Question: Please ask, according to the law, in what cases is a company required to increase salaries for employees? How will it be handled if the company does not increase salary as agreed?

Reply:

How long does it take to get a salary increase from the company?

Article 21, Labor Code 2019 and Article 3, Circular No. 10/2020/TT-BLDTBXH stipulate that the promotion and salary increase regime is one of the main contents of the labor contract.

Accordingly, the employee and the employer can specifically agree on the conditions and time for the salary increase after the increase, or record the implementation of the salary increase according to the collective labor agreement or regulations. company's regulations.

Thus, the law does not specifically stipulate the time limit for salary increase and the amount of salary increase, but completely depends on the agreement between the parties.

Therefore, to know how long you will work to get a salary increase, you need to base it specifically on the signed labor contract or collective labor agreement, and the company's salary increase regulations.

In addition, Clause 1, Article 93, 2019 Labor Code also requires companies to develop salary scales, payroll and labor norms. This will serve as the basis for negotiating salary levels in the labor contract and paying employees.

Therefore, if the labor contract agrees to increase the salary according to the company's regulations, the employee needs to review the company's salary scale and payroll to know when he or she will receive a salary increase.

In what cases is a company required to increase wages for employees?

Case 1: The employee signs a labor contract after the probationary period ends.

Article 26 of the 2019 Labor Code states that the employee's salary during the probationary period is agreed upon by both parties, but must be at least equal to 85% of the salary of that job.

Thus, if the previous probationary salary was lower than the official salary, then after the probationary period is satisfactory, the company must sign a labor contract with the employee with a salary higher than the probationary salary.

Case 2: Increase the regional minimum wage

According to Article 90, Labor Code 2019, wages paid to employees according to job or title must not be lower than the minimum wage.

In addition, if doing a job that requires vocational training, the employee must be paid at least 7% higher than the regional minimum wage, unless the two parties agree otherwise according to the provisions of law. labor. (Section b, Clause 1.1, Article 1, Official Dispatch No. 2086/BLDTBXH-TLLDLDVN 2022).

This regional minimum wage is announced by the Government, based on recommendations of the National Wage Council. This salary will usually increase gradually each year.

Therefore, if the regional minimum wage increases, workers who are receiving the minimum wage will also receive a salary increase.

How to handle the company's failure to increase salary as agreed?

Employers who do not pay or do not pay enough wages to employees as agreed in the labor contract will be fined as follows:

• From 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND for violations from 01 person to 10 employees;
• From 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND for violations from 11 to 50 employees;
• From 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for violations from 51 to 100 employees;
• From 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND for violations from 101 to 300 employees;
• From 40,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND for violations of 301 or more employees.

Fines shall be imposed on employers for paying employees lower than the minimum wage prescribed by the Government:

• From 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for violations from 01 person to 10 employees;
• From 30,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND for violations from 11 to 50 employees;
• From 50,000,000 VND to 75,000,000 VND for violations of 51 or more employees.

At the same time, force the employer to pay the full salary plus interest on late or underpaid salary to the employee calculated according to the highest interest rate on demand deposits of domestic commercial banks. announced by the country at the time of sanction for violations of the above regulations.

Note: The above fine is the fine for individuals, the fine for organizations is 2 times the fine for individuals. (Clause 1, Article 6, Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP)

Thus, according to the above regulations, if the company has an agreement to increase wages for employees but does not pay or does not pay enough wages, it can be fined with a maximum penalty of up to 100 million VND. Companies that pay workers lower than the minimum wage prescribed by the Government may be fined with a maximum fine of up to 150 million VND. (Clause 2, 3, Article 17, Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP).