Vietnam Passes Amended Employment Law to Expand Loan Access and Unemployment Insurance

Hanoi – Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved a significant amendment to the Employment Law, broadening access to preferential loans and expanding the scope of unemployment insurance to include a wider range of workers. The revised law, passed on Monday, is set to come into effect on January 1, 2026.

Under the new provisions, the government will have the authority to adjust loan eligibility criteria and interest rates in response to changing socio-economic conditions. This flexible mechanism is designed to make concessional credit more accessible for job creation, job retention, and overseas employment, according to state media reports.

The updated law replaces the previously fixed list of beneficiaries with a more inclusive approach. Workers in start-ups, innovation-based enterprises, near-poor households, and businesses employing large numbers of women or older workers will now be eligible for loan support. This shift is intended to promote a more dynamic labor market and address structural employment challenges.

A major reform in the legislation includes the expansion of loan access for overseas employment. All Vietnamese citizens working abroad under contract will now qualify for overseas job loans, ending the earlier restriction that limited support to disadvantaged or priority groups.

The law also brings a significant change to unemployment insurance coverage. Workers with labor contracts of at least one month and part-time employees earning above the minimum wage threshold for compulsory social insurance will now be covered under the unemployment insurance system.  – News Agency