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LABOUR CODE
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 5. Rights and obligations of employees

1. An employee has the rights to:

a) work; freely choose an occupation, workplace or occupation; participate in basic and

advanced occupational training; develop professional skills; suffer no discrimination,
forced labor and sexual harassment in the workplace;
b) receive a salary commensurate with his/her occupational skills on the basis of an
agreement with the employer; be provided with personal protective equipment and work
in an occupationally safe and healthy environment; take statutory sick leaves, annual paid
leaves and receive collective welfare benefits;
c) establish, join an representative organization of employees, occupational associations
and other organizations in accordance with law; request and participate in dialogues with
the employer, implementation of democracy regulations and collective bargaining with
the employer; receive consultancy at the workplace to protect his/her legitimate rights
and interests; participate in management activities according to the employer’s
regulations;
d) refuse to work if he/she finds that the work directly threatens his/her life or health;
dd) unilaterally terminate the employment contract;
e) go on strike;
g) exercise other rights prescribed by law.

2. An employee has the obligations to:

a) implement the employment contract, collective bargaining agreement and other lawful
agreements;
c) obey internal labor regulations, the lawful management, administration and supervision
by the employer;
c) implement regulations of laws on labor, employments, vocational education, social
insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational safety and health.

Article 6. Rights and obligations of employers

1. An employer has the rights to:

a) recruit, arrange and manage and supervise employees; give commendation and take
actions against violations of internal labor regulations;

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b) establish, join and operate in employer representative organization, occupational

associations and other organizations in accordance with law;
c) request the representative organization of employees to negotiate the conclusion of the
collective bargaining agreement; participate in settlement of labor disputes and strikes;
discuss with the representative organization of employees about issues related to labor
relations and improvement of the material and spiritual lives of employees;
d) temporarily close the workplace;
dd) exercise other rights prescribed by law.

2. An employer has the obligations to:

a) implement the employment contracts, collective bargaining agreement and other

lawful agreements with employees; respect the honor and dignity of employees;
b) establish a mechanism for and hold dialogue with the employees and the representative
organization of employees; implement the regulations on grassroots-level democracy;
c) Provide basic training and advanced training in order to help employees improve their
professional skills or change their occupations;
d) implement regulations of laws on labor, employments, vocational education, social
insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational safety and health;
develop and implement solutions against sexual harassment in the workplace;
dd) Participate in development of the national occupational standards, assessment and
recognition of employees’ professional skills.

Article 8. Forbidden actions

1. Labor discrimination.

2. Maltreatment of employees, forced labor.

3. Sexual harassment in the workplace.

4. Taking advantage of occupational training or apprenticeships to exploit the

trainees or apprentices, or persuade or force them to act against the law.

5. Employing untrained people or people without occupational training certificates

to do the jobs or works that have to be done by trained workers or holders of occupational
training certificates.

6. Persuading, inciting, promising advertising or otherwise tricking employees into

human trafficking, exploitation of labor or forced labor; taking advantage of employment
brokerage or guest worker program to commit violations against the law.

7. Illegal employment of minors.

Chapter III
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EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

Section 1. CONCLUSION OF AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

Article 16. Obligations to provide information before conclusion of an employment

contract

1. The employer shall provide the employee with truthful information about the
job, workplace, working conditions, working hours, rest periods, occupational safety and
health, wage, forms of wage payment, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment
insurance, regulations on business secret, technological know-how, and other issues
directly related to the conclusion of the employment contract if requested by the
employee.

2. The employee shall provide the employer with truthful information about
his/her full name, date of birth, gender, residence, educational level, occupational skills
and qualifications, health conditions and other issues directly related to the conclusion of
the employment contract which are requested by the employer.

Article 18. Competence to conclude employment contracts

1. Employees may directly conclude their employment contracts, except for the
cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. In respect of seasonal works or certain jobs which have a duration of less than
12 months, a group of employees aged 18 or older may authorized the representative of
the group to conclude the employment contract, in which case such employment contract
shall be effective as if it was separately concluded by each of the employees.
The employment contract concluded by the said representative must be enclosed with a
list clearly stating the full names, ages, genders, residences and signatures of all
employees concerned.

3. The person who concludes the employment contract on the employer’s side
shall be:

a) The legal representative of the enterprise or an authorized person as prescribed by law;

b) The head of the organization that is a juridical person, or an authorized person as
prescribed by law;
c) The representative of the household, artels or an organization that is not a juridical
person, or an authorized person as prescribed by law;
d) The individual who directly hires the employee.
4. The person who concludes the employment contract on the employee’s side
shall be:

a) The employee himself/herself if he/she is 18 or older;

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b) The employee aged 15 to under 18 with a written consensus by his/her legal

representative;
c) The employee aged under 15 and his/her legal representative;
d) The employee lawfully authorized by the group of employees to conclude the
employment contract.

5. The person who is authorized to conclude the employment contract must not
authorize another person to conclude the employment contract.

Article 21. Contents of employment contracts

1. An employment contract shall have the following major contents:

a) The employer’s name, address; full name and position of the person who concludes the
contract on the employer’s side;
b) Full name, date of birth, gender, residence, identity card number or passport number of
the person who concludes the contract on the employee’s side;
c) The job and workplace;
d) Duration of the employment contract;
dd) Job- or position-based salary, form of salary payment, due date for payment of salary,
allowances and other additional payments;
e) Regimes for promotion and pay rise;
g) Working hours, rest periods;
h) Personal protective equipment for the employee;
i) Social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance;
k) Basic training and advanced training, occupational skill development.

