Seven decrees in effect as of July 01, 2016

1. Guideline on the rate of contribution to occupational accident insurance

Decree No. 37/2016/ND-CP provides guidelines for certain articles of the 2015’s Law on occupational safety and hygiene:

The employer contributes 1% of its salary fund, which is the basis for contribution to employees’ social insurance, on monthly basis.

The rate of social insurance contribution at 1% of the statutory pay rate is applied to non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the people’s army, non-commissioned officers and policemen on definite-term service in the people’s public security force, cadets in the army, public security force and cipher sector, who are entitled to cost-of-living allowance.

As of January 01, 2018, the Government shall lower the rates of contribution.

2. Employers to assess dangers and hazards at least once per year

Pursuant to the Decree No. 39/2016/ND-CP, an employer must plan and organize the inspection and assessment of the efficiency of measures against dangerous and hazardous factors at least once per year. For manufacturing units, the scope of the inspection and assessment must involve groups, teams and workshops.

The inspection of measures against dangerous and hazardous factors at a workplace comprises of the following contents:

- Conditions of occupational safety and sanitation of machinery, equipment, workshops, warehouses and workplace.

- Use and storage of personal protection equipment, equipment of fire prevention and fighting, essential medications and on-site first-aid facilities.

- Use and management of machinery, equipment, materials and substances bound by strict requirements on occupational safety and sanitation;

- Employees’ knowledge and abilities for coping with emergency situations.

- Implementation of regulations on occupational protection and employee health care.

- Compliance with recommendations of inspection teams over occupational safety and sanitation or occupational accident investigation teams.
 
3. Height of buildings adjacent to meteorology and hydrology structures

Pursuant to the Decree No. 38/2016/ND-CP, trees or buildings may be erected within the minimum distance of 50 to 100 meters from the fences of a surface weather observation station; however, the angle formed by the station’s ground surface and the imaginary line stretching from the station's central point to the highest point of the tree or building must not exceed 10 degrees.

The height of trees or buildings, permissible within the technical gallery of a weather radar tower, must not exceed the height of the tower.

4. New regulation on determining the validity of legislative documents

Decree No. 34/2016/ND-CP regulates details of certain articles of the Law on promulgation of legislative documents and measures for implementation of the law.

The validity of a legislative document thereof is determined in the following manner:

- The date that the legislative document takes effect must be defined in such document.

- The agency drafting the document must specify the expected date of effect in the draft.

- When a legislative document expires, related guiding documents shall simultaneously lose effect.

- When part of a legislative document expires, related contents in guiding documents shall lose effect at the same time.

- If a document provides guidelines for various legislative documents and only some of the latter expire, the contents in relation to the expired legislative documents shall lose effect upon such expiration.

- If expiring contents of a guiding document cannot be determined, that document shall lose effect in whole.

5. Decree No. 35/2016/ND-CP on guidelines for the 2015’s Law on veterinary medicine

6. Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP on guidelines for the 2015’s Law on occupational safety and hygiene with regard to examination of occupational safety techniques, occupational safety and hygiene training and occupational environment monitoring

7. Decree No. 132/2015/ND-CP on penalties against administrative violations in relation to inland water transport