Standardizing business compliance behavior in paying social insurance

(PLVN) - New regulations in the Law on Social Insurance (SI) 2024 and Decree 274/2025/ND-CP, especially the clear determination of the time to switch from "late payment" to "avoidance of payment" of SI and increased sanctions for "evasion of payment" of SI, have created great pressure on many enterprises at this time. However, according to many experts, this move aims to standardize the law-abiding behavior of enterprises.

According to Lawyer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh - Director of ATA Global Law Company Limited, Decree 274/2025/ND-CP guides the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance (Decree 274), which clarifies and guides the identification and handling of acts of late payment, evasion of payment of social insurance, health insurance (HI), unemployment insurance (UI) (collectively referred to as compulsory insurance - BHBB for employees - NLĐ). Compared to the general mention of the acts of "debt, late payment, evasion of payment" before, Decree 274's clear and measurable definition of the boundary between the acts of "late payment" and "evasion of payment" can be considered a step forward in legislative work, thereby actively supporting State management in the field of BHBB for employees.

“The breakthrough point of Decree 274 is to establish a “clear legal boundary” between the act of “delaying payment of social insurance for employees” and the act of “evading payment of social insurance for employees” - Lawyer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh emphasized.

Lawyer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh added that according to regulations, an enterprise will be determined to have evaded paying social insurance for employees if it satisfies two factors: Voluntary factor: Intentional, misappropriating or concealing obligations; and time factor: Exceeding the statutory deadline. According to Decree 274, except for the act of not declaring, not submitting participation documents, intentionally declaring lower than the amount of social insurance payable for employees, for acts of delay in payment in terms of time, the Social Insurance agency will send a notice for the enterprise to grasp information, correct or explain. This is an early and transparent warning mechanism, helping enterprises clearly recognize the legal stopping point and have time to adjust.

Assessing the positive aspects of these regulations, economic expert, Dr. Pham Ngoc Lang - Deputy Director of the Doanh Tri Institute also said that the Social Insurance Law 2024 and guiding documents clarifying the boundary between "late payment" and "avoidance of payment" is a very necessary and positive step forward. Specifically, this regulation creates transparency and objectivity. It helps to clearly distinguish between enterprises facing real cash flow difficulties (leading to late payment) and enterprises deliberately delaying and misappropriating funds (evading payment). "This not only protects the legitimate rights of employees but also creates a fairer business environment - where compliant enterprises are not unfairly competed by units that deliberately do wrong" - Deputy Director of the Doanh Tri Institute affirmed.

Faced with the new regulation with sharply increased fines and the risk of criminal prosecution for evading social insurance payments, many businesses are very concerned. Some units have proactively reviewed their records and urgently resolved outstanding debts, while many small and micro businesses said they are having difficulty balancing their revenues and expenditures, especially in the current context of serious decline in orders and revenue. At the same time, there are also "circumventions of the law" such as signing seasonal contracts, outsourcing labor or switching to the form of collaborators to reduce social insurance payment obligations...

Dr. Pham Ngoc Lang also said: In the context of many economic challenges, tightening management always requires enterprises to review and prepare more carefully in financial management. However, for an enterprise that has determined compliance as the core, this is the pressure to "do the right thing" and "do better", not the pressure to "cope". Compliance with social insurance payment does not come from the fear of being administratively or criminally handled, but from the core responsibility to employees - the people who accompany the enterprise.

Dr. Pham Ngoc Lang shared that, to ensure the rights of employees, enterprises have been implementing measures such as: Prioritizing cash flow: In financial plans, enterprises always prioritize cash resources for salary funds and social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions. Enterprises always consider this a mandatory expense, which must be guaranteed as a payment obligation to strategic suppliers; Standardizing internal processes: Enterprises have a clear coordination process between the human resources department (calculation, reconciliation) and the accounting department (payment) to ensure accurate data and timely payment, avoiding technical errors; Increasing transparency and dialogue: Enterprises publicize social insurance payment information through internal channels (email, bulletin board) so that employees can check and monitor themselves, even instructing employees on how to calculate so that employees can calculate and verify themselves. When there are any difficulties (if any), enterprises are ready to have a frank dialogue with employees about the situation to find solutions.

Lawyer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh - Director of ATA Global Law Firm LLC.

In addition to the above measures, according to the recommendation of Lawyer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, enterprises must shift from a "passive reaction" mindset to a "proactive prevention" mindset by: First, reviewing the list of employees subject to social insurance for employees, avoiding omissions or under-declarations. This problem rarely occurs with large enterprises. However, for small and medium enterprises, omissions/under-declarations occur very often.

Second, it is necessary to arrange personnel to monitor and grasp information from the management agency, promptly correct any "missing" or "wrong" errors. Normally, the management agency can send a document (or via registered email) to urge employees to pay social insurance within the first 10 days of the month. Enterprises need to pay attention to avoid missing information. When receiving a document urging from the management agency or immediately upon discovering that their enterprise has paid late compared to the regulations, the enterprise needs to proactively send a written explanation to the management agency.

Third, enterprises need to conduct legal audits and compliance consulting. In fact, the larger the enterprise is and the more employees it employs, the more necessary it is to hire a consulting unit to periodically or regularly review or advise on compliance with social insurance records, contracts, payrolls or internal regulations on employee benefits. This measure helps enterprises proactively detect early errors and legal risks, avoiding the situation of being collected or being criminally prosecuted due to administrative errors. In the context of increasingly strict laws, consulting and compliance auditing are no longer costs but investments in legal security.

“I think the new regulation is not intended to increase the pressure of penalties, but to standardize compliance behavior. Of course, in the short term, businesses - especially those facing cash flow difficulties - will feel financial and administrative pressure when having to ensure full and timely payment. But in the long term, the new regulation will create a fairer competitive environment among businesses,” said Lawyer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/chuan-hoa-hanh-vi-tuan-thu-phap-luat-cua-doanh-nghiep-trong-viec-dong-bao-hiem-xa-hoi.html