Prescribing Statutory Minimum Regional Wages paid to employees who are working under Employment Contracts

We would like to update you about “Prescribing Statutory Minimum Regional Wages paid to employees who are working under Employment Contracts”

Pursuant to the Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 and at the request of the Minister of Home Affairs, the Government issued a Decree no. 293/2025/NĐ-CP stipulating the minimum wage for employees working under labor contracts, detailed as follows:

1. Statutory Regional Minimum Wages

2. New points

• Effective Date: From January 1, 2026, Decree 293/2025/ND-CP will replace previous regulations. It no longer stipulates that the minimum wage must be 7% higher for employees doing jobs requiring vocational training.
• Transitional Provision (Old Contracts): Continue to implement old agreements in labor contracts, collective labor agreements, or other agreements more favorable to employees signed before July 1, 2022, regarding regulations on paying at least 7% higher wages for trained employees.
• New Contracts: For new employment contracts signed from 01/07/2022 onwards, this provision is no longer mandatory, unless the parties have a separate agreement.
• Minimum Threshold: However, with the average regional minimum wage increase of 7.2% from January 1, 2026, the salary for trained workers must still be guaranteed to be no lower than the new regional minimum wage.

3. Effect to employer

• The salary of untrained workers doing the simplest work must not be lower than the regional minimum wage.
• The ceiling salary for unemployment insurance contributions for workers will increase accordingly, equal to 20 times the regional minimum wage, specifically as follows:

HR professional checklist

• Check that employees are paid at least the minimum wage for their region.
• Plan the increase of budget for salary, Social – Medical – Unemployment insurance accordingly.
• Communicate the change to your affected staff.
• Check January payroll for compliance.

What do you need to do?

If you are a customer of HR2B, we are ready to help you for any query concerning this matter. Moreover, we could assist you to check your all employees who have a salary wage under the new regional minimum wage and inform you of your next action to make sure everything is done correctly and in accordance with law.

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