Vietnam internal labor regulations: a checklist for employers

Vietnam internal labor regulations must be written down if your company has 10 or more employees, and they must be registered with the provincial labor authority. The rule comes from the Labor Code (Law No. 45/2019/QH14), which took effect on 1 January 2021. This checklist walks through the steps in order.

Step 1: Decide if you need written rules

Every employer must issue its own internal labor regulations. That is the starting rule in Article 118 of the Labor Code. The difference is in the form.

An employer with at least 10 employees must have written rules. An employer with fewer than 10 employees does not have to write them. Decree 145/2020/ND-CP, issued by the Government on 14 December 2020 to explain the Code and taking effect on 1 February 2021, says these small employers must instead agree on discipline and material liability terms in their labor contracts.

The rules may not conflict with labor law or any other relevant law. If a clause in your draft gives staff less than the law gives them, it will not hold up.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 118(1) and (2), English text; Decree 145/2020/ND-CP, Articles 69(1) and 114 (issue date, effect date and the rule for employers under 10 staff).

Step 2: Cover the required topics

Article 118 lists the key contents. Your rules should include each of these nine items:

• Working hours and rest periods.
• Order at the workplace.
• Occupational safety and health.
• Actions against sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Protection of company assets, technological and business secrets, and intellectual property.
• Cases in which an employee may be moved to other work.
• Violations of the rules and the disciplinary measures for each.
• Material responsibility, meaning when staff must pay for loss or damage.
• Who has the power to take disciplinary measures.

Decree 145 adds more rules on preventing sexual harassment, including that these rules sit in the internal regulations or in an annex to them. Plan to include a clear policy and a way to report a problem.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 118(2); Decree 145/2020/ND-CP, Articles 84 and 85.

Step 3: Consult staff representatives before issuing

Before you issue or change the rules, you must consult the employee representative organization, if your company has one.

Keep a record of the talks. The representative body's comments also go into your registration file later, so a written note saves time.

The Code asks you to consult. It does not say the body must approve the rules.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 118(3) and Article 120(3).

Step 4: Tell every employee

Once the rules are issued, staff must be told about them. The Code also says the main contents must be displayed at the workplace where they are needed, such as a notice board or a factory floor.

A practical way to do this is to hand out a copy at hiring, keep a signed receipt in each personnel file, and post a short version in the office. Rules that staff never saw are hard to use in a discipline case later.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 118(4).

Step 5: Register within 10 days

An employer with at least 10 employees must register its rules with the labor authority of the province where it holds its business registration. The application is due within 10 days of the date the rules are issued.

Article 120 says the file has four parts:

• The application form.
• A copy of the internal labor regulations.
• Comments of the employee representative organization, if any.
• Company documents on labor discipline and material responsibility, if any.

If the authority finds a clause that breaks the law, it has 7 working days after receiving the file to tell you and ask for a fix. You then revise and submit again. A province may hand the work to a district-level labor office.

If you have branches or business locations in other provinces, send the registered rules to the labor authority in each of those provinces.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Articles 119 and 120.

Step 6: Know when the rules start to apply

Registered rules take effect 15 days after the labor authority receives a satisfactory application. Until then, do not rely on them to discipline anyone.

Employers with fewer than 10 staff decide for themselves when their written rules take effect.

The rules also matter when you act on a breach. The Code says discipline needs proof of the employee’s fault, the presence of the employee, a role for the employee’s representative body, and a written record. Decree 145 sets the notice for a disciplinary meeting at least 5 working days ahead, once it takes effect. Only one measure may be applied to one violation.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Articles 121 and 122(1) and (2); Decree 145/2020/ND-CP, Article 70(2) (5 working days notice).

Quick checklist

• Count employees: 10 or more means written rules.
• Draft all nine required topics, including sexual harassment.
• Consult the employee representative organization and keep notes.
• Issue the rules, tell all staff and display the main contents.
• File within 10 days with the provincial labor authority.
• Use the rules only after the 15-day period has passed.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Check the full text of the Labor Code and the latest Government decrees, or ask a licensed lawyer, before you finalize your own rules.