Workers suffer because of three-month unemployment registration regulation

Many workers lose their jobs but are not entitled to unemployment benefits due to the requirement to register within three months of leaving work.

At the end of last year, Mr. Nguyen Huy Nam's company, which operates in the construction sector, ran out of work and had to reduce its workforce. Unemployed near Tet and at the same time that businesses in the industry limited recruitment, he left Ho Chi Minh City to return to his hometown in Thanh Hoa . The male worker planned to return to the city after Tet to find a job. However, the plan could not be implemented as the situation continued to be gloomy.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Nam (left) is unemployed but does not receive unemployment benefits. Photo: An Phuong

Unable to find a new job, he decided to register for unemployment benefits. His insurance salary before quitting was 6 million VND, he calculated that with a 60% benefit rate, he would receive 3.6 million VND per month, enough to cover his expenses in his hometown. However, when he went to the provincial employment service center, he was informed that there were only 10 days left after the three-month deadline for completing the procedures, while the application was faulty, and he had to authorize and send the application to Ho Chi Minh City for a relative to handle.

"Everything was resolved, the application was rejected because it was three months overdue," said Mr. Nam. After nearly four months of being laid off, the male worker has not found a new job, while the money he contributed to the unemployment insurance fund has not been received.

Nguyen Nhu Y, who works in real estate, also missed the three-month registration deadline. She lost her job late last year when the company cut nearly half of its staff. "I want to find a new job and have no intention of registering for unemployment benefits," said Y. Previously, her actual income was 30 million VND per month, but her insurance salary was only half that. Therefore, if she receives benefits, she will only receive 9 million VND, not enough to cover her expenses.

After Tet, she applied to many companies. With expertise in marketing, she was accepted by an insurance company for a probationary period with a similar salary. However, due to being attached to real estate for too long, she could not keep up with the new field.

After leaving the insurance company, she tried several other positions but to no avail. While waiting for the real estate sector to recover, the mother of two temporarily registered for unemployment benefits. She expected to receive around VND90 million after 10 years of insurance. However, when she went to the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center, her application was not accepted because it had been overdue for three months.

Workers register for unemployment benefits at the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center. Photo: Le Tuyet

According to the staff receiving the application at the HCM City Employment Service Center, problems like the two cases mentioned above are not uncommon. The main reason for the application being late is that some companies owe insurance, and the unemployed person has to spend more time asking the company to pay. Then the book is returned late, and the employee does not have time to register. There are also people who have to undergo a 2-3 month probation but fail to pass, and when they register to receive benefits, the deadline is overdue; personal documents do not match, which takes time to process...

A similar situation also occurred at the National Employment Service Center. Mr. Ngo Xuan Lieu, Director of the center, said that the specific number was not counted by the unit because when receiving the documents, they found that they were not in accordance with regulations, so the staff immediately returned the documents. Only a few requested the center to respond in writing before the staff accepted them.

Claiming that the regulation of registering for unemployment benefits within three months is disadvantageous to workers, factory representatives at the consultation sessions to amend the law proposed to remove the time limit. They said that while the Unemployment Insurance Fund had a large surplus, at one point nearly VND90,000 billion, not paying out to those who lost their jobs was not in line with the policy's spirit of supporting workers in difficult times.

Ms. Vo Thi Huynh Tram, Human Resources Director of Sonion Company in the High-Tech Park (Thu Duc City), said that the regulation requiring registration within three months also makes workers lose motivation to find new jobs. Because when unemployed, afraid of exceeding the deadline, the first thing they think of is to receive benefits.

According to Ms. Tram, if the time limit is removed, workers will feel secure in finding new jobs, and only when they are really in trouble will they apply for support from the fund. At this time, the subsidy is the last option they think of, not the first choice as it is now. This helps to retain human resources and helps the labor market to be less disrupted. Therefore, the criteria for resolving issues for workers only need to be based on the payment period and employment status.

Mr. Tran Dung Ha, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance, said that limiting the registration time to 3 months causes difficulties for workers and puts pressure on functional units when having to handle many files at the same time. For example, in the past few months, factories have reduced their workforce, thousands of people have registered for benefits at the same time, causing overload at the reception area.

"The amendment to the Employment Law should be in the direction of not controlling the registration time to encourage workers to find new jobs. After 10 months or a year, if they are still unemployed and come back to receive benefits, it needs to be resolved," said Mr. Ha.

Le Tuyet

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