Does the Company Get Penalized for Allowing Employees a 15-minute Break?

Article 109 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulates work breaks as follows:

1. An employee working according to the working hours specified in Article 105 of this Code for 06 hours or more in a day is entitled to a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes during working hours. If working at night, the employee is entitled to a break of at least 45 consecutive minutes during working hours.

In case an employee works a continuous shift of 06 hours or more, the break time is included in the working hours.

2. Besides the break time stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the employer shall arrange additional rest periods for the employees and record these in the labor regulations.

Thus, in the case of working 6 hours or more in a day, the employee is entitled to a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes (during daytime). However, if you work 8 hours and only receive a 15-minute break, it is non-conforming. Therefore, you can negotiate with the company.

Furthermore, at Point a, Clause 1 of Article 17 of Decree 28/2020/ND-CP stipulates penalties for violations of working hours and rest periods, specifically:

A fine ranging from VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on employers having one of the following acts: Failing to ensure employees have breaks during working hours, shift changes, personal leave, or unpaid leave according to regulations.

It can be seen that if the company fails to ensure that employees have breaks during working hours, they can be fined from VND 4,000,000 to VND 10,000,000. This is the penalty for organizations (Clause 1, Article 5 of Decree 28).

Sincerely!