2. If the employees’ job is directly related to the business secret, technological

know-how as prescribed by law, the employer has the rights to sign a written agreement
with the employee on the content and duration of the protection of the business secret,
technology know-how, and on the benefit and the compensation obligation in case of
violation by the employee.

3. If the employee works in agriculture, forestry, fishery, or salt production, both

parties may exclude some of the aforementioned contents and negotiate additional
agreements on settlement in the case when the contract execution is affected by natural
disaster, fire or weather.

4. The contents of the employment contract with an employee who is recruited to

work as the director of a state-invested enterprise shall be stipulated by the Government.

5. The Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs elaborate Clauses 1, 2
and 3 of this Article.

Section 2. PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

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Article 30. Suspension of an employment contract

1. Cases of suspension of an employment contract:

a) The employee is conscripted into the army or militia;

b) The employee is held in custody or detention in accordance with the criminal
procedure law;
c) The employee is sent to a reformatory school, drug rehabilitation center or correctional
facility;
d) The female employee is pregnant as specified in Article 138 of this Code;
dd) The employee is designated as the executive of a wholly state-owned single-member
limited liability company;
e) The employee is authorized to representative the state investment in another
enterprise;
g) The employee is authorized to represent the enterprise’s investment in another
enterprise;
h) Other circumstances as agreed by both parties.

2. During the suspension of the employment contract, the employee shall not
receive the salary and benefits specified in the employment contract, unless otherwise
agreed by both parties or prescribed by law.

Section 3. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

Article 35. The right of an employee to unilaterally terminates the employment

contract

1. An employee shall have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment

contract, provided he/she notices the employer in advance:

a) at least 45 days in case of an indefinite-term employment contract;

b) at least 30 days in case of an employment contract with a fixed term of 12 – 36
months;
c) at least 03 working days in case of an employment contract with a fixed term of under
12 months;
d) The notice period in certain fields and jobs shall be specified by the government.

2. An employee is shall have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment

contract without prior notice if he/she:

a) is not assigned to the work or workplace or not provided with the working conditions
as agreed in the employment contract, except for the cases specified in Article 29 of this
Labor Code;

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b) is not paid adequately or on schedule, except for the case specified in Clause 4 Article
97 of this Code.
c) is maltreated, assaulted, physically or verbally insulted by the employer in a manner
that affects the employee’s health, dignity or honor; is forced to work against his/her
will;
d) is sexually harassed in the workplace;
dd) is pregnant and has to stop working in accordance with Clause 1 Article 138 of this
Labor Code.
e) reaches the retirement age specified in Article 169 of this Labor Code, unless
otherwise agreed by the parties; or
g) finds that the employer fails to provide truthful information in accordance with Clause
1 Article 16 of this Labor Code in a manner that affects the performance of the
employment contract.

Article 36. The right of an employer to unilaterally terminates the employment

contract

1. An employer shall have the right to unilaterally terminate an employment

contract in one of the following circumstances:

a) The employee repeatedly fails to perform his/her work according to the criteria for
assessment of employees’ fulfillment of duties established by the employer. The criteria
for assessment of employees’ fulfillment of duties shall be established by the employer
with consideration taken of opinions offered by the representative organization of
employees (if any);
b) The employee is sick or has an accident and remains unable to work after having
received treatment for a period of 12 consecutive months in the case of an indefinite-term
employment contract, for 06 consecutive months in the case of an employment contract
with a fixed term of 12 – 36 months, or more than half the duration of the contract in case
of an employment contract with a fixed term of less than 12 months.
Upon recovery, the employer may consider concluding another employment contract
with the employee;
c) In the event of a natural disaster, fire, major epidemic, hostility, relocation or
downsizing requested by a competent authority, the employer has to lay off employees
after all possibilities have been exhausted;
d) The employee is not present at the workplace after the time limit specified in Article
31 of this Labor Code;
dd) The employee reaches the retirement age specified in Article 169 of this Labor Code,
unless otherwise agreed by the parties;
e) The employee is not present at work without acceptable excuses for at least 05
consecutive working days;
g) The employee fails to provide truthful information during the conclusion of the
employment contract in accordance with Clause 2 Article 16 of this Labor Code in a
manner that affects the recruitment.

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2. When unilaterally terminating the employment contract in any of the cases

specified in Point a, b, c, dd and g Clause 1 of this Article, the employer shall inform the
employee in advance:
a) at least 45 days in case of an indefinite-term employment contract;
b) at least 30 days in case of an employment contract with a fixed term of 12 – 36
months;
c) at least 03 working days in the case of an employment contract with a fixed term of
less than 12 months and in the cases stipulated in Point b Clause 1 of this Article;
d) The notice period in certain fields and jobs shall be specified by the government.

3. When unilaterally terminating the employment contract in the cases mentioned

in Point d and Point e Clause 1 of this Article, the employer is not required to inform the
employee in advance.

Article 37. Cases in which an employer is prohibited from unilaterally terminating

an employment contract

1. The employee is suffering from an illness or work accident, occupational

disease and is being treated or nursed under the decision of a competent health institution,
except for the cases stipulated in Point b Clause 1 Article 36 of this Labor Code.

