Vietnam: If an employment contract is lost, is it still valid?
Vietnam: If an employment contract is lost, is it still valid?
Pursuant to Article 49 of the 2019 Labor Code, regulations on invalid labor contracts are specifically as follows:
Invalid employment contracts
1. An employment contract shall be completely invalid in the following cases:
a) The entire contents of the employment contract are illegal;
b) A person concludes the employment contract ultra vires or against the rules for employment contract conclusion specified in Clause 1 Article 15 of this Labor Code;
c) The work described in the employment contract is prohibited by law;
2. An employment contract shall be partially invalid when part of its contents is illegal but does not affect its remaining contents.
Accordingly, if an employee loses a signed employment contract, according to the law, it does not change the value of the signed contract.
In other words, if an employee loses the labor contract signed with the employer, that contract will not be invalidated.
Vietnam: If an employment contract is lost, is it still valid?
When will an employee have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract in Vietnam?
According to Article 35 of the 2019 Labor Code, the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract is specified as follows:
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;
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.
Thus, according to the above regulations, an employee is shall have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract without prior notice if he/she:
- 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;
- is not paid adequately or on schedule, except for the case specified in Clause 4 Article 97 of this Code.
- 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;
- is sexually harassed in the workplace;
- is pregnant and has to stop working in accordance with Clause 1 Article 138 of this Labor Code.
- reaches the retirement age specified in Article 169 of this Labor Code, unless otherwise agreed by the parties; or
- 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.
What are the responsibilities of the parties upon termination of an employment contract in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 48 of the 2019 Labor Code, the responsibilities of both parties when terminating the labor contract are as follows:
- Within 14 working days following the termination of an employment contract, both parties shall settle all payments in respect of the rights and interests of each party. In the following cases, such period may be extended, but shall not exceed 30 days:
+ Shutdown of business operation of the employer that is not a natural person;
+ Changes in the organizational structure, technology or changes due to economic reasons;
+ 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;
+ Natural disasters, fire, hostility or major epidemics.
- Priority shall be given to payment of the employees’ salaries, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, severance allowance and other benefits under the collective bargaining agreement and employment contracts in case of shutdown, dissolution or bankruptcy of an enterprise or cooperative.
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