Household Business Staff: Contracts and Social Insurance

Quite a few household business owners think that hiring people for a small household allows more flexibility than a company in contracts and insurance. In reality, obligations to employees do not depend on whether the business entity is a household or a company, but on the nature of the working relationship.

Short answer: a household business is currently not limited in the number of employees it may hire. A person who works for 1 month or more, is paid, and is subject to the owner’s management must have a labor contract and be covered by compulsory social insurance (BHXH) — whatever name is used does not change the substance. For the owner alone: only an owner with declared revenue above 1 billion VND per year is subject to compulsory social insurance; at 1 billion VND or below it is not yet compulsory and participation is voluntary.

Is a household business still limited in the number of employees?

Previously, Decree No. 78/2015/NĐ-CP provided that a household business employing 10 or more employees had to convert into an enterprise. This provision was abolished from Decree No. 01/2021/NĐ-CP. The current Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP (Articles 82, 87) does not reinstate a limit on the number of employees for household businesses.

This means: a household business can hire many employees without being required to convert into an enterprise because of the number of workers. Converting to a company, if any, should stem from needs such as invoicing, limited liability or raising capital — see the article Converting a Household Business to a Company — and not because “reaching 10 people means becoming a company” as under the old rule.

Even though there is no longer a limit on numbers, labor contract and social insurance obligations to each employee still apply in full, and are not reduced because the household is small.

When must a person working for a household have a labor contract?

Under the Labor Code, a relationship is considered an employment relationship when three elements are present: the worker is paid, has working hours, and is subject to the management and direction of the owner. When all three are present, whether the owner calls the person an employee, a collaborator or a “helper”, the relationship is still an employment relationship and must be established by a labor contract.

A different case: a member of the owner’s family who works without a fixed wage, without bound working hours, and without being managed like a hired worker — this is family labor, different from a hired person. In a dispute or inspection, the authorities look at the actual situation (working hours, how payment is made, degree of management), not just the names on paperwork.

Yes, if the labor contract has a term of 1 month or more. This is a general rule that does not distinguish whether the employer is a household business or an enterprise. A household business, although not a legal entity, is still an employer under the Labor Code and is responsible for paying social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance for employees subject to the compulsory schemes.

A few points that are often misunderstood:

Renaming the contract as “collaborator”, paying per shift, with no written contract: does not remove the insurance obligation if the substance is still an employment relationship of 1 month or more.
A small, not yet “official” household: there is no exception for household size in the obligation to pay insurance for employees.
Waiting until the owner falls within compulsory social insurance before paying for employees: these are two different subjects — the obligation to pay for employees applies immediately under current regulations, regardless of whether the owner is subject to the compulsory scheme.

It depends on revenue, and on timing. Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15 expands the persons subject to compulsory social insurance to include owners of household businesses with a business registration. Decree No. 158/2025/NĐ-CP (25 June 2025), Article 3, sets the base condition: owners of household businesses paying tax by the declaration method are subject to compulsory social insurance.

The specific 1 billion VND revenue threshold is not in the original wording of Decree No. 158/2025/NĐ-CP, but comes from the guidance of Vietnam Social Security in Official Letter No. 2220/BHXH-QLT (30 June 2026), after Decree No. 141/2026/NĐ-CP (issued 29 April 2026, applied from 1 January 2026) raised the revenue threshold for value-added tax (VAT) and personal income tax from 500 million VND to 1 billion VND per year. Under this guidance, there are now only two groups:

Owner group	Social insurance participation status
Declared revenue above 1 billion VND per year	Compulsory social insurance (applied from 1 January 2026)
Declared revenue of 1 billion VND per year or below	Not yet compulsory until the end of 30 June 2029, encouraged to join voluntary social insurance; compulsory from 1 July 2029. Anyone who has already paid compulsorily before then is refunded the amount paid, after deducting any social insurance and health insurance (BHYT) benefits already received

The group with revenue of 1 billion VND or below is not a group “exempt permanently” — it is precisely the group that will move to compulsory participation from 1 July 2029 under the general roadmap of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, unless by then the household’s revenue has exceeded the 1 billion VND threshold and it falls under the compulsory scheme earlier. This is the guidance currently applied; a household with revenue fluctuating around the 1 billion VND threshold should follow announcements from the directly managing social insurance authority, since participation status may change with each year’s revenue.