2. The employee is on annual leave, personal leave, or any other types of leave
permitted by the employer.

3. The employee is pregnant, on maternal leave or raising a child under 12 months

of age.

Article 41. Obligations of the employer upon illegal unilateral termination of the
employment contract

1. The employer that illegally unilaterally terminates an employment contract with

an employee shall reinstate the employee in accordance with the original employment
contract, and pay the salary, social insurance, health insurance and unemployment
insurance premiums for the period during which the employee was not allowed to work,
plus at least 02 months’ salary specified in the employment contract.
After the reinstatement, the employee must return the severance allowance or redundancy
allowance (if any) to the employer.
Where there is no longer a vacancy for the position or work as agreed in the employment
contract and the employee still wishes to work, the employer shall negotiate revisions to
the employment contract.
Where the employer fails to comply with the provisions on notice period in Clause 2
Article 36 of this Labor Code, the employer shall pay a compensation that is worth the
employee’s salary for the remaining notice period from the termination date.

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2. In case the employee does not wish to return to work, in addition to the
compensation prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the employer shall pay a severance
allowance in accordance with Article 46 of this Code in order to terminate the
employment contract.

3. Where the employer does not wish to reinstate the employee and the employee
agrees, in addition to the compensation mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article and the
severance allowance mentioned in Article 46 of this Labor Code, both parties shall
negotiate an additional compensation which shall be at least 2 months’ salary under the
employment contract in order to terminate the employment contract.

Article 42. Obligations of the employer in case of changes in structure, technology or

changes due to economic reasons

1. Changes in structure and technology include:

a) Changes in the organizational structure, personnel rearrangement;
b) Changes in processes, technology, equipment associated with the employer’s business
lines;
c) Changes in products or product structure.

2. Changes due to economic reasons include:

a) Economic crisis or economic depression;
b) Changes in law and state policies upon restructuring of the economy or
implementation of international commitments.

3. If the change affects the employment of a large number of employees, the

employer shall develop and implement a labor utilization plan prescribed in Article 44 of
this Labor Code. In case of new vacancies, priority shall be given to retraining of the
existing employees for continued employment.

4. If a change due to economic reasons threatens to cause a large number of

employees to lose their jobs, the employer shall develop and implement a labor utilization
plan as prescribed in Article 44 of this Code.

5. In case the employer is unable to create provide employment and has to resort to
dismissing employees, the employer shall pay them redundancy allowances in
accordance with Article 47 of this Labor Code.

6. The dismissal of employees in the cases mentioned in this Article shall only be
implemented after a discussion with the representative organization of employees (if any)
and after giving prior notice of 30 days to the People’s Committee of the province and the
employees.

Article 43. Obligations of the employer in case of full division, partial division,
consolidation, merger of the enterprise; sale, lease, conversion of the enterprise;
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transfer of the right to ownership or right to enjoyment of assets of the enterprise or

cooperative

1. In case the full division, partial division, consolidation, merger of the enterprise;
sale, lease, conversion of the enterprise; transfer of the right to ownership or right to
enjoyment of assets of the enterprise or cooperative affects the employment of a large
number of employees, the employer shall develop a labor utilization plan as prescribed in
Article 44 of this Labor Code.

2. The current employer and the next employer shall implement the adopted labour
utilization plan.

3. The laid off employees will receive redundancy allowances in accordance with
Article 47 of this Code.

Article 55. Labor outsourcing contracts

1. The outsourcing enterprise and the client enterprise shall conclude a written
labor outsourcing contract, which is made into 02 copies, each of which shall be kept by a
party.

2. A labor outsourcing contract shall have the following major contents:

a) The work location, the vacancy which will be filled by the outsourced worker, detailed
description of the work, and detailed requirements for the outsourced worker;
b) The labor outsourcing duration; the starting date of the dispatch period;
c) Working hours, rest periods, occupational safety and health at the workplace;
d) Responsibility for compensation in case of occupational accidents and occupational
diseases;
dd) Obligations of each party to the outsourced worker.

3. The labor outsourcing contract shall not include any agreement on the rights and
benefits of employee which are less favorable than those stipulated in the concluded
employment contract between the employee and the outsourcing enterprise.

Article 56. Rights and obligations of the outsourcing enterprise

Apart from the rights and obligations specified in Article 6 of this Labor Code, the
outsourcing enterprise also has the following rights and obligations:

1. Provide an outsourced worker who meets the requirements of the client

enterprise and the employment contract signed with the employee;

2. Inform the outsourced worker of the contents of the labor outsourcing contract;

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3. Provide the client enterprise with the curriculum vitae of the outsourced worker,
and his/her requirements.

4. Pay the outsourced worker a salary that is not lower than that of a directly hired
employee of the client enterprise who has equal qualifications and performs the same or
equal work;

5. Keep records of the number of outsourced workers, the client enterprise, submit
periodic reports to the provincial labor authority.

6. Take disciplinary measures against the outsourced worker in cases where the
client enterprise returns the employee for violations against labor regulations.

Chapter IV
OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING

Article 60. Responsibilities of employers for provision of basic and advanced

occupational training and occupational skill development

1. Employers shall develop annual basic and advanced occupation training and
occupational skill development plans for their employees and allocate budget for
implementation thereof; provide training for employees before reassigning them.

