JOINT CIRCULAR No. 07/2003/TTLT/BTC-BNV-BYT GUIDING THE AMENDMENT OF POINT 2 PART I OF CIRCULAR No. 150/LB-TT dated April 16, 1996, ISSUED BY THE JOINT BOARD OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL SERVICE DEPARTMENT, FINANCE MINISTRY, AND HEALTH MINISTRY TO IMPLEMENT DECISION No. 794/TTg dated December 5, 1995 OF THE PRIME MINISTER ON CERTAIN REGULATIONS FOR SPECIAL ALLOWANCES FOR CIVIL SERVANTS AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF IN THE HEALTH SECTOR

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regarding guidance on amending Point 2, Part I of Circular No. 150/LB-TT dated April 16, 1996 issued by the Inter-Ministerial Board of Personnel of the Government - Ministry of Finance - Ministry of Health guiding the implementation of Decision No. 794/TTG dated December 5, 1995 of the Prime Minister stipulating certain special allowances for civil servants and employees in the Health Sector, civil servant of the Health Sector

Pursuant to the Labor Code dated June 23, 1994; Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Labor Code dated April 2, 2002;
Pursuant to Decree No. 109/2002/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2002 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 195/CP dated December 31, 1994 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Labor Code regarding working hours and rest periods;
Based on Decree No. 10/2002/ND-CP dated January 16, 2002 of the Government on financial regulations applicable to public service units with income;
Pursuant to Decision No. 794/TTg dated December 5, 1995 of the Prime Minister stipulating certain special allowances for civil servants and employees in the health sector;
The Ministry of Finance - Ministry of Home Affairs - Ministry of Health guide the allowance system for 24/24-hour duty and overtime pay for civil servants and employees in the health sector as follows:

I- REGIME OF DUTY ALLOWANCE AND OVERTIME PAY

1- The duty allowance applies to civil servants and employees performing medical specialty duty outside standard working hours, also known as 24/24-hour duty (after completing standard working hours in a day, they must continue to stand by for 16 additional hours outside standard working hours), specifically as follows:

a) A duty allowance of 7,000 dong per shift shall be applied to:

- Civil servants and employees with medical specialties working at Level 1 hospitals and specialized hospitals for tuberculosis, leprosy, mental health.

- Civil servants and employees with medical specialties working in departments such as surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, infectious diseases, psychiatry, pathology, emergency care (including the emergency care section in other departments) at hospitals and district and county health centers.

- Civil servants and employees with medical specialties working at state-managed maternity homes.

- Civil servants and employees with medical specialties standing by to combat epidemics at state-managed healthcare facilities during epidemic periods.

b) A duty allowance of 5,000 dong per shift shall be applied to civil servants and employees with medical specialties working at units outside the aforementioned provisions in hospitals, district health centers, specialized hospitals with beds, rehabilitation centers, and regional multi-disciplinary clinics, which are state-assigned targets.

c) A duty allowance of 3,000 dong per shift shall be applied to medical professionals working at grassroots health stations.

2- Civil servants and employees with medical specialties performing 24/24-hour duty shall be arranged to take compensatory leave for one day immediately following their shift and will still receive full salary for the compensatory leave day in their monthly salary.

3- Civil servants and employees with medical specialties, in addition to the 24/24-hour duty mentioned above, if they work overtime, shall be paid according to the regulations set out in Section 15, Article 1 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Labor Code No. 35/2002/QH10 dated April 2, 2002 of the National Assembly, specifically as follows:

3.1- Workers who work overtime shall be paid wages based on the wage rate of their current job as follows:

a) On regular days, at least 150%.

b) On weekly rest days, at least 200%.

c) On holidays and rest days with pay, at least 300%.

d) If workers are granted compensatory leave for overtime hours, then the employer only needs to pay the difference compared to the wage rate of their current job on a normal working day.

e) Workers who work night shifts from 10 PM to 6 AM or 9 PM to 5 AM, depending on the climate zone specified by the Government, shall be paid an additional amount of at least 30% of the wage rate for daytime work.

3.2- The calculation method for overtime pay is as follows:

3.3- If working overtime during night shifts from 10 PM to 6 AM or 9 PM to 5 AM, an additional amount of at least 30% of the wage rate for daytime work shall be paid. The calculation method for night shift supplements is as follows:

3.4- The overtime working hours of workers shall be implemented according to the provisions set out in Point 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 109/2002/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2002 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 195/CP dated December 31, 1994 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Labor Code regarding working hours and rest periods.

II- IMPLEMENTATION

1- For healthcare facilities meeting the conditions to implement the financial management mechanism under Decree No. 10/2002/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2002 of the Government.

Based on current regulations on professional matters and the unit's regular operating funds (including funds allocated from the state budget and revenue from public services); the heads of healthcare facilities proactively establish rules for paying duty allowances and standards and quotas for shifts, higher duty allowances than those stipulated in Point 1, Section I of this Circular, suitable for each department within the unit; ensuring timely payment of duty allowances to workers according to the specified categories within the scope of the unit's operational funds after reaching consensus with the trade union organization and making it public within the unit.

2- For healthcare facilities not yet meeting the conditions to implement Decree No. 10/2002/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2002 of the Government (healthcare facilities without public service revenue; village, town, and township health stations);

Based on the scope of the unit's regular operating funds, the units reasonably arrange and organize 24/24-hour duty shifts and resolve the regime for workers according to the provisions set out in Point 1, Section I of this Circular.

3- The funding for the aforementioned regime shall be implemented according to the current budget management hierarchy. Directors of healthcare facilities base their financial resources for regular operations to pay duty allowances and overtime pay to workers according to the relevant regulations.

As for the debts of the direct subsidies for the years 2001 and 2002, it is recommended that the Ministries, sectors, and localities review and allocate funds to pay the workers. In cases where there are genuine difficulties and the allocation of payment funds is not possible, the Ministries and localities shall submit documents to the Joint Ministry for consideration and resolution.

4- This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2003, and replaces Point 2 of Part I of Circular No. 150/TT-LB dated April 16, 1996, issued jointly by the Government Organizational Structure - Civil Service Department, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Health, guiding the implementation of Decision No. 794/TTg dated December 5, 1995, of the Prime Minister regarding certain special allowances for civil servants and employees in the health sector.

5- During the implementation process, if any issues arise, they should be reported to the Joint Ministry for consideration and resolution.