Question: I am in the process of mutually agreeing on the termination of an employment contract with an employee. During the course of employment, the company did not arrange periodic health checkups, so the employee is requesting payment of an amount equivalent to medical examination costs. I would like to know whether the company is legally required to pay this amount, who is responsible by law for periodic health checkup costs, and what level of administrative penalty may apply for failing to arrange such periodic health checkups.
Answer:
Concept:
Periodic health checkups for employees are a statutory obligation that the employer must arrange on a regular basis in order to monitor employees’ health conditions and to conduct specialized examinations in cases where the law so requires.
Legal basis: Article 21 of the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene
1. Obligation to organize periodic health checkups for employees
The employer is required to organize health checkups for employees at least once every year. Employees performing heavy, hazardous or dangerous work, or exceptionally heavy, hazardous or dangerous work, employees with disabilities, minor employees, and elderly employees must be examined at least once every six months. Female employees must also undergo obstetric and gynecological examination when health checkups are conducted in accordance with the law, and employees working in environments with occupational disease risk factors must undergo occupational disease screening.
Legal basis: Clauses 1, 2 and 3 Article 21 of the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene
2. Responsibility for payment of costs and the request for an amount equivalent to medical examination costs
The cost of health examination, examination for detection of occupational diseases and treatment of occupational diseases for employees falls under the payment responsibility of the employer when carrying out these activities. However, there is no provision to convert the health examination money into cash for direct payment to employees, as well as no provision compelling the employer to compensate an equivalent amount of money if not organizing the examination. Therefore, statutorily, the company has no mandatory obligation to compensate this amount of money. Therefore, it can be determined that the cost of periodic health examination according to the law must be paid by the employer for the employee; as to whether compensation is mandatory or not, the law does not yet have a provision.
Legal basis: Clauses 4, 5 and 6 Article 21 of the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene
3. Administrative penalties for failing to organize periodic health checkups
If the employer fails to organize periodic health checkups or occupational disease screening for employees, it may be subject to a fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 for each affected employee, with the total fine capped at VND 75,000,000. In addition, if the employer fails to organize health checkups before transferring an employee to heavier, more hazardous or more dangerous work, or after the employee has recovered from an occupational accident or occupational disease and returns to work, the fine ranges from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for each employee, with the total fine also capped at VND 75,000,000.
Legal basis: Clauses 2 and 3 Article 22 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP
4. Recommendations and Notes for Enterprises
Enterprises need to proactively perform the obligation of organizing periodic health examinations. This is not only a mandatory requirement to avoid sanctions from state agencies, but also a practical measure to protect and maintain the quality of human resources.
When requests for compensation or support outside of statutory provisions arise, the employee and the employer need to negotiate in good faith. All successfully agreed financial amounts (if any) must be recorded clearly, transparently in writing to prevent future disputes.