2. Employers shall submit annual reports on results of the basic and advanced
occupational training and occupational skill development they provide to the provincial
labor authority.
Chapter V
DIALOGUE AT WORKPLACE, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

Section 2. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Article 68. The right to request collective bargaining of the internal representative
organization of employees

1. The representative organization of employees has the right to request collective

bargaining whenever it reaches the minimum number of members as prescribed by the
Government.

2. In case an enterprise has more than one internal representative organization of

employees that satisfies the requirements in Clause 1 of this Article, the one that has the
most members will have the right to request the collective bargaining. Other

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representative organizations of employees may participate in the collective bargaining if

agreed by the requesting organization.

3. If none of the employees‘ representative organizations of an enterprise satisfies

the requirements in Clause 1 of this Article, they may request collective bargaining if
their total number of members reaches the minimum number specified in Clause 1 of this
Article.

4. The Government shall provide for settlement of disputes among the parties over
the right to request collective bargaining.

Article 74. Responsibilities of the People’s Committees of provinces in collective

bargaining

1. Provide training in collective bargaining skills for the parties to the collective
bargaining.

2. Provide information and data about the economy, society, labor market and
labor relation in order to facilitate the process of collective bargaining.

3. Assist the parties in reaching an agreement during the collective bargaining on

its own initiative or when requested by the parties. If no request is made by the parties,
the assistance shall only be provided if it is accepted by the parties.

4. Establish a collective bargaining council when requested by parties to the multi-

enterprise collective bargaining in accordance with Article 73 of this Labor Code.

Section 3. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

Article 75. Collective bargaining agreements

1. A collective bargaining agreement means an agreement that is reached through

a collective bargaining and concluded in writing by the parties.
Collective bargaining agreements include enterprise-level collective bargaining
agreements, sectoral collective bargaining agreements, multi-enterprise collective
bargaining agreements and other types of collective bargaining agreements.

2. The contents of a collective bargaining agreement must not be contrary to the

law, and should provide for the terms and conditions that are more favorable to the
employees than those provided by law.

Article 78. Effective date and effective period of collective bargaining agreements

1. The effective date of a collective bargaining agreement shall be agreed upon by

the parties and specified in the agreement itself. In case the parties do not agree upon an
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effective date, the collective bargaining agreement shall be effective on its conclusion
date.
An effective collective bargaining agreement shall be upheld by the parties.

2. An enterprise-level effective collective bargaining agreement shall be binding

on the employer and all employees of the enterprise. An effective sectoral or multi-level
collective bargaining agreement shall be binding on all employers and employees of the
participating enterprises.

3. The effective period of a collective bargaining agreement shall 01 – 03 years.

The specific effective period shall be agreed upon by the parties and specified in the
collective bargaining agreement. The parties may agree upon various effective periods for
different parts of a collective bargaining agreement.

Chapter VI
SALARIES

Article 91. Statutory minimum wages

1. Statutory minimum wages are minimum wages of workers who do the simplest
jobs in normal working conditions that are sufficient to support themselves and their
families, and appropriate for socio-economic development.

2. Statutory minimum wages per month or per hour vary according to regions.

3. Statutory minimum wages shall be adjusted according to minimum living

standards of workers and their families; the relation between statutory minimum wages
and usual salaries; consumer price index, economy growth rate; labor supply and
demand, productivity and financial capacity of enterprises.

4. The Government shall elaborate this Article; decide and announce the statutory
minimum wages on the basis of proposals of National Salary Council.

Article 93. Establishment of pay scales, payrolls and labor productivity norms

1. Every employer shall establish their worn pay scale, payroll and labor
productivity norms as the basis for recruitment and use of labor, negotiation and payment
of salaries.

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2. The labor rate shall be an average value that is achievable to most employees
without having to extend their normal working hours, and must be experimented before
officially introduced.

3. The employer shall consult with the representative organization of employees

(if any) during establishment of the pay scale, payroll and labor productivity norms.
The pay scale, payroll and labor productivity norms shall be publicly posted at the
workplace before they are implemented.

Article 94. Salary payment rules

1. Employers shall directly, fully and punctually pay salaries to their employees. In
the cases where an employee is not able to directly receive his/her salary, the employer
may pay it through a person legally authorized by the employee.
2. Employers must not restrict or interfere their employees’ spending of their
salaries; must not force their employees to spend their salaries on goods or services of the
employers or any particular providers decided by the employers.

Article 97. Salary payment time

1. An employer who receives an hourly, daily or weekly salary shall be paid after
every working hour, day or week respectively, or shall receive a sum within not more
than 15 days as agreed by both parties.

2. An employee who receives a monthly or bi-weekly salary shall be paid after

every month or every two weeks respectively. The payment time shall be periodic and
agreed upon by both parties.

3. An employee who receives a piece rate or a fixed amount shall be paid as

agreed by both parties. In case a task cannot be completed within one month, the
employee shall receive a monthly advance payment based on the amount of work done in
the month.

4. In case of a force majeure event in which the employer is unable to pay the
employee on schedule after all remedial measures have been implemented, the salary
shall be paid within 30 days. In case a salary is paid at least 15 days behind schedule, the
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employer shall pay the employee a compensation that is worth at least the interest on the
amount paid behind schedule at the latest 1-month interest rate quoted by the bank at
which the employee’s salary account is opened.

