🇮🇳 Hire in India vs 🇻🇳 Vietnam
Statutory employer on-costs are lower in India; the full picture depends on salary level, termination exposure and how fast you need the person on payroll.
Not professional advice. Rates, rules and prices change often. Figures here are researched estimates from the sources listed; anything marked “unverified” needs checking with the provider or a local adviser before you rely on it.
| India | Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Employer on-costs | 5–10% | 21.5–23.5% |
| Total cost on a $60,000 salary | $63,000–$66,000 | $72,900–$74,100 |
| Mandatory benefits | Provident fund; Gratuity; ESIC medical cover for lower-paid employees; Statutory bonus for eligible low-paid staff (8.33%-20%); Maternity benefit 26 weeks; Paid leave and holidays under state Shops & Establishments Acts | 12 days annual leave; 11 public holidays; 13th-month salary is customary and often contractual but not statutory; Maternity leave 6 months; Social insurance, health and unemployment insurance; Overtime pay |
| Probation | Not set by statute; commonly 3-6 months by contract. | Up to 180 days for enterprise managers; 60 days for roles requiring college level or above; 30 days for intermediate-level roles; 6 working days for other jobs. Probation salary must be at least 85% of the job's salary. |
| Notice and severance | Notice is contractual (commonly 30-90 days). Retrenchment under the Industrial Relations Code is reported to require one month's notice and compensation of 15 days' average pay per completed year of service (not checked against the Code text); gratuity is separate. Fixed-term employees are entitled to gratuity pro rata after one year. | Indefinite-term contracts: employee must give 45 days' notice (employer must also give 45 days where lawful ground exists); fixed-term 12-36 months: 30 days; fixed-term under 12 months: 3 working days. Employment allowance (trop cap thoi viec): 0.5 month's average salary per year worked. Job-loss allowance for redundancy: 1 month per year, minimum 2 months. |
| Paid leave | Set by state Shops and Establishments Acts and company policy, so it varies; typically 12-24 days of earned/casual/sick leave plus 8-15 public holidays (exact figures state-specific and not confirmed). The labour codes provide earned leave at 1 day per 20 days worked. | 12 working days of annual leave for normal conditions (more for heavy/hazardous work and for each 5 years of service), plus 11 public holidays. |
| Contractor risk | Contractors and freelancers are very common (consultancy agreements, invoicing under GST). Misclassification risk is moderate: Indian courts look at control and integration, and the labour codes tighten contract labour rules. Cross-border contractors can create permanent establishment or tax risks for the foreign company if directed from abroad. | Independent contractors are common, but a worker who works under employer direction and receives wages is deemed an employee under the 2019 Labour Code. Misclassification can lead to administrative fines and back-payment of social insurance. Risk is moderate. |
| EOR onboarding | Days to ~2 weeks (provider claims; specific figure unverified) | Days to ~2 weeks (provider claims; specific figure unverified) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30), no DST; 9.5-10.5 hours ahead of US Eastern. | ICT (UTC+7), no DST; 11-12 hours ahead of US Eastern. |
| Data confidence | medium | medium |
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FAQ
Is it cheaper to hire in India or Vietnam?
On statutory employer on-costs alone, India is lower (5–10%). Salary levels, EOR fees and benefits also matter; use the cost calculator.