According to the law in Vietnam, is voluntarily working overtime considered overtime work in Vietnam?

According to the law in Vietnam, is voluntarily working overtime considered overtime work in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 107 of the Labor Code in 2019 stipulating overtime work as follows:

1. Overtime work is the duration of work performed at any other time than during normal working hours, as indicated in the law, collective bargaining agreement or internal labor regulations of an employer.

2. An employer has the right to request an employee to work overtime when all of the following conditions are met:

a) The employee agrees to work overtime;

b) 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;

c) The total overtime working hours do not exceed 200 hours in 01 year, except for the cases specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. An employer must not request an employee to work overtime exceeding 300 hours in 01 year in the following fields, works, jobs and cases:

a) Manufacture, processing of textile, garment, footwear, electric, electronic products, processing of agricultural, forestry, aquaculture products, salt production;

b) Generation and supply of electricity, telecommunications, refinery operation; water supply and drainage;

c) Works that require highly skilled workers that are not available on the labor market at the time;

d) Urgent works that cannot be delayed due to seasonal reasons or availability of materials or products, or due to unexpected causes, bad weather, natural disasters, fire, hostility, shortage of power or raw materials, or technical issue of the production line;

dd) Other cases prescribed by the Government.

4. When organizing overtime work as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, the employer shall send a written notification to the provincial labor authority.

5. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

Vietnamese Labor Code defines overtime as work that is performed outside of regular working hours. Employers are only allowed to use employees to work overtime with the consent of the employees.

Based on this definition, overtime is a form of agreement between the employer and the employee.

In your case, you decided to stay late at work on your own initiative. Since there was no prior agreement with your employer, the time you spent working late is not considered overtime.

According to the law in Vietnam, how is overtime pay calculated?

Pursuant to Article 98 of the Labor Code in 2019 stipulating overtime pay, night work pay as follows:

1. An employee who works overtime will be paid an amount based on the piece rate or actual salary as follows:

a) On normal days: at least 150%;

b) On weekly days off: at least 200%;

c) During public holidays, paid leave, at least 300%, not including the daily salary during the public holidays or paid leave for employees receiving daily salaries.

2. An employee who works at night will be paid an additional amount of at least 30% of the normal salary.

3. An employee who works overtime at night will be paid, in addition to the salary specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, an amount of at least 20% of the day work salary of a normal day, weekend or public holiday.

4. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

Vietnamese Labor Code stipulates that overtime pay on a regular workday is at least 150% of the regular hourly wage. Overtime pay on a rest day is at least 200% of the regular hourly wage. Overtime pay on a public holiday or a holiday with pay is at least 300% of the regular hourly wage, not including the holiday pay for employees who are paid on a daily basis.

In addition, employees who work overtime at night are also entitled to an additional 20% of the wages calculated based on the unit wage or the wages for the work done during the day of a regular working day or of a rest day or of a public holiday.

What are regulations on overtime working in special cases in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 108 of the Labor Code in 2019 stipulating overtime working in special cases as follows:

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.

Above are regulations on overtime working in special cases in Vietnam.

Best regards!