Article 98. Overtime pay, night work pay

1. An employee who works overtime will be paid an amount based on the piece
rate or actual salary as follows:

a) On normal days: at least 150%;

b) On weekly days off: at least 200%;
c) During public holidays, paid leave, at least 300%, not including the daily salary during
the public holidays or paid leave for employees receiving daily salaries.

2. An employee who works at night will be paid an additional amount of at least

30% of the normal salary.

3. An employee who works overtime at night will be paid, in addition to the salary
specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, an amount of at least 20% of the day
work salary of a normal day, weekend or public holiday.

4. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

Article 99. Suspension pay

In case of a suspension of work, the employee shall receive a suspension pay as follows:

1. If the suspension is at the employer’s fault, the employee shall be paid the full
salary under the employment contract;

2. If the suspension is at the employee’s fault, the employee shall not receive the
salary. If this leads to suspension of work of other employees in the same unit, they shall
be paid an amount not smaller than the statutory minimum wages;

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3. In case the suspension is caused by an electricity or water supply issue that is

not at the employer’s fault, or by a natural disaster, fire, major epidemic, hostility,
relocation requested by a competent authority, or for economic reasons, both parties shall
negotiate the salary as follows:
a) If the suspension does not exceed 14 working days, the salary shall not fall below the
statutory minimum wages;
b) If the suspension is longer than 14 working days, the salary shall be negotiated by both
parties and the salary for the first 14 days must not fall below the statutory minimum
wages.

Article 101. Salary advances

1. An employee may receive an interest-free salary advance in accordance with

conditions agreed on by the two parties.

2. The employer must make the advance payment to the employee for the number
of days the employee temporarily leaves his/her work in order to perform duties of
citizens for a period of 01 week or longer, but the advance shall not exceed 01 month’s
salary. The employee must reimburse the advance.
An employee who is conscripted in accordance with the Law on Conscription may not
receive salary advance.

3. When taking annual leave, an employee shall receive an advance payment of at

least salary for the entitled days of leave.

Article 102. Salary deductions

1. An employer shall have the right to deduct from an employee’s salary only for
the compensation for the damage to the employer’s equipment and assets in accordance
with Article 129 of this Labor Code.

2. The employee has the right to be aware of the reasons for the deduction.

3. Any monthly deduction shall not exceed 30% of the net monthly salary of the
employee, after the payment of compulsory social insurance, health insurance,
unemployment insurance premiums and personal income tax.

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Chapter VII
WORKING HOURS, REST PERIODS

Section 1. WORKING HOURS

Article 105. Normal working hours

1. Normal working hours shall not exceed 08 hours per day or 48 hours per week.

2. An employer has the right to determine the daily or weekly working hours and
inform the employees accordingly. The daily working hours shall not exceed 10 hours per
day and not exceed 48 hours per week where a weekly basis is applied.
The State encourages employers to apply 40-hour workweeks.

3. Employers shall limit the time of exposure to harmful elements in accordance

with relevant National Technical Regulations and laws.

Article 107. Overtime work

1. Overtime work is the duration of work performed at any other time than during
normal working hours, as indicated in the law, collective bargaining agreement or
internal labor regulations of an employer.

2. An employer has the right to request an employee to work overtime when all of
the following conditions are met:
a) The employee agrees to work overtime;
b) The number of overtime working hours of the employee does not exceed 50% of the
normal working hours in 01 day; in case of weekly work, the total normal working hours
plus overtime working hours shall not exceed 12 hours in 01 day, and 40 hours in 01
month;
c) The total overtime working hours do not exceed 200 hours in 01 year, except for the
cases specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. An employer must not request an employee to work overtime exceeding 300

hours in 01 year in the following fields, works, jobs and cases:
a) Manufacture, processing of textile, garment, footwear, electric, electronic products,
processing of agricultural, forestry, aquaculture products, salt production;
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b) Generation and supply of electricity, telecommunications, refinery operation; water

supply and drainage;
c) Works that require highly skilled workers that are not available on the labor market at
the time;
d) Urgent works that cannot be delayed due to seasonal reasons or availability of
materials or products, or due to unexpected causes, bad weather, natural disasters, fire,
hostility, shortage of power or raw materials, or technical issue of the production line;
dd) Other cases prescribed by the Government.

4. When organizing overtime work as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, the

employer shall send a written notification to the provincial labor authority.

5. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

Chapter VIII

LABOR DISCIPLINE AND MATERIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Section 1. LABOR DISCIPLINE

Article 122. Principles and procedures for taking disciplinary measures at work
1. Disciplinary measures against an employee shall be taken in accordance with the
following regulations:
a) The employer is able to prove the employee’s fault;
b) The process is participated in by the representative organization of employees to which
the employee is a member;
c) The employee is physically present and has the right to defend him/herself, request a
lawyer or the representative organization of employees to defend him/her; if the
employee is under 15 years of age, his/her parent or a legal representative must be
present;
d) The disciplinary process is recorded in writing.
2. It is prohibited to impose more than one disciplinary measure for one violation of
internal labor regulations.
3. Where an employee commits multiple violations of internal labor regulations, he/she
shall be subjected to the heaviest disciplinary measure for the most serious violation.
4. No disciplinary measure shall be taken against an employee during the period when:

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a) The employee is taking leave on account of illness or convalescence; or on other types

of leave with the employer’s consent;
b) The employee is being held under temporary custody or detention;
c) The employee is waiting for verification and conclusion of the competent agency for
acts of violations, stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 125 of this Labor Code;
d) The employee is pregnant, on maternal leave or raising a child under 12 months of age.
5. No disciplinary measure shall be taken against an employee who commits a violation
of internal labor regulations while suffering from the mental illness or another disease
which causes the loss of consciousness ability or the loss of his/her behavior control.
6. The Government shall provide for the principles and procedures for taking disciplinary
measures at work.

