ADVICE ON LABOR

Pursuant to Clause 9, Article 3 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 2015, an occupational disease is a disease arising from harmful working conditions that affect employees in the course of their employment.

In other words, occupational diseases are illnesses developed during the course of employment due to employees’ frequent exposure to hazardous or toxic factors, or unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. These diseases are generally characteristic of particular occupations and may directly affect employees’ health and working capacity.

Currently, pursuant to Article 2 of Circular No. 15/2016/TT-BYT (as amended and supplemented by Circular No. 02/2023/TT-BYT), the list of occupational diseases eligible for social insurance benefits includes 35 occupational diseases, including but not limited to:

• Occupational silicosis;
• Occupational asthma;
• Occupational hearing loss caused by noise;
• Occupational hepatitis B;
• Occupational tuberculosis;
• HIV infection due to occupational accidents;
• Occupational COVID-19; and
• Various other occupational diseases resulting from hazardous working environments.

Where an employee suffers from an occupational disease and satisfies the statutory conditions, he or she may be entitled to benefits under the occupational accident and disease insurance regime, including:

• Medical examination, assessment, and treatment costs;
• Lump-sum allowances or monthly benefits, depending on the level of working capacity impairment;
• Support for rehabilitation and recovery of working capacity; and
• Attendance allowances or survivor benefits, in certain cases as prescribed by law.

In addition, employers are responsible for implementing measures to ensure occupational safety and hygiene, organizing periodic health check-ups and occupational disease screenings, and promptly addressing workplace risk factors in order to minimize the occurrence of occupational diseases.

Note: Not every illness arising during employment is automatically recognized as an occupational disease. Eligibility for benefits depends on whether the illness falls within the officially recognized list of occupational diseases, the degree of impairment of working capacity, and the conclusions of competent authorities or medical institutions.

Should your enterprise or employees require legal advice regarding occupational accident and disease insurance, occupational diseases, or other labor law matters, please contact SB Law for timely and practical support from our lawyers and legal experts.