Chương I Luật Bảo hiểm xã hội 2006: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Regulation scope

1. This Law provides for social insurance regimes and policies; the rights and responsibilities of insured laborers, agencies, organizations and individuals; social insurance organizations; social insurance funds; procedures for implementation of social insurance and state management of social insurance.

2. This Law does not apply to health insurance, deposit insurance and types of business insurance.

Article 2.- Subjects of application

1. Laborers entitled to participate in compulsory social insurance are Vietnamese citizens, including:

a/ Persons working under contracts of indefinite term or contracts of a term of full three months or longer;

b/ Cadres, officials, public servants;

c/ Defense workers, police workers;

d/ Officers and professional personnel of the people's army; professional officers and non-commissioned officers, technical officers and non-commissioned officers of the people's police; persons engaged in cipher work and enjoying salaries like armymen or policemen;

e/ Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the people's army and non-commissioned officers and combatants of the people's police on term services;

f/ Persons working overseas for a definite term who previously paid compulsory social insurance premiums.

2. Employers entitled to participate in compulsory social insurance include state agencies, non-business units, people's armed force units; political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional-political organizations, socio-professional organizations, other social organizations; foreign agencies and organizations, international organizations operating in the Vietnamese territory; enterprises, cooperatives, individual business households, cooperative groups, other organizations and individuals hiring, employing and paying wages to laborers.

3. Laborers entitled to participate in unemployment insurance include Vietnamese citizens working under labor contracts or working contracts of indefinite term or a term of between full twelve months and thirty six months for employers specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

4. Employers entitled to participate in unemployment insurance are employers specified in Clause 2 of this Article who employ ten or more laborers.

5. Persons entitled to participate in voluntary social insurance are working-age Vietnamese citizens who are not specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

6. Agencies, organizations and individuals related to social insurance.

Laborers participating in compulsory social insurance, laborers participating in unemployment insurance and persons participating in voluntary social insurance are hereinafter collectively referred to as laborers.

Article 3.- Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Social insurance means the guarantee to fully or partially offset a laborer's income that is lost or reduced due to his/her sickness, maternity, labor accident, occupational disease, unemployment, retirement or death, on the basis of his/her contributions to the social insurance fund.

2. Compulsory social insurance means a form of social insurance in which laborer and employer must participate.

3. Voluntary social insurance means a form of social insurance in which a laborer voluntarily participates, may select premium rates and modes of premium payment suitable to his/her income in order to enjoy social insurance coverage.

4. Unemployed person means a person who had paid unemployment insurance premiums then has lost his/her job or terminated his/her labor or working contract and has not yet found a job.

5. Duration of social insurance premium payment means a duration counting from the time a laborer starts paying social insurance premiums to the time he/she stops the payment thereof. When a laborer pays social insurance premiums in interrupted durations, the duration of social insurance premium payment is the total time of social insurance premium payment.

6. Common minimum salary means the lowest salary promulgated by the Government in each period.

7. Relative means an insured person's child, wife or husband, natural father, natural mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law or other persons whom the insured person is obliged to nurture.

Article 4.- Social insurance regimes

1. Compulsory social insurance covers the following regimes:

a/ Sickness;

b/ Maternity;

c/ Labor accident, occupational disease;

d/ Retirement;

e/ Survivorship allowance.

2. Voluntary social insurance covers the following regimes:

a/ Retirement;

b/ Survivorship allowance.

3. Unemployment insurance covers the following regimes:

a/ Unemployment allowance;

b/ Job-learning support;

c/ Job-seeking support.

Article 5.- Social insurance principles

1. The level of social insurance entitlement shall be calculated on the basis of the premium rate, the social insurance payment duration and the sharing among social insurance participants.

2. The payable compulsory social insurance or unemployment insurance premium shall be calculated on the basis of laborers' salary or remuneration. The payable voluntary social insurance premium shall be calculated on the basis of the income level selected by laborers, which, however, must be at least equivalent to the common minimum salary.

