Vietnam's 2024 Social Insurance Law Expands Sick Leave Benefits

Effective 1 July 2025, Vietnam's new Social Insurance Law redesigns how sick‑leave benefits are calculated. Instead of counting calendar days, the entitlement is measured in actual working days, excluding public holidays, Tet celebrations and weekly rest days.

For workers in standard occupations the maximum annual sick‑leave days rise to 30 days for less than 15 years of contributions, 40 days for 15–29 years, and 60 days for 30 years or more. Employees in physically demanding, hazardous or remote jobs receive 40, 50 and 70 days respectively under the same contribution brackets. The law also permits continued sick‑leave benefits for those with long‑term illnesses beyond the initial limit, using the same working‑day count.

The change replaces the previous 2014 framework, which counted all calendar days and often reduced the real number of payable days when treatment periods overlapped with holidays. Millions of Vietnamese workers are expected to gain additional paid sick‑leave days under the new regulations.