Vietnam: Can an employer conclude 02 employment contracts with the same employee at the same time?

Main Content

• Can an employer conclude 02 employment contracts with the same employee in Vietnam at the same time?
• What are the rights and obligations of employees in Vietnam after concluding employment contracts?
• What are the principles of concluding employment contracts in Vietnam?
• What are the rights and obligations of employers in Vietnam after concluding employment contracts?

Can an employer conclude 02 employment contracts with the same employee in Vietnam at the same time?

Pursuant to Article 19 of the Labor Code 2019 as follows:

Entering into multiple employment contracts

1. An employee may enter into employment contracts with more than one employer, provided that he/she fully performs all terms and conditions contained in the concluded contracts.

2. Where an employee enters into employment contracts with more than one employer, his/her participation in social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance schemes shall comply with regulations of law on social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational safety and health.

Thus, an employee may enter into employment contracts with more than one employer, provided that he/she fully performs all terms and conditions contained in the concluded contracts.

Accordingly, an employer may not conclude 02 employment contracts with the same employee in Vietnam at the same time.

What are the rights and obligations of employees in Vietnam after concluding employment contracts?

Pursuant to Article 5 of the Labor Code 2019, the rights and obligations of employees are:

- An employee has the rights to:

+ 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;

+ 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;

+ Establish, join a 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;

+ Refuse to work if he/she finds that the work directly threatens his/her life or health;

+ Unilaterally terminate the employment contract;

+ Go on strike;

+ Exercise other rights prescribed by law.

- An employee has the obligations to:

+ Implement the employment contract, collective bargaining agreement, and other lawful agreements;

+ Obey internal labor regulations, the lawful management, administration, and supervision by the employer;

+ Implement regulations of laws on labor, employment, vocational education, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational safety, and health.

What are the principles of concluding employment contracts in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 15 of the Labor Code 2019, the principles of concluding employment contracts are as follows:

- Voluntariness, equality, good faith, cooperation, and honesty.

- Freedom to enter into an employment contract that is not contrary to the law, the collective bargaining agreement, and social ethics.

Employees and employers must ensure the above principles of contraction.

What are the rights and obligations of employers in Vietnam after concluding employment contracts?

Pursuant to Article 6 of the Labor Code 2019, the rights and obligations of the employers in Vietnam after concluding employment contracts are as follows:

- An employer has the rights to:

+ Recruit, arrange and manage and supervise employees; give commendations and take actions against violations of internal labor regulations;

+ Establish, join and operate in employer-representative organizations, occupational associations and other organizations in accordance with law;

+ Request the representative organization of employees to negotiate the conclusion of the collective bargaining agreement; participate in the 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;

+ Temporarily close the workplace;

+ Exercise other rights prescribed by law.

- An employer has the obligations to:

+ Implement the employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, and other lawful agreements with employees; respect the honor and dignity of employees;

+ Establish a mechanism for and hold dialogue with the employees and the representative organization of employees; implement the regulations on grassroots-level democracy;

+ Provide basic training and advanced training in order to help employees improve their professional skills or change their occupations;

+ Implement regulations of laws on labor, employment, vocational education, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational safety and health; develop and implement solutions against sexual harassment in the workplace;

+ Participate in the development of the national occupational standards, assessment and recognition of employees’ professional skills.