What are the penalties imposed on employers for late payment of wages?
Article 17, Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP on administrative penalties for violations of labor, social insurance, and overseas employment under contract stipulates penalties for violations relating to wages as follows:
1. A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer who commits any of the following acts:
a) Failure to publicly announce at the workplace before implementation: the wage scale, wage table, labor standards, or bonus regulations;
b) Failure to establish a wage scale, wage table, or labor standards; failure to apply pilot labor standards before their official issuance;
c) Failure to consult with the grassroots-level employee representative organization (if any) when formulating the wage scale, wage table, labor standards, or bonus regulations;
d) Failure to provide a payroll statement or providing one that does not comply with the law;
đ) Failure to ensure equal pay or committing gender-based wage discrimination for employees performing work of equal value.
2. A fine shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts: late payment of wages as prescribed by law; failure to pay or insufficient payment of wages as agreed in the labor contract; failure to pay or insufficient payment of overtime wages; failure to pay or insufficient payment of night-shift wages; failure to pay or insufficient payment of wages for idle time as prescribed by law; restricting or interfering with employees’ right to decide on their wage expenditures; forcing employees to spend their wages on goods or services of the employer or of another entity designated by the employer; unlawful wage deductions; failure to pay or insufficient payment of wages when temporarily transferring employees to different work than agreed in the labor contract or during a strike; failure to pay or insufficient payment of wages for unused annual leave days when employees resign or are laid off; failure to provide or insufficient provision of wage advances during suspension from work as prescribed by law; failure to pay full wages for the suspension period in cases where employees are not disciplined, at the following levels:
a) From VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for violations involving 01 to 10 employees;
b) From VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for violations involving 11 to 50 employees;
c) From VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 for violations involving 51 to 100 employees;
d) From VND 30,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 for violations involving 101 to 300 employees;
đ) From VND 40,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 for violations involving 301 or more employees.
3. A fine shall be imposed on an employer who pays employees less than the statutory minimum wage, as follows:
a) From VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 for violations involving 01 to 10 employees;
b) From VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 for violations involving 11 to 50 employees;
c) From VND 50,000,000 to VND 75,000,000 for violations involving 51 employees or more.
4. A fine shall be imposed on an employer who fails to pay, or pays insufficiently, at the same time as the wage payment, an amount equivalent to compulsory social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions for employees not subject to compulsory insurance contributions under the law, as follows:
a) From VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for violations involving 01 to 10 employees;
b) From VND 5,000,000 to VND 8,000,000 for violations involving 11 to 50 employees;
c) From VND 8,000,000 to VND 12,000,000 for violations involving 51 to 100 employees;
d) From VND 12,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 for violations involving 101 to 300 employees;
đ) From VND 15,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for violations involving 301 employees or more.
Remedial measures:
a) The employer is required to fully pay outstanding wages plus interest on late or underpaid wages, calculated at the highest demand deposit interest rate announced by state-owned commercial banks at the time of penalty, for violations specified in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article;
b) The employer is required to fully pay the amount equivalent to compulsory social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions plus interest on such amount, calculated at the highest demand deposit interest rate announced by state-owned commercial banks at the time of penalty, for violations specified in Clause 4 of this Article.
Legal ground:
Article 17, Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the field of labor, social insurance, and overseas employment under contract.
