Can employers deduct their employee’s salary who takes leave without permission in lieu of dismissal in Vietnam?

Can employers deduct their employee’s salary who takes leave without permission in lieu of dismissal in Vietnam?

According to Article 127 of the 2019 Labor Code, forbidden actions when imposing disciplinary measures in the workplace are as follows:

Forbidden actions when imposing disciplinary measures in the workplace

1. Harming the employee's health, life, honor or dignity.

2. Applying monetary fines or deducting the employee’s salary wage.

3. Imposing a disciplinary measure against an employee for a violation which is not stipulated in the internal labor regulations or employment contract or labor laws.

According to this Article, if an employee takes leave without permission and there are enough grounds for the employer to apply disciplinary action such as dismissal, the employer is not allowed to apply monetary fines or deduct the employee’s salary instead of Disciplinary form of dismissal.

Can employers deduct their employee’s salary who takes leave without permission in lieu of dismissal in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What is time limit for disciplinary action to dismiss an employee in Vietnam?

In Article 123 of the 2019 Labor Code, there are regulations on time limit for taking disciplinary measures at work as follows:

Time limit for taking disciplinary measures at work

1. The time limit for taking disciplinary measures against a violation is 06 months from the date of the occurrence of the violation. The time limit for dealing with violations directly relating to finance, assets and disclosure of technological or business secrets shall be 12 months.

2. In case the time limit stipulated in this Article has expired or is shorter than 60 days when the period stipulated in Clause 4 Article 122 of this Labor Code expires, the former may be extended for up to 60 more days.

3. The employer shall issue a disciplinary decision within the period specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article.

Thus, time limit for disciplinary action for dismissal of employees is 6 months from the date of the violation, except in cases where the violation is directly related to finance, property, or disclosure of public secrets, business secrets.

In what cases are businesses allowed to dismiss employees in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 125 of the 2019 Labor Code, regulations on dismissal for disciplinary reasons are as follows:

Dismissal for disciplinary reasons

An employer may dismiss an employee for disciplinary reasons in the following circumstances:

1. The employee commits an act of theft, embezzlement, gambling, deliberate infliction of injuries or uses drug at the workplace;

2. The employee discloses technological or business secrets or infringing the intellectual property rights of the employer, or commits acts which are seriously detrimental or posing seriously detrimental threat to the assets or interests of the employer, or commits sexual harassment in the workplace against the internal labor regulations;

3. The employee repeats a violation which was disciplined by deferment of pay rise or demotion and has not been absolved. A repeated violation means a violation which was disciplined and is repeated before it is absolved in accordance with Article 126 of this Code.

4. The employee fails to go to work for a total period of 05 days in 30 days, or for a total period of 20 days in 365 days from the first day he/she fails to go to work without acceptable excuses.

Justified reasons include natural disasters, fires; the employee or his/her family member suffers from illness with a certification by a competent health facility; and other reasons as stipulated in the internal labor regulations.

Thus, the reasons that businesses in Vietnam can base on to apply disciplinary measures to dismiss employees include:

- Employees commit acts of theft at work.

- Employees commit embezzlement in the workplace.

- Employees engage in gambling behavior at work.

- Employees intentionally cause injury at work

- Employees who use drugs at work.

- Employees who commit acts of disclosing business secrets or technological secrets of the enterprise.

- Employees violate the intellectual property rights of the enterprise.

- Employees commit an act that causes serious damage or threatens to cause particularly serious damage to the assets and interests of the enterprise.

- Employees who commit sexual harassment in the workplace are regulated in the labor regulations.

- Employees have been disciplined with an extended salary increase/demotion period but repeats the offense while the disciplinary action has not been removed.

- Employees arbitrarily leave for 5 days cumulatively within 30 days or 20 days cumulatively within 365 days from the first day he arbitrarily leave their job without a legitimate reason.

Best regards!