Section 2. MATERIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Article 129. Compensation for damage
1. An employee who causes damage to equipment or otherwise damages the employer’s
assets shall have to pay compensation in accordance with labor laws or the employer’s
internal labor regulations.
In case the damage caused by an employee is not serious, not deliberate and is worth less
than 10 months’ region-based minimum wage announced by the Government, the
employee shall have to pay a compensation of not more than his/her 03 months’ salary,
which shall be monthly deducted from his/her salary in accordance with Clause 3 Article
102 of this Code.
2. An employee who loses the employer’s equipment or assets, or consumes the materials
beyond the set limits shall pay a compensation for damage in full or in part at the market
price or as stipulated in the internal labor regulations or the responsibility contract (if
any). In case this is caused by a natural disaster, fire, war, major epidemic, calamity, or
another force majeure event which is unforeseeable and insurmountable, and all
necessary measures and possibilities for avoidance have been taken, the compensation
shall not required.
Chapter IX
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
Article 134. Ensuring occupational safety and health at the workplace
1. Employers shall fully implement the measures for ensuring occupational safety and
health at the workplace.
2. Employees shall comply with rules and procedures for occupational safety and health,
regulations of law, obtain knowledge and skills on assurance of occupational safety and
health at the work place.

Chapter X
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PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO FEMALE EMPLOYEES AND ASSURANCE OF

GENDER EQUALITY
Article 137. Maternity protection
1. An employer must not require a female employee to work at night, work overtime or
go on a long distance working trip in the following circumstances:
a) The employee reaches her seventh month of pregnancy; or her sixth month of
pregnancy when working in upland, remote, border and island areas;
b) The employee is raising a child under 12 months of age, unless otherwise agreed by
her.
2. Whenever an employer is informed of the pregnancy of an female employee who is
doing a laborious, toxic or dangerous work, a highly laborious, toxic or dangerous work
or any work that might negatively affect her maternity, the employer shall assign her to a
less laborious or safer work, or reduce the working hours by 01 hour per day without
reducing her salary, rights or benefits until her child reaches 12 months of age.
3. The employer must not dismiss an employee or unilaterally terminate the employment
contract with an employee due to his/her marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, or
nursing a child under 12 months of age, except for cases where the employer that is a
natural person dies or is declared incapacitated, missing or dead by the court, or the
employer that is not a natural person ceases its business operation, declared by a
provincial business registration authority that it does not have a legal representative or a
person authorized to perform the legal representative’s rights and obligations.
Upon expiration of the employment contract with female employee who is pregnant or
nursing a child under 12 months of age, conclusion of a new employment contract shall
be given priority.
4. During her menstruation period, a female employee shall be entitled to a 30 minute
break in every working day; a female employee nursing a child under 12 months of age
shall be entitled to 60 minutes breaks in every working day with full salary as stipulated
in the employment contract.
Article 138. The right of pregnant female employees to unilaterally terminate or
suspend their employment contracts
1. Where a female employee is pregnant and obtains a confirmation from a competent
health facility which states that if she continues to work, it may adversely affect her
pregnancy, she shall have the right to unilaterally terminate or suspend the employment
contract.
In case of unilateral termination or suspension of the employment contract, a notification
enclosed with the aforementioned confirmation from the health facility shall be submitted
to the employer.
2. In case of suspension of the employment contract, the suspension period shall be
agreed by the employer and the employee and must not be shorter than the period

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specified by the health facility. If the rest period is not specified by the health facility,
both parties shall negotiate the suspension period.
Article 139. Maternity leave
1. A female employee is entitled to 06 months of prenatal and postnatal leave; the
prenatal leave period shall not exceed 02 months.
In case of a multiple birth, the leave shall be extended by 01 month for each child,
counting from the second child.
2. During maternity leave, the female employee is entitled to maternity benefits as
prescribed by social insurance laws.
3. After the maternity leave stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article expires, if so demanded,
the female employee may be granted an additional unpaid leave under terms agreed upon
with the employer.
4. The female employee may return to work before the expiry of her statutory maternity
leave stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article after she has taken at least 04 months of leave,
provided she has obtained a confirmation from a competent health facility that the early
resumption of work does not adversely affect her health, the employer receives a prior
notice of the early resumption and agrees to the early resumption. In this case, besides the
salary of the working days, which is paid by the employer, the female employee shall
continue to receive the maternity allowance in accordance with social insurance laws.
5. A male employee whose wife gives birth, an employee who adopts a child under 06
months of age, a female employee who becomes a surrogate mother shall be entitled to
maternity leave in accordance with social insurance laws.

