Report on Vietnam’s 2025 Employment Law and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Vietnam has enacted the 2025 Employment Law, a significant legislative overhaul effective January 1, 2026. This new framework modernizes the nation’s labor regulations to address global labor market trends and align domestic policy with international standards, particularly the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The law focuses on enhancing social safety nets, promoting lifelong learning, and strengthening institutional frameworks for a more resilient and equitable workforce.

Core Legislative Reforms and Linkages to the SDGs

Unemployment Insurance (UI) System Reform: Advancing SDG 1, SDG 8, and SDG 10

A primary component of the reform is the comprehensive restructuring of the unemployment insurance system. This expansion of social protection directly supports several SDGs by creating a more inclusive safety net.

• SDG 1 (No Poverty) & SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): By extending UI benefits, the law provides a critical financial buffer for workers during periods of unemployment, preventing descents into poverty and promoting economic stability.
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): The policy explicitly targets inequality by extending coverage to previously excluded groups of workers.

The UI framework now includes:

• Short-term contract workers: Individuals with contracts from one to three months are now covered, acknowledging the rise of short-term employment.
• Part-time employees: Workers whose monthly income meets the minimum wage threshold for social insurance are now eligible, ensuring protection is not contingent on full-time status.
• Salaried managerial personnel: Coverage is extended to remunerated governance positions in enterprises and cooperatives, broadening the definition of protected employment.

National Labor Market Information System: Supporting SDG 9 and SDG 16

The law mandates the establishment of a National Labor Registration Database, a key step in digitalizing labor market administration. This initiative supports the development of robust public institutions and modern infrastructure.

• SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure): The creation of a national digital database represents a significant upgrade to the country’s labor market infrastructure, fostering innovation in workforce management.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): This system enhances state capacity for evidence-based policymaking, improving the effectiveness and transparency of labor market interventions and institutions.

Employee Data Privacy and Protection: Upholding SDG 16

For the first time, the Employment Law codifies employer obligations regarding the protection of employee data. This measure strengthens legal frameworks and individual rights, aligning with international standards like the GDPR.

• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): By requiring explicit consent for data collection and processing and mandating secure storage, the law builds a more accountable and just institutional framework for labor relations, protecting employees from data misuse.

Reskilling and Lifelong Learning: Championing SDG 4, SDG 8, and SDG 10

The legislation introduces provisions that institutionalize continuous employee development as a national priority, building a workforce prepared for future economic shifts.

• SDG 4 (Quality Education): The law promotes lifelong learning opportunities by establishing national skills frameworks and certification systems.
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): By encouraging reskilling, the law ensures the workforce remains competitive and resilient, which is fundamental for sustained economic growth.
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): The framework provides targeted support for vocational training and reskilling for specific vulnerable populations, directly addressing inequality.

The government commits to:

• Developing and recognizing National Skills Qualification Frameworks (NSQF).
• Aligning skill standards with international benchmarks.
• Facilitating the assessment and certification of practical skills.
• Encouraging mutual recognition of skill certificates with other nations.

Support is prioritized for groups including:

• Individuals from poor or near-poor households and ethnic minorities.
• War veterans and their relatives.
• Workers returning from military service.
• Elderly workers and youth volunteers.

Stakeholder Impact Analysis

1. Employers: All employers, including local firms, foreign-invested enterprises, and SMEs, must adapt their HR systems, employment contracts, and data management practices to comply with the new regulations.
2. Employees: The law impacts all workers, including full-time, part-time, and contract employees, by expanding social protections. Freelance and gig economy workers gain greater access to the social safety net.
3. HR and Legal Professionals: These teams must lead compliance efforts by updating internal policies, investing in HR technology, and training management on new legal requirements, particularly concerning data privacy and dispute resolution.
4. Government and Regulatory Bodies: Labor authorities are tasked with enforcing the new provisions, with an expected increase in scrutiny and inspections related to data privacy and workforce training initiatives.

Strategic Recommendations for Preparation

For Employers

• Revise HR Policies: Update employee handbooks, contracts, and data privacy notices to ensure full compliance with the 2025 Employment Law.
• Develop Training Programs: Implement internal upskilling and reskilling initiatives that align with the law’s focus on lifelong learning and support employees in adapting to technological and market changes.
• Enhance Data Governance: Invest in secure systems for managing employee data to meet the new privacy and protection standards.

For Employees

• Understand New Rights: Familiarize themselves with expanded protections related to unemployment insurance, data privacy, and access to training.
• Engage in Training: Proactively participate in employer-sponsored and state-supported training programs to enhance skills and career resilience, in line with the principles of SDG 4 and SDG 8.

Conclusion: A Framework for Sustainable and Equitable Growth

Vietnam’s 2025 Employment Law is a forward-looking framework designed to build a more resilient, equitable, and competitive labor market. By embedding principles of lifelong learning, modernizing social protections, and institutionalizing a data-driven labor infrastructure, the law directly contributes to achieving key Sustainable Development Goals. It lays a robust foundation for sustainable economic growth driven by human capital development and decent work for all, in alignment with the global 2030 Agenda.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on Vietnam’s 2025 Employment Law highlights several issues that are directly connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The law’s focus on modernizing the labor market, enhancing social protection, promoting skills development, and ensuring data privacy aligns with the core principles of multiple SDGs. The following goals are addressed:

• SDG 1: No Poverty: By expanding social safety nets like unemployment insurance, the law aims to protect workers from falling into poverty during periods of joblessness.
• SDG 4: Quality Education: The law’s strong emphasis on reskilling, vocational training, and lifelong learning directly contributes to providing inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: This is the most central SDG addressed. The entire reform is aimed at promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all by protecting labor rights, adapting to new work models, and improving workforce skills.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The law seeks to reduce inequalities by extending social protection to previously excluded groups, such as part-time and short-term contract workers, and by providing targeted support for vocational training to disadvantaged populations.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The establishment of a national labor database and the codification of data privacy laws contribute to building effective, accountable, and transparent institutions and protecting fundamental freedoms.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the reforms detailed in the article, several specific SDG targets can be identified:

SDG 1: No Poverty

1. Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
   • Explanation: The article states that a “most substantial update is the comprehensive reform of the unemployment insurance system,” which “expands access, particularly for workers in non-traditional employment arrangements.” This includes bringing short-term contract workers and part-time employees into the unemployment insurance (UI) framework, directly contributing to building a social protection system for vulnerable workers.

SDG 4: Quality Education

1. Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
   • Explanation: The law introduces provisions that “promote continuous employee development” and “reskilling and lifelong learning.” It explicitly commits the government to “develop and recognize National Skills Qualification Frameworks (NSQF),” facilitate “assessment and certification of practical skills,” and encourage training, especially for those at risk of redundancy due to technological shifts.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

1. Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
   • Explanation: The reform aims to create “more inclusive and adaptable labor laws” to address the “rise of the gig economy and flexible work models.” By expanding protections and benefits to non-traditional workers, it strives to ensure decent work for a broader segment of the workforce.
2. Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, and in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment.
   • Explanation: The article highlights “enhancing employee protections,” specifically through new “employee data privacy and protection” rules that require explicit consent for data handling. This, along with the legal recognition of digital labor contracts and expanded UI for precarious workers (short-term contracts), directly strengthens labor rights and creates a more secure working environment.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

1. Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality.
   • Explanation: The reform of the unemployment insurance system is a key social protection policy. The article notes that it now covers groups “who were previously excluded,” such as part-time and short-term workers. Furthermore, it provides specific support for vocational training to “individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as poor or near-poor households, ethnic minorities, or people with disabilities,” which is a direct policy action to reduce inequality.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

1. Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
   • Explanation: The article describes the establishment of a “National Labor Registration Database” and a modernized “labor market information system.” These are described as institutional reforms intended to “improve state capacity in workforce forecasting, unemployment insurance delivery, and skills matching,” thereby creating more effective and data-driven public institutions.
2. Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.
   • Explanation: The article states that for the first time, the law “codifies employers’ obligations regarding employee data privacy,” aligning Vietnam’s regulations with international standards like GDPR. This act of creating a legal framework to protect the fundamental freedom of data privacy is a direct implementation of this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets, even if it does not cite official SDG indicator codes.

SDG 1: No Poverty

• Implied Indicator for Target 1.3: The proportion of the labor force covered by unemployment insurance. Progress can be measured by tracking the increase in coverage, specifically for the newly eligible groups mentioned: “short-term contract workers” and “part-time employees.”

SDG 4: Quality Education

• Implied Indicator for Target 4.4: The number of employees participating in reskilling and vocational training programs. The article mentions that employers are “encouraged, and in certain cases mandated, to offer training,” and that the government will provide incentives. Tracking the uptake of these programs, especially among the specified disadvantaged groups, would be a key performance indicator. The establishment and implementation of the “National Skills Qualification Frameworks (NSQF)” is another measurable outcome.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Implied Indicator for Target 8.5: The proportion of workers in non-traditional employment (part-time, short-term contracts) with formal social protection. The article provides a clear baseline (previously excluded) and a new policy (now included), making the change in this proportion a direct measure of progress.
• Implied Indicator for Target 8.8: The level of national compliance with labor rights legislation. This can be measured by the number of companies audited for compliance with the new data privacy provisions and the number of employment contracts updated to reflect the new law.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• Implied Indicator for Target 10.4: The percentage of workers from disadvantaged groups (e.g., poor households, ethnic minorities) participating in state-supported vocational training. The article explicitly lists these groups, making their participation rate a direct indicator of the policy’s success in reducing inequality.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• Implied Indicator for Target 16.6: The operational status and utilization of the “National Labor Registration Database.” Progress can be measured by its successful establishment and its use by policymakers for “evidence-based labor interventions.”
• Implied Indicator for Target 16.10: The existence of and compliance with national legislation on data privacy. The article notes the law “codifies employers’ obligations,” so an indicator would be the number of companies with updated data privacy policies and the reduction in violations.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article. In this table, list the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), their corresponding targets, and the specific indicators identified in the article.

Source: vietnam-briefing.com