VI Conditions for unemployment benefits from 1/1/2026 according to the latest regulations of the 2025 Employment Law? Let’s find out more with Pham Consult!
Conditions for unemployment benefits from 1/1/2026 according to the latest regulations of the 2025 Employment Law?
Pursuant to Article 38 of the 2025 Law on Employment, the conditions for unemployment benefits for employees who are eligible for unemployment insurance are as follows:
– Termination of labor contract, work contract or termination of work in accordance with the provisions of law without falling into one of the cases where the employee unilaterally terminates the labor contract illegally according to the provisions of the 2019 Labor Code or the employee quits the job when eligible for pension.
– Having paid unemployment insurance for at least 12 months within 24 months before terminating the labor contract, work contract or termination of work in accordance with the provisions of law.
In case the employee works under a labor contract with a term of 01 month to less than 12 months, he/she must pay for at least 12 months within 36 months before terminating the labor contract.
– Have submitted a complete application for unemployment benefits within 03 months from the date of termination of the labor contract, employment contract or termination of employment.
– Within 10 working days from the date of submitting a complete application for unemployment benefits, the employee does not fall into one of the following cases: having a job and being subject to compulsory social insurance as prescribed in the Law on Social Insurance 2024 or performing military service, service in the People’s Public Security, regular militia or studying for a period of more than 12 months or complying with a decision to apply measures to be sent to a compulsory education facility, compulsory drug rehabilitation facility or being detained, serving a prison sentence or settling abroad or dying.
Thus, employees who are paying unemployment insurance are entitled to unemployment benefits when they meet all the above conditions for unemployment benefits.
Who are employees subject to unemployment insurance?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2025 Law on Employment, employees subject to unemployment insurance include:
(1) Employees working under indefinite-term labor contracts or labor contracts with a term of 01 month or more, including cases where the employee and the employer agree on a different name but with content showing the paid work, salary and management, operation and supervision of one party
(2) Employees specified in (1) who work part-time, have a monthly salary equal to or higher than the salary used as the basis for the lowest compulsory social insurance contribution as prescribed by the Law on Social Insurance 2024
(3) Employees working under a labor contract
(4) Enterprise managers, controllers, representatives of the enterprise’s capital as prescribed by law; members of the Board of Directors, General Directors, Directors, members of the Supervisory Board or controllers and other elected management positions of cooperatives and cooperative unions as prescribed by the Law on Cooperatives 2023 who receive salaries.
In case an employee is simultaneously subject to multiple unemployment insurance categories as prescribed in this clause, the employee and the employer are responsible for participating in unemployment insurance along with participating in compulsory social insurance.
How many types of labor contracts are there currently?
According to Article 20 of the 2019 Labor Code, the types of labor contracts are as follows:
Types of labor contracts
- Labor contracts must be concluded according to one of the following types:
- a) An indefinite-term labor contract is a contract in which the two parties do not specify the term or the time of termination of the contract
- b) A fixed-term labor contract is a contract in which the two parties specify the term and the time of termination of the contract within a period not exceeding 36 months from the effective date of the contract.
- When the labor contract specified in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article expires and the employee continues to work, the following shall be implemented:
- a) Within 30 days from the date of expiration of the labor contract, the two parties must sign a new labor contract; During the period when a new labor contract has not been signed, the rights, obligations and interests of the two parties shall be implemented according to the signed contract
- b) If after 30 days from the date of expiration of the labor contract, the two parties have not signed a new labor contract, the contract signed under the provisions of Point b, Clause 1 of this Article shall become an indefinite-term labor contract
- c) In case the two parties sign a new labor contract which is a fixed-term labor contract, it shall only be signed once more. After that, if the employee continues to work, an indefinite-term labor contract must be signed, except for labor contracts for persons hired as directors in state-owned enterprises and the cases specified in Clause 1, Article 149, Clause 2, Article 151 and Clause 4, Article 177 of this Code.
