Losing their jobs, what do workers need to do to avoid losing unemployment benefits?

According to Employment Law No. 74/2025/QH15, effective from January 1, 2026, employees are entitled to unemployment benefits when they meet sufficient conditions on contract termination, unemployment insurance (BHTN) contribution period and application deadline.

Do not exceed the 3-month deadline

One of the time milestones that workers need to pay special attention to is 3 months from the date of termination of the labor contract, working contract or termination of work.

Within this period, employees must submit sufficient dossiers to apply for unemployment benefits. If the deadline is exceeded, employees may lose the opportunity to receive unemployment benefits for that leave.

Regarding the contribution period, employees must pay unemployment insurance for 12 months or more within 24 months before terminating the contract. Specifically, employees working under labor contracts with a term of 1 month to less than 12 months must pay unemployment insurance for 12 months within 36 months before terminating the contract.

Do not voluntarily quit your job illegally

Employees terminating contracts must comply with regulations. In case of unilateral termination of contracts illegally or resignation when they are eligible for pension, they are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

Therefore, before quitting, employees need to check the labor contract, the notice period and the reason for terminating the contract to avoid affecting their rights.

Still receiving allowance but still having to announce job search

Being entitled to unemployment benefits does not mean that workers are just waiting to receive money.

Every month, the person receiving the allowance must notify the job search organization of the public employment service where they are receiving the allowance. If no notification is made for 3 consecutive months, the unemployment allowance may be terminated.

In addition, allowances may also be terminated when employees have jobs and are subject to compulsory social insurance, receive pensions, perform military service, participate in the People's Police or standing militia, move abroad to settle down, go to school for more than 12 months or fall into some other cases according to the law.

How is unemployment benefits calculated?

From 2026, the monthly unemployment benefit level is equal to 60% of the average monthly salary for unemployment insurance contributions of the last 6 months of unemployment insurance contributions before the termination of labor contracts, work contracts or termination of work, but not exceeding 05 times the regional minimum monthly salary announced by the Government, which is applied in the last month of unemployment insurance contributions.

The time to receive the allowance is the 11th working day from the date of submitting a complete dossier for unemployment benefits.

Therefore, when losing their jobs, employees should immediately check the unemployment insurance contribution period, prepare documents, submit them within 3 months and fully implement job search notifications. These are important steps to not miss the benefits accumulated during the working process.

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