Workers' social insurance benefits 'suspended' for borrowing documents to go to work

Employees go to work, pay social insurance (SI) but do not enjoy benefits because they participate under someone else's name.

For the past three years, Ms. Vo Thi Tham, 58 years old, in Binh Tan District (HCMC), has been sending petitions and asking for help everywhere in the hope of receiving her pension soon after more than 20 years of paying into the social insurance fund.

Before that, in May 1996, her younger sister, Vo Thi Huong, applied for a job at the Vietnam Thang Long Supre 24.Co. Security Service Company. When the company announced the job, Ms. Huong went to work at another company. Being unemployed, Ms. Tham accepted the job and the company paid social insurance through her younger sister's profile.

Two years later, Ms. Tham's direct manager quit and moved to Plaza Hotel Joint Venture Company. Several subordinates, including Ms. Tham, followed her with all their personal files taken from their old workplace. During her time working, she was always in a state of insecurity, afraid that if the company found out about borrowing the files, they would fire her for dishonesty. "The company is very good, but I'm old and afraid of losing my job, so I didn't dare report it to make adjustments," Ms. Tham said.

In July 2020, the city experienced an outbreak of the epidemic, the hotel business was difficult, and at the same time her health was not guaranteed due to many illnesses, Ms. Tham asked to quit her job. At this time, she submitted an application to the Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance to request a personal adjustment to receive a pension.

The HCM City Social Insurance Agency transferred her file to the city's Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs for coordination in resolving the issue. However, the labor inspectorate said that current legal regulations do not have provisions on administrative penalties for the act of borrowing someone else's file to participate in social insurance, so there is no basis for handling the case. The agency also sent a document to its superiors requesting guidance.

Ms. Vo Thi Tham reviews the petitions sent over the past three years. Photo: Le Tuyet

In mid-2022, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs sent a dispatch to localities, stating that borrowing someone else's documents to go to work is "dishonest and violates regulations". To resolve the issue, the ministry instructed that the labor contract must first be declared invalid by the court. After that, the Social Security agency will adjust the information.

The above guidance makes Ms. Tham’s case even more deadlocked. During her entire social insurance payment process, Plaza Hotel Joint Venture Company was willing to adjust her contract for more than 21 years of working at the company. However, the security company she worked for before has dissolved. The labor contract she signed 27 years ago no longer exists, so the court has no basis to accept it.

Ms. Tham said she was partly at fault for using her sister's profile to work, but all the money paid into the social insurance fund was taken from her own salary and effort, not anyone else's. "It's too much of a disadvantage not to be able to enjoy it now," Ms. Tham said.

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Quynh Tram, 35 years old, who has participated in social insurance for 15 years, could not receive a one-time subsidy because in 2008 she lent her roommate her documents to apply for a job. "At that time, I just thought that my friend was unemployed and had to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Bac Giang to do expensive paperwork, so I helped her," Ms. Tram said, adding that her friend worked for about a year and then quit to go back to her hometown to get married.

Last month, Ms. Tram applied for a one-time subsidy and was informed that there was an insurance book with duplicate insurance payment information for 9 months. She had to contact her friend and request to file a lawsuit to declare the borrower's labor contract invalid. The Social Security Agency will adjust the time of that person to the owner, then her application will be processed.

"Now I don't know where that friend is to resolve the issue," said Ms. Tram, adding that even if she could contact him, it would be difficult to convince the company to re-sign a contract for someone who worked 15 years ago, and there would also be legal and court issues. She requested to cancel a year of duplicate payments but was not approved.

According to statistics from Vietnam Social Security, by the end of 2022, there will be more than 3,700 cases of social insurance payment related to borrowing documents to work like the two cases above. These cases are concentrated in provinces with many large industrial parks such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh...

Currently, the settlement of the regime for employees is almost at a standstill because many situations arise but the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has not yet provided guidance. For example, the court wants to declare a labor contract invalid, it needs a conciliation record. The employee requests the labor department to reconsider the conciliation beyond the statute of limitations. The dissolved enterprise will have its file returned by the court because there is no subject to sue. The court also does not accept the case when the person who borrowed or lent the file is dead or cannot be contacted...

Workers complete procedures to receive benefits at Thu Duc City Social Insurance. Photo: Le Tuyet

Director of Hanoi Social Insurance Phan Van Men said that before 2010, when he was working at the Social Insurance Card Issuance Department (Vietnam Social Insurance), he received information about workers borrowing documents to go to work and requesting adjustments. At that time, the law did not stipulate this, so the insurance agency considered this an illegal act. Therefore, the entire period of participation in social insurance must be canceled, and the documents will only be adjusted when starting a new payment.

However, this solution was met with opposition from workers, especially those with a long participation period, which would affect the time of pension accumulation. After that, Vietnam Social Security asked for opinions from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. The solution is for provincial Social Security agencies to compile a list and report to the Department of Labor for inspection. Once there is a conclusion, the competent authority will make adjustments for workers.

Localities resolve this in the above manner. However, since 2020, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City has stopped. Due to many blocked files, at the end of last year, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee requested the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to consult the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy and the Vietnam Social Security for guidance to remove obstacles, but so far there has been no response.

Mr. Do Ngoc Tho, Head of Policy Implementation Department (Vietnam Social Security), said that borrowing employees' work records is wrong, but it is necessary to consider historical factors and circumstances to understand and find solutions for employees.

According to the records of the Social Insurance Agency, workers had to borrow records because they did not meet the age requirements, leading to borrowing records from relatives for interviews. There was a period when some businesses limited recruitment in some provinces, workers had to borrow records to work... They needed jobs to earn income but did not care about Social Insurance benefits. At that time, technology was not as synchronized as it is now to immediately detect duplicate participant information.

"In form it is wrong, but in reality, workers have their salaries deducted to pay insurance, so they should enjoy benefits based on that contribution," said Mr. Tho. Vietnam Social Security proposed that the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs provide guidance on the settlement based on the principle of contribution - benefit, promoting the rights of workers.

Le Tuyet

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