VI In the context of Vietnam’s labor and social insurance legal systems being continuously updated to better protect employees’ rights, regulations on sick leave benefits for childcare have received significant attention. This is not only a humane policy but also contributes to ensuring a balance between family responsibilities and professional obligations. In 2026, relevant regulations continue to highlight key points regarding eligibility, leave duration, benefit levels, and implementation procedures. To understand and correctly apply the latest provisions, let’s explore this content with Pham Consult.
I. Who is eligible for sick leave benefits when taking time off for childcare?
Citing the provisions in Points a, b, c, d, i, k, l, m, and n of Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 2 of the Social Insurance Law 2024, the following subjects who take leave to care for a sick child under 07 years old are eligible for sick leave benefits:
- Employees who are Vietnamese citizens subject to compulsory social insurance, including:
– Persons working under indefinite-term labor contracts or fixed-term labor contracts with a term of at least 01 month, including cases where the employer and employee agree on a different name but the content reflects paid work, wages, and the management, direction, and supervision of one party;
– Cadres, civil servants, and public employees;
– Defense workers, police workers, and other persons working in cipher organizations;
– Officers and professional military personnel of the People’s Army; officers, non-commissioned officers, and technical officers/non-commissioned officers of the People’s Public Security; persons doing cipher work who receive salaries like military personnel;
– Enterprise managers, supervisors, representatives of state capital, or representatives of enterprise capital as prescribed by law; members of the Board of Directors, General Directors, Directors, members of the Supervisory Board or supervisors, and other elected management positions of cooperatives or unions of cooperatives as prescribed by the Law on Cooperatives who receive a salary;
– Part-time staff at the commune, village, or residential group level;
– Subjects specified in Point a of this Clause working part-time, whose monthly salary is equal to or higher than the minimum salary used as the basis for compulsory social insurance contributions;
– Owners of household businesses with business registration participating as prescribed by the Government;
– Enterprise managers, supervisors, and other management titles (as listed above) who do not receive a salary.
- Employees who are foreign citizens working in Vietnam subject to compulsory social insurance when working under a fixed-term labor contract with a term of at least 12 months with an employer in Vietnam, except for the following cases:
– Intra-corporate transferees as prescribed by law on foreign workers in Vietnam;
– Employees who have reached retirement age at the time of entering the labor contract (as per Clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code 2019);
– International treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member provide otherwise.
II. Calculation of the benefit period for childcare leave
According to Clause 1, Article 42 of the Social Insurance Law 2024, employees are entitled to sick leave benefits when taking time off to care for a sick child under 07 years old.
According to Article 44 of the Social Insurance Law 2024, the maximum duration for enjoying benefits for childcare in a year (from January 1 to December 31) for each child is: Maximum 20 days if the child is under 03 years old; Maximum 15 days if the child is from 03 to under 07 years old.
In cases where both parents participate in compulsory social insurance, the leave duration for each parent is calculated as per the regulations in Clause 1, Article 44.
The leave period specified in Article 44 is calculated based on working days, excluding public holidays, New Year holidays, and weekly days off.
III. Benefit levels for childcare sick leave
Article 45 of the Social Insurance Law 2024 stipulates that the sick leave allowance for employees in the case of childcare is equal to 75% of the salary used as the basis for social insurance contributions.
IV. Application dossier for childcare sick leave benefits
According to Article 47 of the Social Insurance Law 2024, the dossier is divided into three cases:
- For Inpatient Treatment:
The original or copy of one of the following:
– Hospital discharge certificate;
– Summary of medical records;
– Other documents proving the inpatient treatment process.
- For Outpatient Treatment:
One of the following documents:
– Certificate of leave for social insurance benefits;
– Original or copy of the hospital discharge certificate indicating the required outpatient treatment period following inpatient treatment;
– Original or copy of the medical record summary indicating the required outpatient treatment period following inpatient treatment.
- For Medical Examination and Treatment Abroad:
Documents showing the name of the disease and the treatment duration issued by the foreign medical facility, which must meet the following requirements:
– Accompanied by a Vietnamese translation that is notarized or certified according to the law;
– Consularly legalized, unless international treaties to which Vietnam is a member provide otherwise.
V. Procedures for submitting the application
Employee’s Responsibility: Submit the dossier to the employer. The deadline for submission is no later than 45 days from the date the employee returns to work.
Within 07 working days from receiving the full dossier from the employee, the employer must prepare a list of employees entitled to sick leave benefits and submit it along with the dossiers to the social insurance agency.
Within 07 working days from receiving the complete dossier from the employer, the social insurance agency is responsible for processing the benefits. If the application is rejected, they must provide a written response stating the reasons.