3. Laborers who pay both compulsory and voluntary social insurance premiums are entitled to the retirement regime and survivorship allowance regime on the basis of the duration of payment of social insurance premiums.

4. The social insurance fund shall be managed in a uniform, democratic, open and transparent manner, be used for proper purposes and be independently accounted according to the component funds of compulsory social insurance, voluntary social insurance and unemployment insurance.

5. Social insurance shall be implemented in a simple, easy and convenient manner, promptly and adequately ensuring the interests of the insured.

Article 6.- State policies on social insurance

1. The State shall encourage and create conditions for agencies, organizations and individuals to participate in social insurance.

2. The State shall adopt preferential policies of investment in the social insurance fund and other necessary measures to preserve and develop the fund. The social insurance fund shall be protected by the State and shall not become bankrupt.

Retirement pensions, social insurance allowances and profits from activities investment of the social insurance fund are tax-free.

Article 7.- Contents of the state management of social insurance

1. To formulate, and organize the implementation of, social insurance strategies, regimes and policies.

2. To promulgate, and organize the implementation of, legal documents on social insurance.

3. To propagate and disseminate social insurance regimes, policies and law.

4. To perform statistical and information work on social insurance.

5. To organize the social insurance-implementing apparatus; to train human resources for social insurance work.

6. To inspect and check the observance of the law on social insurance; to settle complaints and denunciations about, and handle violations of the law on, social insurance.

7. To promote international cooperation on social insurance.

Article 8.- State management agencies in charge of social insurance

1. The Government shall perform the uniform state management of social insurance.

2. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall take responsibility before the Government for performing the state management of social insurance.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies shall, within the ambit of their respective tasks and powers, perform the state management of social insurance.

4. People's Committees at all levels shall perform the state management of social insurance within their respective localities under the Government's decentralization.

Article 9.- Modernization of social insurance management

1. The State shall encourage investment in development of technologies and advanced technical equipment in order to ensure the application of modern social insurance management methods.

2. The Government shall specify the application of information technology to the social insurance management.

Article 10.- Social insurance inspectorate

1. The labor-war invalid and social affairs inspectorate shall perform the functions of specialized social insurance inspection.

2. The organization, tasks and powers of the specialized social insurance inspectorate shall be as stipulated in the inspection law.

Article 11.- Rights and obligations of trade union organizations

1. Trade union organizations have the following rights:

a/ To protect the legitimate rights and interests of insured laborers;

b/ To request employers, social insurance organizations to supply information on laborers' social insurance;

c/ To propose competent state bodies to handle violations of the law on social insurance.

2. Trade union organizations have the following responsibilities:

a/ To propagate and disseminate social insurance regimes, policies and law to laborers;

b/ To propose, participate in the elaboration, amendment and supplementation of social insurance regimes, policies and law;

c/ To participate in inspecting and supervising the implementation of the law on social insurance.

Article 12.- Rights and responsibilities of employers' representatives

1. Employers' representatives have the following rights:

a/ To protect the legitimate rights and interests of insured employers;

b/ To propose competent state bodies to handle violations of the law on social insurance.

2. Employers' representatives have the following responsibilities:

a/ To propagate and disseminate social insurance regimes, policies and law to employers;

b/ To propose, participate in the elaboration, amendment and/or supplementation of social insurance regimes, policies and law;

c/ To participate in inspecting and supervising the implementation of the law on social insurance.

Article 13.- Reporting and auditing regimes

1. Annually, the Government shall report to the National Assembly on the management and use of the social insurance fund.

2. Once every three years, the state audit shall audit the social insurance fund and report on the results to the National Assembly. In case of necessity, at the request of the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee or the Government, the social insurance fund shall be audited unexpectedly.

Article 14.- Prohibited acts

1. Not paying social insurance premiums according to the provisions of this Law.

2. Falsifying and forging dossiers in the implementation of social insurance.

3. Using the social insurance fund for improper purposes.

4. Causing troubles or obstacles to, harming the legitimate rights and interests of, laborers or employers.

5. Making false reports, supplying false information, data on social insurance.