Can the Company Withhold Wages if the Employee Causes Damage?
According to Article 130 of the 2012 Labor Code as follows:
- Employees who damage tools, equipment, or have other actions causing damage to the employer's property shall compensate according to the provisions of the law.
In cases where employees cause minor damage due to negligence with a value not exceeding 10 months of regional minimum wage announced by the Government of Vietnam and applicable at the place where the employees work, the employees must compensate up to 3 months' wages and have this amount deducted monthly from their wages as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 101 of this Code.
- Employees who lose tools, equipment, assets of the employer, or other assets entrusted by the employer, or consume materials exceeding the permissible limit must compensate partly or fully according to the market value; in the case of a responsibility contract, they must compensate according to the responsibility contract; in the case of natural disasters, fires, wars, epidemics, disasters, or unforeseen events that could not be prevented even though all necessary measures have been applied, compensation is not required.
In the case where the company has sufficient grounds to determine that the employees caused minor damage due to negligence (not exceeding 10 months of regional minimum wage), the employer has the right to deduct the employees' monthly wages up to 30% as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 101 of the 2012 Labor Code:
Therefore, the company's decision not to pay your wages and to deduct wages as compensation for the damage you caused to the company is against the law.
Respectfully!
