Are employers allowed to conclude labor contracts with persons under 15 years in Vietnam?

Are employers allowed to conclude labor contracts with persons under 15 years in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 3 of Circular 09/2020/TT-BLĐTBXH regulating the conditions of use of persons under 15 years of age as follows:

Employers must employ persons under 15 years of age in accordance with Article 145 of the Labor Code and the following specific regulations:

1. Conclude a written contract with the employee and their legal representative according to regulations in Article 4 herein.

2. Arrange the working hours according to regulations in Clause 1 Article 146 of the Labor Code and so as not to affect the employee’s study hours.

3. Arrange breaks according to regulations in Clause 2 Article 109 of the Labor Code.

4. Comply with regulations on health checkups and occupational health checkups and ensure working and occupational safety and hygiene conditions according to Points c and d Clause 1 Article 145 and Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene.

5. Persons from 13 to under 15 years of age may be employed only for light works meeting the following conditions:

a) The work is included in the list mentioned in Article 8 of this Circular;

b) The workplace is not any of the cases mentioned in Points a, b, c and d Clause 2 Article 147 of the Labor Code and Clause 2 Article 9 of this Circular.

6. Do not recruit and employ persons under 13 years of age, excluding arts and sports, which must not affect their physical, intelligence and personality development and require approval from Departments of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs according to regulations in Article 5 of this Circular.

Article 4 of Circular 09/2020/TT-BLĐTBXH regulates the signing of labor contracts to employ persons under 15 years of age as follows:

1. The person who concludes the labor contract on the employer’s side shall abide by regulations in Clause 3 Article 18 of the Labor Code and meet the following requirements:

a) They have a police record issued no sooner than 06 months before the date on which the labor contract is concluded, which includes no conviction for child exploitation and abuse;

b) They have a statement of no criminal prosecution and administrative penalty for child exploitation and abuse, which is made using Form No. 02 in Appendix I enclosed therewith.

2. Labor contracts with persons under 15 years of age must contain the contents mentioned in Article 21 of the Labor Code and the following contents:

a) Full name; date of birth; sex; place of residence; phone number (if any); and identity card or passport number of the legal representative of the employee;

b) Lodging (for employees working away from their family);

c) How the employee's study is facilitated.

3. Labor contracts with persons under 13 years of age shall come into force with the written approval from Departments of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs according to regulations in Article 5 of this Circular.

Thus, employers in Vietnam may sign labor  contracts with persons under 15 years of age but must comply with the regulations on conditions for employing persons under 15 years of age to work and comply with the regulations on entering into such labor contracts.

In case you are 14 years old, in accordance with the law, you can sign the labor contract for light work as stipulated in Article 8 of the above Circular, when signing the contract, it is necessary to comply with the conditions as well as the labor contract in accordance with the law.

Which agency has the authority to allow people under 13 years old to work?

Pursuant to Article 5 of Circular 09/2020/TT-BLĐTBXH on the authority to agree on the use of persons under 13 years of age to work as follows:

Recruitment and employment of persons under 13 years of age in compliance with regulations in Clause 3 Article 145 of the Labor Code require approval from the following regulatory bodies:

1. Department of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province where the head office or the address written in the enterprise/ cooperative/ cooperative union registration certificate or investment registration certificate or written approval for investment guidelines or decision on regulatory body or organization establishment or cooperation agreement of cooperative group is located if the employer is an enterprise, regulatory body, organization or cooperative.

2. Department of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province where the permanent or temporary residence of the household or individual is registered if the employer is a household or individual.

Thus, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is the competent agency that agrees for workers who have not reached the age of 13 to work in Vietnam.

Best Regards!