Chapter XI
EXCLUSIVE PROVISIONS CONCERNING MINOR EMPLOYEES AND CERTAIN
TYPES OF EMPLOYEES
Section 1. MINOR EMPLOYEES
Article 143. Minor employees
1. A minor employee is an employee under 18 years of age.
2. A person aged 15 to under 18 must not be assigned any of the works or to any of the
workplaces mentioned in Article 147 of this Labor Code.
3. A person aged 13 to under 15 may only do the light works on the list promulgated by
the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
4. A person under 13 may only do the works specified in Clause 3 Article 145 of this
Labor Code.
Article 144. Rules for employment of minors
1. Minor employees may only do works that are suitable for their health in order to
ensure their physical health, mental health and personality development.
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2. The employer who has minor employees has the responsibility to take care of their
work, health and education in the course of their employment.
3. When an employer hires a minor employee, the employer must have the consent of
his/her parent or guardian; prepare a separate record which writes in full of his/her name,
date of birth, the work assigned, results of periodical health check-ups, and shall be
presented at the request of the competent authority.
4. Employers shall enable minor employees to have educational and vocational training.

Section 2. ELDERLY EMPLOYEES

Article 149. Employment of elderly people

1. When an elderly person is employed, both parties may agree on conclusion of
multiple fixed-term employment contracts.

2. In case a person who is receiving retirement pension under the Law on Social
Insurance enters into a new employment contract, he/she shall receive salary and
other benefits prescribed by law and the employment contract in addition to the
benefits to which they are entitled under the pension scheme.

3. Employer must not assign elderly employees to do laborious, toxic or dangerous

works, or highly laborious, toxic or dangerous works that are harmful to their
health, unless safety is ensured.

4. Employers are responsible for taking care of the health of elderly employees at
the workplace.
Section 3. VIETNAMESE EMPLOYEES WORKING OVERSEAS, EMPLOYEES
OF FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN VIETNAM AND
FOREIGN EMPLOYEES WORKING IN VIETNAM

Article 150. Vietnamese employees working overseas, employees of foreign

organizations and individuals in Vietnam

1. The State shall encourage enterprises, agencies, organizations, and individuals

to seek and expand the labor market for Vietnamese employees to work overseas.
Vietnamese employees working overseas must comply with the law of Vietnam
and the law of the host country except where an international convention to which
Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory contains different provisions.

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2. Vietnamese citizens working in foreign organizations in Vietnam, in industrial

zones, economic zones, export-processing zones, hi-tech zones, or working for
individuals who are foreign citizens in Vietnam shall comply with the law of
Vietnam and shall be protected by law.

3. The Government shall provide for the recruitment and management of

Vietnamese employees working for foreign entities in Vietnam.

Section 4. DISABLED EMPLOYEES

Article 159. Employment of disabled people

1. Employers shall provide reasonable accommodation with respect to working

conditions, working tools, and occupational safety and health measures that are
suitable for disabled employees and organize periodic health check-up for disabled
employees.

2. Employers must consult with disabled employees before deciding on matters of

relevance to the rights and interests of disabled employees.

Section 5. DOMESTIC WORKERS

Article 165. Prohibited acts by the employer

1. Mistreating, sexually harassing, extracting forced labor, and using force or

violence against the domestic worker.

2. Assigning works to the domestic worker against the employment contract.

3. Keeping personal papers of the domestic worker.

Chapter XIII
REPRESENTATIVE ORGANIZATIONS OF EMPLOYEES

Article 175. Prohibited acts by the employer regarding the establishment, operation
of and participation in representative organizations of employees

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1. Any act of discrimination against employees or members of the management

board of the representative organization of employees due to the establishment, operation
or participation in the representative organization of employees, including:
a) Requesting a person to participate, not to participate or to leave the representative
organization of employees in order to be recruited, have the employment contract signed
or renewed;
b) Disciplining or unilaterally terminating an employment contract; refuses to conclude
or renew an employment contract; reassigning an employee;
c) Discrimination by salary, working hours, other rights and obligations in the labor
relation;
d) Obstructing, disrupting or otherwise impairing the operation of the representative
organization of employees.

2. Interfering, influencing the establishment, election, planning and operation of

the representative organization of employees, including financial support or other
economic measures aimed to neutralize or weaken the functions of the representative
organization of employees, or discriminate between the representative organizations of
employees.

Article 177. Obligations of the employer to the internal representative organization

of employees

1. Do not obstruct the employees from lawfully establishing, joining and

participate in activities of the internal representative organization of employees.

2. Recognize and respect the rights of the lawfully established internal

representative organization of employees.

3. Enter into a written agreement with the management board of the internal
representative organization of employees when unilaterally terminating the employment
contract with, reassigning or dismissing for disciplinary reasons an employee who is a
member of the management board. In case such an agreement cannot be reached, both
parties shall send a notice to the provincial labor authority. After 30 days from the day on
which such a notice is sent to the labor authority in the locality, the employer shall have
the right to make the decision. In case of disagreement with the employer’s decision, the
employee and management board may request labor dispute settlement in accordance
with the procedures prescribed by law.

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4. In case the employment contract with an employee that is a member of the

management board of the internal employee representative organization expires before
the end of his/her term of office, the existing contract shall be extended until the end of
the term of office.

5. Other obligations prescribed by law.

Chapter XIV
SETTLEMENT OF LABOR DISPUTES

Section 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR SETTLEMENT OF LABOR DISPUTES

Article 180. Labor dispute settlement principles

1. Respect the parties’ autonomy through negotiation throughout the process of

labor dispute settlement.

2. Prioritize labor dispute settlement through mediation and arbitration on the basis
of respect for the rights and interests of the two disputing parties, and respect for the
public interest of the society and conformity with the law.

