What is the case when there are no limits on the overtime hours for employees in Vietnam? What are the current regulations on the overtime hours?
What is the case when there are no limits on the overtime hours for employees in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 108 of the 2019 Labor Code of Vietnam, in the following cases, an employer has the right to request any employee to work overtime on any day without limits on the overtime hours as prescribed in Article 107 of this Labor Code and the employee must not decline:
- Execution of a conscription order for the purpose of national security or national defense as prescribed by law;
- Performance of tasks necessary to protect human life or property of certain organizations or individuals in the prevention and recovery of natural disasters, fires, epidemics and disasters, unless those tasks threaten the employees’ health or life as prescribed by occupational safety and health laws.
What is the case when there are no limits on the overtime hours for employees in Vietnam? What are the current regulations on the overtime hours?
Does the employee have the right to decline to work overtime in special cases?
According to the provisions of Article 108 of the 2019 Labor Code of Vietnam on this content as follows:
Overtime working in special cases
In the following cases, an employer has the right to request any employee to work overtime on any day without limits on the overtime hours as prescribed in Article 107 of this Labor Code and the employee must not decline:
1. Execution of a conscription order for the purpose of national security or national defense as prescribed by law;
2. Performance of tasks necessary to protect human life or property of certain organizations or individuals in the prevention and recovery of natural disasters, fires, epidemics and disasters, unless those tasks threaten the employees’ health or life as prescribed by occupational safety and health laws.
Thus, in the above two special cases, the employee has no right to decline to work overtime.
However, for the case of performing tasks necessary to protect human life or property of certain organizations or individuals in the prevention and recovery of natural disasters, fires, epidemics and disasters, but those tasks threaten the employees’ health or life, they are allowed to refuse to work overtime.
What are the current regulations on the overtime hours?
Pursuant to Article 107 of the 2019 Labor Code of Vietnam and Resolution 17/2022/UBTVQH15 of Vietnam, an employer has the right to request an employee to work overtime when all of the following conditions are met:
- The employee agrees to work overtime;
- 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;
- Employers are permitted to assign their employees to work overtime for over 200 hours but not exceeding 300 hours per year if this is agreed upon by both the employer and the employees, except the following cases:
+ Employees aged between 15 and under 18;
+ Employees having mild disabilities with work capacity reduction of least 51% or employees with severe disabilities or extremely severe disabilities;
+ Employees doing arduous, hazardous, dangerous or extremely arduous, hazardous or dangerous works;
+ Female employees in their 7th month of pregnancy onward (or the 6th month of pregnancy onward in case they work in the highlands, remote areas, bordering areas or islands);
+ Female employees nursing children aged under 12 months.
- The total overtime working hours do not exceed 200 hours in 01 year, except for the cases specified in Clause 3 of the 2019 Labor Code of Vietnam.
- Employers that are permitted to assign their employees to work overtime for up to 300 hours per year may assign their employees to work overtime for more than 40 hours but not exceeding 60 hours per month if this is agreed upon by both the employer and the employees.
What are the regulations on normal working hours of employees in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 105 of the 2019 Labor Code of Vietnam on normal working hours of employees in Vietnam as follows:
- Normal working hours shall not exceed 08 hours per day or 48 hours per week.
- 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.
- Employers shall limit the time of exposure to harmful elements in accordance with relevant National Technical Regulations and laws.
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