Circular No. 22/2008/TT-BLDTBXH guiding the midday meal system in state-owned enterprises

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Midday Meal Regulations

 in State-Owned Enterprises

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Pursuant to Decree No. 199/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2004 of the Government on financial management regulations for state-owned enterprises and state capital investment in other businesses, following the opinions of the Ministry of Finance in Circular No. 6526/BTC-TCDN dated June 6, 2008, the General Confederation of Labor Vietnam in Circular No. 917/TLĐ dated May 30, 2008, and relevant ministries and sectors, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs provides guidelines for implementing midday meal regulations in state-owned enterprises as follows:

I. SCOPE AND APPLICABLE ENTITIES:

Article 1. Scope of Application:

a) State-owned enterprises established, managed, and operated under the Law on State-Owned Enterprises, including:

- State-owned corporation;

- Independent state-owned enterprises;

- Parent companies that are state-owned enterprises within economic groups established or approved for establishment by the Prime Minister and decided upon by the Minister, Head of a ministry equivalent to a minister, Head of a government agency, Chairman of the People's Committee of a province or centrally governed city, to establish;

- Parent companies that are state-owned enterprises within holding companies or companies operating under a parent company-subcompany model;

- Holding companies or independent subsidiaries with 100% state capital belonging to economic groups during the period before conversion and re-registration pursuant to Decree No. 139/2007/NĐ-CP dated September 5, 2007 of the Government detailing and guiding implementation of certain provisions of the Enterprise Law;

- Independent subsidiaries with 100% state capital belonging to holding companies established by state investment decisions.

b) Organizations and units permitted to engage in production, business, and service activities under administrative agencies, public institutions, political parties, mass organizations, and self-financed social organizations.

The entities mentioned above are collectively referred to as enterprises.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

a) Workers employed under labor contracts stipulated in Decree No. 44/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 9, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding implementation of certain provisions of the Labor Code regarding labor contracts in enterprises;

b) Members of the Board of Directors, members of the Supervisory Board, members of the Board of Members (or Chairman of the Company), Supervisors, members of the Management Board, General Director, Director, Deputy General Director, Deputy Director, and Chief Accountant;

c) Full-time Party and mass organization cadres working in enterprises.

These subjects are collectively referred to as workers.

Notwithstanding, workers in certain industries and occupations in state-owned enterprises currently applying the fixed quantity meal system and sea allowance as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 4, Article 1 of Decision No. 234/2005/QĐ-TTg dated September 26, 2005 on special regimes for workers, staff, and officials in certain industries and occupations in state-owned enterprises, Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 1 of Decision No. 72/2008/QĐ-TTg dated May 30, 2008 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decision No. 234/2005/QĐ-TTg mentioned above, and Joint Circular No. 35/2005/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTC dated December 16, 2005, and Joint Circular No. 16/2008/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTC dated August 15, 2008 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance guiding implementation shall not apply the midday meal regime as prescribed in this Circular.

II. MIDDAY MEAL AMOUNT

1. Based on the food ration to ensure worker health, consumer price index, and the company's ability to pay, the General Director of the enterprise, after reaching consensus with the grassroots trade union committee, decides on the amount for a midday meal but the maximum expenditure for a midday meal per day for one person shall not exceed 450,000 VND/month.

2. When the consumer price index for staple foods published by the General Statistics Office increases by 15% or more compared to the last adjustment, after consulting with the Ministry of Finance, the General Confederation of Labor Vietnam, and relevant ministries and sectors, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will guide adjustments to the midday meal amount accordingly.

III. PRINCIPLES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE MIDDAY MEAL REGIME

1. Meals are provided based on actual working days, including overtime days (meeting the standard working hours chosen by the enterprise but not exceeding 8 hours/day as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3, Chapter II of Decree No. 195/CP dated December 31, 1994 of the Government detailing and guiding implementation of certain provisions of the Labor Code on working hours and rest periods);

2. On non-working days, including sick leave, maternity leave, annual leave, and unpaid leave, there is no midday meal and no payment is made;

3. On working days with less than 50% of the standard working hours, there is no midday meal;

4. In addition to the principles stated above, the enterprise may establish additional principles if deemed beneficial for enhancing individual responsibility towards the company's production and business efficiency;

5. For enterprises facing difficulties in incorporating midday meal costs into product costs or business expenses, the enterprise must find ways to reduce other costs to fund midday meals. If the enterprise has taken all possible measures to save other costs but still lacks funds, the General Director of the enterprise, after reaching consensus with the grassroots trade union committee, may temporarily suspend implementation of the midday meal regime as prescribed in this Circular.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Based on the midday meal amount prescribed, the enterprise is responsible for organizing midday meals for workers and shall not provide cash payments. In exceptional cases where it is impossible to organize midday meals, after reaching consensus with the grassroots trade union committee, the enterprise may provide cash to workers to arrange their own midday meals.

2. Midday meal expenses are accounted for in product costs or business expenses.

3. Based on the guidance content of this Circular, ministries managing sectors, provincial People's Committees under the central government, state-owned economic groups, and special-purpose corporations shall direct, inspect, and supervise the implementation of midday meal systems at companies under their management to ensure that such systems have a positive impact on increasing labor productivity, enhancing production efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring workers' health.

4. For construction projects funded by the state budget and designated for bidding by the State, based on the characteristics, scale, and actual conditions of each project, after consulting with contractors, investors shall request the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to resolve the midday meal allowance levels for workers in accordance with each specific project.

5. State-owned joint-stock companies with 100% state capital contribution shall apply the provisions of this Circular.

6. State-owned enterprises that have been restructured into joint-stock companies with two or more shareholders and stock corporations in accordance with the Enterprise Law, as well as other types of enterprises under various economic components, may apply the provisions of this Circular.

7. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

The Circular No. 15/1999/TT-BLDTBXH dated June 22, 1999, issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of midday meal systems for workers and officials in state-owned enterprises, is hereby abolished.

Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported by relevant ministries managing sectors, provincial People's Committees under the central government, and companies to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs for consideration and resolution./.