basic salary in 2022 is 1,490,000 VND);
Thus, the total amount Ms. T received is: 49,000,000 VND + 2,980,000 VND = 51,980,000 VND.
2. Allowance for male workers when their wives give birth (maternity benefits for husbands)
➧ Time male workers are entitled to paid leave:
- 5 working days if giving birth normally to 1 child;
- 7 working days in case the wife gives birth by surgery or gives birth before 32 weeks of age;
- 10 working days in case of twins, from triplets, each additional child is entitled to 3 working days off and not exceeding 14 working days;
- In case the wife gives birth to twins or more, if surgery is required, she is entitled to 14 working days off;
- Time to enjoy the regime does not include holidays, New Year, and weekly off.
How to calculate maternity pay (maternity benefit level for husband):
| Benefit level | = | (MBQTL 6 months / 24 working days) | x | 100% | x | Number of days off |
In there:
The average salary for 6 months is the average salary for 6 months before the wife gives birth of the male employee. If it is less than 6 months, the average salary for 6 months = average salary of the months for which social insurance has been paid.
For example:
Mr. K’s average salary for insurance payment 6 months before his wife gave birth was: 7,000,000 VND and he had 5 days off (wife gave birth normally).
The amount of salary subsidy Mr. K receives will be calculated as follows:
- Average salary for 6 months = (6 x 7,000,000 VND) / 6 months = 7,000,000 VND;
- Benefit = (7,000,000 / 24) x 5 = 1,458,333 VND.
➧ Maternity benefit level:
The one-time maternity allowance is equal to twice the basic salary.
| One-time subsidy level | = | 1,490,000 VND | x | 2 | = | 2,980,000 VND |
(The basic salary in 2022 is 1,490,000 VND).
V. Procedures for registering for maternity insurance
1. Maternity benefit application
Maternity benefits application includes the following documents:
- Certified copy of child’s birth certificate or birth certificate;
- Certified copy of child’s death certificate (in case of child death) or mother’s death certificate (in case of mother death after giving birth);
- Certificate from a competent medical facility confirming the mother’s condition at the time of birth that she is not healthy enough to give birth;
- Medical records or hospital discharge papers of the mother in case the child dies after birth without being issued a birth certificate;
- Certificate from a competent medical facility in case a female employee has to take time off work to rest during pregnancy.
2. Place to submit maternity insurance application
Social insurance agency of district, city/province where the employee paid social insurance before taking maternity leave.
3. Form of submitting application for maternity benefits
Submit directly to the Social Security agency or submit by post (depending on the requirements of each Social Security agency).
4. Deadline for submitting maternity application
Within 45 days from the date the employee returns to work after 6 months of maternity leave.
For example:
After the end of 6 months of maternity leave, on January 1, 2022, Ms. A returns to work at the enterprise. Within 45 days from January 1, 2022, she must submit her application for maternity benefits to the Social Insurance agency. After this deadline, she will not be entitled to maternity benefits.
5. Time for Social Insurance agency to process maternity records
Within 10 days from the date of submission of valid documents to the Social Insurance agency, the Social Insurance agency is responsible for processing maternity records.
6. Form of receiving maternity allowance
Maternity benefits will be paid in cash and transferred to the employee’s bank account.
7. Implementation process
➧ Step 1: Fill in all information and submit electronic reduction notification form 601;
➧ Step 2: After successfully reporting the reduction, submit the electronic application form 630B online;
➧ Step 3: After receiving the notice of receipt of the 630B application, print the 630B application with a certified copy of the birth certificate or a certified copy of the birth certificate and send it to the Social Security agency by post;
Note:
In case the 630B application has been successfully submitted but the content is found to be incorrect, you should resubmit the online application form 630B, adjust the information correctly in section 2 “LIST OF RESOLVED NUMBER ADJUSTMENT REQUESTS”, then add a summary of the adjusted content in the notes section.
After successfully submitting form 630B, depending on each application, the Social Insurance agency may request the enterprise to provide additional documents such as: labor contract, payroll, salary payment documents, etc. Enterprises should proactively contact the Social Insurance agency to grasp the status of the application processing as well as promptly provide missing documents.
VI. Frequently asked questions about maternity insurance for employees
1. In case the enterprise does not proactively carry out social insurance procedures for employees, can employees prepare documents to receive maternity benefits themselves?
If the employee pays social insurance at the enterprise and at the time of maternity leave has not yet terminated the labor contract, the enterprise must be responsible for carrying out social insurance procedures so that the employee can receive maternity benefits. However, the individual employee can completely complete the documents to receive maternity benefits according to regulations.
2. After submitting complete maternity records to the Social Insurance agency, which department of the Social Insurance agency can the enterprise contact to update the status of the records processing?
Enterprises can monitor the status of application processing at https://dichvucong.baohiemxahoi.gov.vn or contact the maternity benefits department of the Social Insurance agency for detailed updates.
3. After submitting all documents, when will I receive maternity benefits?
Within 10 days from the date of submission of a complete and valid application, the Social Insurance Agency must process the employee’s maternity records. However, the processing time depends on each application. If signs of fraud are detected, the Social Insurance Agency may conduct an inspection of the employee’s records or an inspection at the enterprise for verification.