Labor and Social Insurance Records for Large Workforces

For an enterprise with a few dozen to a few thousand employees, labor records are no longer a stack of paper. They are many layers of data that must match one another: the labor management book, contracts, payroll, insurance, work rules. If just one layer is off, reconciling later will take a great deal of effort.

This article is for business owners, HR directors and chief accountants at enterprises with many employees, enterprises with many branches or factories, and enterprises with foreign capital. The main conclusion: do it right from the start, and review periodically using one shared reconciliation table.

Which groups of records does an enterprise with many employees need?

The table below lists the main groups of records and their legal basis. It is a framework for review and does not replace checking by the specific industry and scale.

Group of records	Main requirement	Basis
Labor management book	Established and updated in paper or electronic form; produced when a competent authority requests it	Clause 1, Article 12 of the 2019 Labor Code
Labor declaration and reporting	Declaration within 30 days from the date of starting operations; periodic reports on changes in labor	Clause 2, Article 12
Labor contracts	Concluded in the form and with the content prescribed by law	Articles 13, 14
Salary scale, payroll, labor norms	Built as the basis for recruitment and paying wages; consult the employees’ representative organization if there is one; publicly announced	Article 93
Dialogue at the workplace	Held periodically and when required by law	Article 63
Work rules	From 10 employees: in writing, registered within 10 days from the date of issuance	Articles 118, 119
Compulsory social insurance	Register within 30 days from the date the employee becomes eligible to participate	Clause 1, Article 28 of the Law on Social Insurance 41/2024/QH15
Unemployment insurance	Under the Law on Employment, effective 1 January 2026	Law on Employment 74/2025/QH15
Occupational safety and health	Occupational safety and health training by category of person	Article 14 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health 84/2015/QH13

Why do enterprises with many employees easily get out of sync?

A larger scale does not change the rules, but it increases the number of events. The points that commonly create differences:

Monthly staff turnover: new hires, resignations, transfers between departments. Each change requires updating the book, payroll and insurance.
Multiple locations: the registered work rules must be sent to the provincial labor authority where a branch or establishment is located (clause 4, Article 119). Enterprises that open another factory in a different province often forget this step.
Changes in salary: adjusting wages and allowances changes the basis for insurance contributions, which needs to be updated promptly.
Many types of contracts: fixed-term contracts reaching their end, seasonal labor, foreign employees; each type has its own requirements.
Many people working on it: HR, accounting and factory management each hold a part of the data, and no one holds the master table.

The process of reviewing and standardizing records

Step	What	Who
1	Collect the current state: labor management book, latest payroll, insurance data, work rules, salary scale, list of locations	The enterprise provides; Thái Tín guides on the list of items
2	Reconcile three sources: number of people, wage levels, time of joining insurance	Professional partners in labor and insurance carry it out; Thái Tín coordinates
3	Draw up the list of differences and set the order of handling	Thái Tín together with the enterprise
4	Handle: supplement and adjust records, redraft work rules or salary scale when needed	Professional partners; the enterprise signs and issues
5	File, register and notify the relevant authorities	The enterprise; the social insurance authority and labor authority review
6	Set an internal schedule to maintain	The enterprise; Thái Tín tracks within the agreed scope

A reasonable order of priority: employees’ insurance entitlements first, then contracts, work rules and salary scale. This keeps employees’ entitlements protected and helps the enterprise handle the most important part early.

Common situations and how to handle them

The number of people in the book differs from the number contributing to insurance. Each case needs to be identified: a new employee not yet registered, an employee who has left but has not been reported as a decrease, or a person not required to participate. Then supplement and adjust with the social insurance authority case by case.

Work rules issued long ago, not registered, or no longer suitable. Redraft them according to the main content in clause 2, Article 118, consult the employees’ representative organization if there is one (clause 3, Article 118), then register them and notify the employees.

Opening a new factory or branch in another province. Draw up a task list for the new location: send the work rules, update the book, register insurance for those recruited on the spot.

Having foreign employees. The records usually include additional documents on the conditions for foreigners to work; they should be checked position by position and by term.

