Instructions for implementing 6-month maternity leave

Social Insurance has provided instructions on implementing maternity benefits according to the provisions of Labor Code No. 10/2012/QH13.

Illustration photo (source: News Newspaper)

According to the instructions, female employees who take maternity leave before May 1, 2013, but are still on maternity leave as prescribed in the Law on Social Insurance on May 1, 2013, will be entitled to maternity benefits as stated in Clause 1, Article 157 of the Labor Code.

Example 1: Ms. A quit her job before giving birth on January 2, 2013. On January 5, 2013, Ms. A gave birth to a child. According to the Law on Social Insurance, the period of maternity leave is calculated from January 2, 2013 to May 1, 2013 (4 months). As of May 1, 2013, Ms. A is still on maternity leave according to the Law on Social Insurance, so Ms. A can continue to take maternity leave until July 1, 2013 (total period of maternity leave is 6 months).

Example 2: Ms. B quit her job before giving birth on January 1, 2013. On January 5, 2013, Ms. B gave birth to a child. According to the Law on Social Insurance, the period of maternity leave is calculated from January 1, 2013 to April 30, 2013 (4 months). From May 1, 2013, Ms. B's maternity leave period ends according to the Law on Social Insurance, so Ms. B is not eligible for maternity leave according to the provisions of the Labor Code.

Example 3: Ms. C quit her job before giving birth on December 15, 2012. On December 20, 2012, Ms. C gave birth to twins. According to the Law on Social Insurance, Ms. C's maternity leave is calculated from December 15, 2012 to May 14, 2013 (4 months and 30 days). Thus, on May 1, 2013, Ms. C is still on maternity leave according to the Law on Social Insurance, so Ms. C is allowed to take maternity leave until July 14, 2013 (total maternity leave is 7 months).

In case after giving birth, if the child under 60 days old dies, the mother is entitled to 90 days off from the date of birth; if the child is 60 days old or older and dies, the mother is entitled to 30 days off from the date of death, but not exceeding the maternity leave period specified in Point 1, Article 157 of the Labor Code.

In case only the mother participates in social insurance and the mother dies after giving birth, the father or the person directly raising the child is entitled to maternity benefits until the child is 6 months old; in case both the father and mother or only the father participates in social insurance and the mother dies after giving birth, the father takes leave to take care of the child and is entitled to maternity benefits until the child is 6 months old.

In case a female employee is pregnant with twins or more and one fetus is stillborn at the time of birth, the maternity leave period is 6 months (not including the maternity leave period for stillbirth); if all fetuses are stillborn, the period of leave is as prescribed in Article 30 of the Law on Social Insurance as for a person with one stillbirth.

Within 60 days from the time a female employee returns to work after the end of her 6-month maternity leave and additional leave in the case of giving birth to twins or more, if her health is still weak, she is entitled to rest and recuperate according to the provisions of Article 17 of Decree No. 152/2006/ND-CP dated December 22, 2006 of the Government.

In case a female employee wishes to quit her job before giving birth, the employer must clearly state the time of quitting her job before giving birth from the date ... month ... year ... in the notes column, form D02-TS issued with Decision No. 1111/QD-BHXH dated October 25, 2011 of the General Director of Vietnam Social Security on promulgating the Regulations on management of social insurance and health insurance collection; management of social insurance books and health insurance cards to monitor and serve as a basis for implementing maternity benefits according to regulations.

The time for calculating maternity benefits for female employees when giving birth is calculated from the date the female employee actually takes leave to give birth according to the provisions of the Labor Code. In case the leave is more than 2 months before giving birth, it is calculated from the time of 2 months before giving birth. In case the female employee gives birth after she has stopped working and terminated the labor relationship, the time for calculating benefits is calculated from the date of giving birth.

Example 4: Ms. D quit her job before giving birth on May 1, 2013. On July 15, 2013, Ms. D gave birth to a child. According to the provisions of the Labor Code, Ms. D's maternity leave is calculated from May 16, 2013 to November 15, 2013 (6 months).

In case a female employee gives birth to twins or more, from the second child onwards, for each child, the mother is given an additional month off.

The maternity leave period of female employees when giving birth includes holidays, Tet holidays, and weekly days off.

During the above-mentioned maternity leave, female employees are entitled to maternity benefits according to the provisions of Article 35 of the Law on Social Insurance. The calculation of maternity benefits is implemented according to the documents guiding the implementation of the current Law on Social Insurance.

In case the employee is receiving maternity allowance with an adjustment to the general minimum wage, the period of enjoyment under the provisions of the general minimum wage will be calculated according to that general minimum wage. If there are odd days, it will be calculated according to the instructions in Point 5 of Official Dispatch No. 54/BHXH-CSXH dated January 9, 2009 of Vietnam Social Security. If the odd number of days is 27 days or more, the maternity allowance shall not exceed the average monthly salary and wages for social insurance contributions of the 6 consecutive months before leaving work, calculated according to that general minimum wage./.

According to (vov.vn) - M.D