An owner subject to the compulsory scheme pays social insurance and health insurance at a rate on the monthly income level chosen as the contribution basis, within the minimum and maximum bracket under current regulations; the specific contribution level should be checked against the social insurance authority’s guidance at the time of registration.

Two subjects, two timelines — do not merge them

This is the point most often confused when a household business hires people:

Employees working for the household (sales staff, cashiers, craftsmen, etc.): current regulations apply immediately — for a contract of 1 month or more, pay social insurance for that person right away, regardless of the household’s revenue.
The household business owner: compulsory social insurance applies as soon as the household’s declared revenue exceeds 1 billion VND per year; at 1 billion VND or below it is not yet compulsory, but will be compulsory from 1 July 2029 if still below the threshold by then (see the table in the section above).

Item (1) does not wait for item (2), and does not depend on item (2). A household with revenue of 600 million VND per year (not yet at the owner’s compulsory social insurance threshold) must still pay full social insurance for the employees it hires, if that person’s contract is for 1 month or more.

Probation under a separate probation contract (not a labor contract) is treated differently from a formal labor contract; a household business needs to distinguish the two clearly to avoid confusion when determining when the insurance obligation begins. When probation ends and the employee continues working under a labor contract of 1 month or more, the social insurance obligation applies from the time that labor contract takes effect.

For seasonal or temporary workers (for example a food-service household business hiring extra people during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year)), if the contract term is under 1 month it is not subject to compulsory social insurance under that contract; but if in practice the worker is hired repeatedly and continuously, the total actual working time may be considered as one continuous employment relationship — the household business should record each hiring period clearly to avoid being misunderstood as avoiding the insurance obligation by splitting contracts.

Thái Tín is the coordinating point that helps a household business review its obligations correctly and connects the right people to carry them out:

A preliminary check of the number of employees, the types of contracts in use (formal, seasonal, “collaborator”), and the current status of social insurance payments.
A clear explanation of the 1 billion VND revenue threshold that decides whether the owner is subject to compulsory social insurance, based on the household’s actual declared revenue.
Connecting a partner able to handle the labor records, registration and adjustment of social insurance.
For a household considering converting to a company, additionally coordinating the transfer of labor contracts and the insurance contribution history for employees, so that there is no interruption.

For household businesses with many employees or a complex model (multiple points of sale, combined with online sales), we have experience coordinating labor and social insurance records for a larger scale than an ordinary household business.

What to prepare right away

Review the list of people working for the household: term, how they are paid, whether there is a written contract.
Compare against the criteria “paid, has working hours, subject to management” to determine who must have a labor contract and social insurance.
Determine whether the household’s declared revenue for the year has exceeded the 1 billion VND threshold, to know whether the owner is subject to compulsory social insurance or should only join voluntarily.
If there is a plan to convert to a company, prepare a list of employees with their insurance contribution history for a complete transfer, avoiding any interruption to employees’ benefits.

Questions and answers

What is the maximum number of employees a household business may hire?

There is currently no regulation setting a ceiling on the number of employees a household business may hire. The limit of 10 employees that existed in an earlier period was abolished from Decree No. 01/2021/NĐ-CP; the current Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP (Article 82) does not reinstate this limit. However many people a household business hires, it must still fully perform its labor contract and social insurance obligations to those employees.

Must social insurance be paid for part-time workers called 'collaborators'?