When an enterprise restructures or winds down

Complete labor records remain valuable when the enterprise undergoes major changes. On dissolution, employees’ wage debts, severance allowances, social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance are paid first (point a, clause 5, Article 208 of the 2020 Law on Enterprises).

An enterprise whose records already match can determine the amount to be paid more quickly and accurately. See the article Dissolving a Company with Many Employees: Wages, Severance, Insurance for more on this part.

What Thái Tín can help with

Advising large-scale enterprises with many employees and complex labor and social insurance records is one of Thái Tín’s strengths. We take in the current state, identify where the enterprise is lacking or out of sync, draw up a standardization roadmap in order of priority, and connect suitable professional units to carry it out steadily.

The labor, insurance and payroll accounting work is carried out by professional partners; Thái Tín coordinates, tracks progress and reports back at each milestone. The social insurance authority and the labor management authority review within their competence. Enterprises with foreign capital may also see the article Foreign-Invested Company Setup: Steps Under the 2025 Law on Investment for the initial procedures.

Keeping records in sync: a simple internal schedule

Monthly: reconcile increases and decreases in employees among the book, payroll and insurance.
When adjusting salary: update the insurance contribution basis in the same period.
When opening a new location: run the task list for the new location.
Annually: review the work rules, salary scale, workplace dialogue schedule and safety training plan.
One person holds the master table: assign clearly who is responsible for updating the shared reconciliation table.

Does your enterprise have many employees and want to know where its records are out of sync? Send the current number of employees, the number of locations and the latest insurance status so Thái Tín can check and propose a roadmap.

Questions and answers

Within how long must an enterprise register employees for social insurance?

Within 30 days from the date the employee becomes subject to compulsory social insurance, the employer declares and files the registration dossier for the employee with the social insurance authority (clause 1, Article 28 of Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15, effective 1 July 2025).

With how many employees must an enterprise register work rules?

An employer employing 10 or more employees must have written work rules and register them with the specialized labor agency under the provincial People's Committee; the registration dossier is filed within 10 days from the date the work rules are issued (clause 1, Article 118 and clauses 1 and 2, Article 119 of the 2019 Labor Code).

How are work rules handled for an enterprise with multiple branches?

The registered work rules are sent to the specialized labor agency under the provincial People's Committee where the branch, unit, or production or business establishment is located (clause 4, Article 119 of the 2019 Labor Code). It is therefore advisable to keep a list of locations and the date the rules were sent to each.

Is the labor management book mandatory?

Yes. The employer establishes, updates, manages and uses a labor management book in paper or electronic form and produces it when requested by a competent State authority (clause 1, Article 12 of the 2019 Labor Code). The enterprise must also declare its use of labor within 30 days from the date it starts operating and report periodically on changes in labor (clause 2, Article 12).

Where to start fixing labor records that have been disorganized for years?

Start by reconciling three sources: the labor management book, the payroll and the social insurance data. From the list of differences, set the order of handling: employees' insurance contribution entitlements first, then contracts, work rules, and salary scale. Each enterprise has its own situation, so the specific records need to be reviewed.

Legal basis · verification date

Verified 29 September 2026 · next review 29 December 2026. The content is general guidance and does not replace advice for a specific case.

Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 (amended and supplemented by a number of laws; consolidated text 18/VBHN-VPQH of 2026): Article 12, clauses 1 and 2; Articles 13 and 14; Article 63; Article 93; Article 118, clauses 1, 2, 3, 4; Article 119, clauses 1, 2, 4.
Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15 (effective 1 July 2025): Article 28, clause 1.
Law on Employment No. 74/2025/QH15 (effective 1 January 2026) — unemployment insurance.
Law on Occupational Safety and Health No. 84/2015/QH13: Article 14 (occupational safety and health training); clause 8, Article 14 on the procedure for issuing the Certificate of eligibility to operate for training organizations is temporarily not implemented under Resolution 66.18/2026/NQ-CP (effective 1 July 2026 through 28 February 2027).
Law on Enterprises No. 59/2020/QH14: Article 208, clause 5, point a — upon dissolution, unpaid wages, severance allowances, insurance and other entitlements of employees are paid first.