Hire a Maid or Nanny in Ho Chi Minh City: Contract and Pay

A maid, nanny or housekeeper who works regularly in your home needs a written labour contract. Pay at least the regional minimum wage, VND 5,310,000 a month in Region I from 2026. Add the insurance amount with each wage. Tell your ward within 10 days.

By Vincent Nguyen

A person who works in your home regularly is your employee, and the law treats the job like any other. You need a written contract before day one.

Regular helper or hourly cleaner

Domestic work covers housework, housekeeping, childcare, care of the sick and elderly, driving and gardening. A domestic worker is someone who does this regularly for one or more households. The rules below are for that person.

For a few hours of cleaning, an app is simpler. bTaskee prices a 2-hour package at VND 192,000, 3 hours at VND 240,000 and 4 hours at VND 304,000. Prices move with the area, weekends, peak hours before 8 AM and after 5 PM, and public holidays.

You see the cleaner’s star rating and reviews in the app once the cleaner accepts your job. Choosing your preferred cleaner costs VND 20,000 per booking.

The written contract

The employer has to put the contract in writing. This is the Labor Code rule that matters most:

Người sử dụng lao động phải giao kết hợp đồng lao động bằng văn bản với lao động là người giúp việc gia đình.

The employer must sign a written labour contract with a domestic worker.

Labor Code 45/2019/QH14, Điều 162 khoản 1

Use Form No. 01 of Annex V to Decree 145/2020/NĐ-CP as the base, and agree each side’s rights and duties on top of it. The contract settles how and when wages are paid, daily working hours and accommodation. Anyone who hires a worker by agreement can be the employer, if an individual has full civil capacity.

Before you sign, tell the worker exactly what the job covers and what food and lodging you provide.

Pay, food, lodging and insurance

The job wage, with the worker’s food and lodging at your home counted in, cannot be below the regional minimum wage. From 1 January 2026 the monthly minimum is VND 5,310,000 in Region I and VND 4,730,000 in Region II. The hourly minimum is VND 25,500 and VND 22,700.

Pay the wage in cash or into the helper’s bank account, once or twice a month. A bank transfer means you cover the account and transfer fees. The wage rules follow Chapter VI of the Labor Code.

The decree covers households and individuals that hire workers by agreement. Region I covers Saigon, Tan Dinh, Ben Thanh, Cau Ong Lanh, Ban Co, Xuan Hoa and Nhieu Loc wards, among many others. Region II covers Ba Ria, Long Huong and Tam Long wards and the communes Binh Khanh, An Thoi Dong, Can Gio and Thanh An, among others.

If the helper eats and sleeps at your home, agree the monthly cost with the worker. It is at most 50% of the job wage in the contract. Hygienic food and lodging are yours to provide when agreed.

Insurance works differently from a payroll deduction. With each wage you pay an amount equal to your share of compulsory social insurance and health insurance. The worker uses it to enrol actively.

Hours, rest and holidays

Normal working time is at most 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Chapter VII of the Labor Code governs working and rest time for domestic workers.

On a normal day you give at least 8 hours of rest, including 6 continuous hours in 24 hours. If weekly rest cannot be arranged, the worker gets an average of at least 4 days off a month.

Employees are off with full pay for 5 days at Lunar New Year. After 12 months with you, annual leave is 12 working days on full pay in normal conditions.

Ending the contract

Either side may end the contract at any time, giving at least 15 days’ notice. The decree adds that no reason is needed.

Some cases need no notice. A worker may leave without notice when not paid in full or on time, with the exception in Article 97 clause 4 of the Labor Code. You may end it without notice if the worker leaves without a good reason for 5 working days in a row or more.

If you break the notice period, you pay the worker the wages for the days of notice not given. Severance under Article 46 of the Labor Code follows when the contract ends in the cases listed. For a worker with 12 months or more, it is half a month’s wage per year worked.

When the worker returns home after the contract ends, you pay the travel fare, unless the worker ended the contract before its term.

Your duties and what is forbidden

You instruct the worker on the machines, equipment and fire precautions linked to the job, and provide personal protective equipment.

Three acts are forbidden for an employer. Keeping the worker’s identity papers is one. Giving work outside the labour contract is another. The third is mistreatment, sexual harassment, forced labour or violence.

Tell your ward within 10 days

The last step is paperwork with your ward. This is the rule:

Người sử dụng lao động phải thông báo cho Ủy ban nhân dân xã, phường, thị trấn (sau đây gọi là Ủy ban nhân dân cấp xã) việc sử dụng lao động, chấm dứt sử dụng lao động tương ứng theo Mẫu số … Phụ lục V ban hành kèm theo Nghị định này trong thời hạn 10 ngày kể từ ngày ký hợp đồng lao động hoặc chấm dứt hợp đồng lao động.

The employer must notify the commune-level People’s Committee (ward) of taking on and ending domestic work, on Forms No. 02 and No. 03 of Annex V, within 10 days of signing or ending the contract.

Decree 145/2020/NĐ-CP, Điều 90 khoản 2

File Form No. 02 of Annex V within 10 days of signing, and Form No. 03 of Annex V within 10 days of ending.

Take it to the ward that covers your home, because each ward office receives these notices for the area it manages. The new ward names are in the address format guide. A July 2026 government draft touches only the district-level duty in Article 91 clause 2 for domestic work.

Before you hire

• Sign the contract before the first day, based on Form No. 01 of Annex V.
• Set a wage at or above the regional minimum for your ward.
• Add the insurance amount to every wage payment.
• Never hold the worker’s passport or ID card.
• Notify the ward within 10 days of signing.
• Give 15 days’ notice, or pay for the days missing.

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Not confirmed: Foreign employers: the employer definition names no nationality rule, so confirm with your ward before you sign. Part-time helpers: the decree sets no number of hours or days for "regularly", so a helper who comes two days a week is not clearly settled.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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