3. The labor dispute shall be settled publicly, transparently, objectively, promptly,

and lawfully.

4. Ensure the participation of the representatives of each party in the labor dispute
settlement process.

5. Labor dispute settlement shall be initiated by a competent authority or person

after it is requested by a disputing party or by another competent authority or person and
is agreed by the disputing parties.

Article 186. Prohibition of unilateral actions during the process of labor dispute
settlement

None of the disputing parties shall take unilateral actions against the other party while the
labor dispute is being settled by a competent authority or person within the time limit
specified in this Labor Code.
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Section 2. COMPETENCE AND PROCEDURES FOR SETTLEMENT OF

INDIVIDUAL LABOR DISPUTES

Article 188. Procedures for the settlement of individual labor disputes by labor
mediators

1. Individual labor disputes shall be settled through mediation by labor mediators

before being brought to the Labor Arbitration Council or the Court, except for the
following labor disputes for which mediation is not mandatory:
a) Disputes over dismissal for disciplinary reasons; unilateral termination of employment
contracts;
b) Disputes over damages and allowances upon termination of employment contracts;
c) Disputes between a domestic worker and his/her employer;
d) Disputes over social insurance in accordance with social insurance laws; disputes over
health insurance in accordance with health insurance laws ; disputes over unemployment
insurance in accordance with employment laws; disputes over insurance for occupational
accidents and occupational disease in accordance with occupational safety and health
laws;
dd) Disputes over damages between an employee and organization that dispatches the
employee to work overseas under a contract;
e) Disputes between the outsourced worker and the client enterprise.

2. The Labor Arbitration Council shall complete the mediation process within 05
working days from the receipt of the request from the disputing parties or the authority
mentioned in Clause 3 Article 181 of this Labor Code.

3. Both disputing parties must be present at the mediation meeting. The disputing
parties may authorize another person to attend the mediation meeting.

4. The labor mediator shall instruct and assist the parties to negotiate with each
other.
In case the two parties reach an agreement, the labor mediator shall prepare a written
record of successful mediation which bears the signatures of the disputing parties and the
labor mediator.
In case the two parties do not reach an agreement, the labor mediator shall recommend a
mediation option for the disputing parties to consider. In case the parties agree with the

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recommended mediation option, the labor mediator shall prepare a written record of
successful mediation which bears the signatures of the disputing parties and the labor
mediator.
Where the two parties do not agree with the recommended mediation option or where one
of the disputing parties is absent for the second time without a valid reason after having
been legitimately summoned, the labor mediator shall prepare a record of unsuccessful
mediation which bears the signatures of the present disputing parties and the labor
mediator.

5. Copies of the record of successful mediation or unsuccessful mediation shall be

sent to the disputing parties within 01 working day from the date on which it is prepared.

6. In case a disputing party fails to adhere to the agreements specified in the record
of successful mediation, the other party may request a Labor Arbitration Council or the
Court to settle the case.

7. In case mediation is not mandatory as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the

labor mediator fails to initiate the mediation by the deadline specified in Clause 2 of this
Article, or the mediation is unsuccessful as prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article, the
disputing parties may:
a) request the Labor Arbitration Council to settle the dispute in accordance with Article
189 of this Labor Code; or
b) Request the Court to settle the dispute.

Article 190. Time limits for requesting settlement of individual labor disputes

1. The time limit to request a labor mediator to settle an individual labor dispute is
06 months from the date on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their
lawful rights and interests.

2. The time limit to request a Labor Arbitration Council to settle an individual

labor dispute is 09 months from the date on which a party discovers the act of
infringement of their lawful rights and interests.

3. The time limit to bring an individual labor dispute to the Court is 01 year from
the day on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights and
interests.

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4. In case the requester is able to prove that the aforementioned time limits cannot
be complied with due to a force majeure event or unfortunate event, the duration of such
event shall not be included in the time limit for requesting settlement of individual labor
dispute.

Section 4. COMPETENCE AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF

INTEREST-BASED COLLECTIVE LABOR DISPUTES

Article 195. Competence to settle interest-based collective labor disputes

1. Agencies, organizations and individuals who have the competence to settle

interest-based collective labor disputes include:
a) Labor mediators;
b) Labor Arbitration Councils.

2. An interest-based collective labor dispute shall be settled through mediation by

labor mediators before it is brought to the Labor Arbitration Council or a strike is
organized.

Section 5. STRIKES

Article 205. Notice of temporary closure the workplace

At least 03 working days before the date of temporary closure of the workplace, the
employer shall publicly post the decision on temporary closure of the workplace at the
workplace and notify the following organizations:
1. The representative organization of employees that organizes the strike;

2. The People’s Committee of the province where the workplace is located.

3. The People’s Committee of the district where the workplace is located.

Article 208. Prohibited acts before, during and after a strike

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1. Obstructing employees exercising their right to strike; inciting, inducing or

forcing employees to go on strike; preventing employee who do not take part in the strike
from working.

2. Use of violence; sabotaging equipment or assets of the employer.

3. Disrupting public order and security.

4. Terminating employment contracts, disciplining or reassigning employees or

strike leaders to other work or location workplace due to their preparation for or
involvement in the strike.

5. Retaliating, inflicting punishment against employees who take part in strike or

against strike leaders.

6. Taking advantage of the strike to commit illegal acts.

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