Yes, if the substance is an employment relationship: they are paid, have working hours, are subject to the owner's management, and the contract (written or by agreement) has a term of 1 month or more. The name 'collaborator' does not change the nature of an employment relationship; in a dispute or inspection, the authorities look at the actual working hours, management and payment, not just the name of the contract.

Must the household business owner join compulsory social insurance?

It depends on revenue. A household business owner with a business registration and declared annual revenue above 1 billion VND is subject to compulsory social insurance from 1 January 2026 — this threshold follows the guidance of Vietnam Social Security in Official Letter No. 2220/BHXH-QLT (30 June 2026), tied to the VAT and personal income tax revenue threshold that Decree No. 141/2026/NĐ-CP has just raised from 500 million VND to 1 billion VND. An owner with revenue of 1 billion VND per year or below is not yet required until the end of 30 June 2029, is encouraged to join voluntarily, and will be required from 1 July 2029 if still below the threshold; anyone who has already paid compulsorily before then is refunded the amount paid, after deducting any social insurance and health insurance benefits already received.

At what level does the owner pay compulsory social insurance?

A household business owner subject to compulsory social insurance pays at a rate on the monthly income level the owner chooses as the contribution basis, not lower than the reference level and not higher than 20 times the reference level, according to the guidance of Vietnam Social Security. The specific contribution level should be checked against the guiding document in force at the time of registration, since it may be adjusted from period to period.

How are employees and social insurance handled when a household business converts to a company?

Employees currently working for the household need to have their labor contracts transferred to the new company and continue their social insurance contribution history, without interruption or restarting from zero. A company established on the basis of converting a household business inherits the household's rights and obligations, including obligations to employees. See the article [Converting a Household Business to a Company](/en/kien-thuc/chuyen-ho-kinh-doanh-len-cong-ty/).

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.

Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP on enterprise registration (effective 1 July 2025), Article 82 (right to establish a household business, liability with all assets), Article 87 (business locations of a household) — sets no limit on the number of employees, inheriting the approach of Decree No. 01/2021/NĐ-CP, which abolished the earlier ceiling of 10 employees under Decree No. 78/2015/NĐ-CP.
Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14: provisions on labor contracts, contract terms and the de facto employment relationship (payment of wages, being subject to the management, direction and supervision of the employer).
Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15 (effective 1 July 2025), point m, clause 1, Article 2 (expanding the persons subject to compulsory social insurance to include owners of household businesses with a business registration); providing that employees with a labor contract of 1 month or more are subject to compulsory social insurance.
Decree No. 158/2025/NĐ-CP (25 June 2025) detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance regarding compulsory social insurance, Article 3 (base condition: owners of household businesses paying tax by the declaration method are subject to compulsory social insurance; remaining owners with a business registration participate compulsorily from 1 July 2029).
Decree No. 68/2026/NĐ-CP (5 March 2026) and Decree No. 141/2026/NĐ-CP (issued 29 April 2026, applied from 1 January 2026) — raising the revenue threshold subject to VAT and personal income tax for household businesses from 500 million VND to 1 billion VND per year.
Official Letter No. 2220/BHXH-QLT (30 June 2026) of Vietnam Social Security — specific guidance on the 1 billion VND per year revenue threshold to determine whether a household business owner is subject to compulsory social insurance, tied to the VAT and personal income tax threshold as amended by Decree No. 141/2026/NĐ-CP; owners below the threshold are guided to join voluntary social insurance.
sggp.org.vn, 'Household business owners with revenue of 1 billion VND a year or less do not yet have to pay compulsory social insurance' (post871392, posted after 29 April 2026).
vtv.vn, 'With revenue under 1 billion VND, can household business owners get a refund of compulsory social insurance?' (100260823092840537, posted 23 August 2026): the 1 billion VND threshold applies from 1 January 2026, based on the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, Decree No. 158/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 141/2026/NĐ-CP; owners below the threshold who have already paid compulsorily are refunded after deducting social insurance and health insurance benefits already received.