Vietnam: Does an employer have the right to reassign an employee if the employee violates internal labor regulations?
- What are the rights and obligations of employers in Vietnam?
- Vietnam: Does an employer have the right to reassign an employee if the employee violates internal labor regulations?
- Vietnam: How much is the fine be imposed upon an employer for reassigning employees to perform works which are not specified in their employment contracts for improper reasons?
What are the rights and obligations of employers in Vietnam?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 of the 2019 Labor Code on the rights and obligations of employers:
- An employer has the rights to:
+ recruit, arrange and manage and supervise employees; give commendation and take actions against violations of internal labor regulations;
+ establish, join and operate in employer representative organization, 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 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 agreement 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, employments, vocational education, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational safety and health; develop and implement solutions against sexual harassment in the workplace;
+ Participate in development of the national occupational standards, assessment and recognition of employees’ professional skills.
Vietnam: Does an employer have the right to reassign an employee if the employee violates internal labor regulations?
Vietnam: Does an employer have the right to reassign an employee if the employee violates internal labor regulations?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 124 of the 2019 Labor Code on disciplinary measures:
Disciplinary measures
1. Reprimand.
2. Deferment of pay rise for up to 6 months.
3. Demotion.
4. Dismissal.
Pursuant to Article 29 of the 2019 Labor Code on the reassignment of an employee against the employment contract:
Reassignment of an employee against the employment contract
1. In the event of sudden difficulties such as natural disasters, fire, major epidemics, implementation of preventive and remedial measures for occupational accidents or diseases, electricity and water supply failures, or for reasons of business and production demands, the employer may temporarily assign an employee to perform a work which is not prescribed in the employment contract for an accumulated period of up to 60 working days within 01 year, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the employee.
The employer shall specify in the internal labor regulations the cases in which the employer may temporary reassign employees against the employment contracts.
2. In case of temporarily reassignment of an employee specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the employer shall inform the employee at least 03 working days in advance, specify the reassignment period and only assign works that are suitable for the employee’s health and gender.
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Thus, in the event of sudden difficulties such as natural disasters, fire, major epidemics, implementation of preventive and remedial measures for occupational accidents or diseases, electricity and water supply failures, or for reasons of business and production demands, the employer may temporarily assign an employee to perform a work which is not prescribed in the employment contract.
Pursuant to Article 124 of the 2019 Labor Code, disciplinary measures include: Reprimand; Deferment of pay rise for up to 6 months; Demotion; and Dismissal. Reassignment of an employee against the employment contract is not considered a disciplinary measure imposed upon employees.
Thus, an employer does not have the right to reassign an employee if the employee violates internal labor regulations.
Vietnam: How much is the fine be imposed upon an employer for reassigning employees to perform works which are not specified in their employment contracts for improper reasons?
Pursuant to Clause 2, Clause 5 Article 11 Decree 12/2022/ND-CP on fines imposed for violations against regulations on performance of employment contracts:
Violations against regulations on performance of employment contracts
1. A fine ranging from VND 1.000.000 to VND 3.000.000 shall be imposed upon an employer for reassigning an employee to perform a work which is not specified in the employment contract without giving 03 days’ prior notice or without notification, or with an ambiguous notification, of the reassignment period, or reassigning works that are unsuitable for the employee’s health and gender.
2. A fine ranging from VND 3.000.000 to VND 7.000.000 shall be imposed upon an employer for commission of one of the following violations:
a) Placing employees in jobs at places other than the ones agreed in employment contracts, except for the cases specified in Article 29 in the Labour Code;
b) Failing to reinstate the employee who returns to work after the suspension period of the employment contract if it is still unexpired, unless otherwise agreed by the employer and the employee or prescribed by law;
c) Reassigning employees to perform works which are not specified in their employment contracts for improper reasons or for incorrect periods, or without written consent from employees as prescribed by law.
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5. Remedial measures
a) The employer that commits the violation specified in Point a Clause 2 of this Article is compelled to place employees in jobs at places agreed in employment contracts;
b) The employer that commits the violation specified in Point b Clause 2 of this Article is compelled to reinstate the employee who returns to work after the suspension period of the employment contract, unless otherwise agreed by both parties or prescribed by law, and pay salary to the employee for the period during which the employee was not allowed to work after the suspension period of the employment contract;
c) The employer that commits the violation specified in Point c Clause 2 of this Article is compelled to assign employees to perform works agreed in their employment contracts.
A fine ranging from VND 3.000.000 to VND 7.000.000 shall be imposed upon an employer for reassigning employees to perform works which are not specified in their employment contracts for improper reasons or for incorrect periods, or without written consent from employees as prescribed by law.
In addition, the employer that reassigns employees to perform works which are not specified in their employment contracts for improper reasons is compelled to assign employees to perform works agreed in their employment contracts.
The fine imposed upon an organization is twice as much as that imposed upon an individual for committing the same administrative violation (according to Clause 1, Article 6, Decree 12/2022/ND-CP)
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