If a female employee is pregnant and her employment contract expires, can employer unilaterally terminate her employment contract in Vietnam?

If a female employee is pregnant and her employment contract expires, can employer unilaterally terminate her employment contract in Vietnam?

Article 37 of the Labor Code 2019 stipulates that cases in which an employer is prohibited from unilaterally terminating an employment contract as follows:

1. The employee is suffering from an illness or work accident, occupational disease and is being treated or nursed under the decision of a competent health institution, except for the cases stipulated in Point b Clause 1 Article 36 of this Labor Code.

2. The employee is on annual leave, personal leave, or any other types of leave permitted by the employer.

3. The employee is pregnant, on maternal leave or raising a child under 12 months of age.

According to Clause 3, Article 137 of the Labor Code 2019, maternity protection is as follows:

3. The employer must not dismiss an employee or unilaterally terminate the employment contract with an employee due to his/her marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, or nursing a child under 12 months of age, except for cases where the employer that is a natural person dies or is declared incapacitated, missing or dead by the court, or the employer that is not a natural person ceases its business operation, declared by a provincial business registration authority that it does not have a legal representative or a person authorized to perform the legal representative’s rights and obligations.

Upon expiration of the employment contract with female employee who is pregnant or nursing a child under 12 months of age, conclusion of a new employment contract shall be given priority.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, the employer is not allowed to unilaterally terminate the employment contract with a pregnant female employee. 

You are pregnant and your employment contract with M Limited Liability Company is also about to expire in Vietnam. In this case, the company will not be able to terminate the employment contract with you but must give priority to entering into a new employment contract with you.

If there is ground states that whether female employees continue to work, it may adversely affect their pregnancy, can they terminate their employment contracts?

Pursuant to Article 138 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulating the right of pregnant female employees to unilaterally terminate or suspend their employment contracts as follows:

1. Where a female employee is pregnant and obtains a confirmation from a competent health facility which states that if she continues to work, it may adversely affect her pregnancy, she shall have the right to unilaterally terminate or suspend the employment contract.

In case of unilateral termination or suspension of the employment contract, a notification enclosed with the aforementioned confirmation from the health facility shall be submitted to the employer.

2. In case of suspension of the employment contract, the suspension period shall be agreed by the employer and the employee and must not be shorter than the period specified by the health facility. If the rest period is not specified by the health facility, both parties shall negotiate the suspension period.

Therefore, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, if your current job has an adverse effect on the pregnancy, you can unilaterally terminate the employment contract when it is certified by a competent health facility. 

Note that when you unilaterally terminate the employment contract for that reason, you must notify the company in advance with the certification of the competent health facility in Vietnam.

What are regulations on maternity protection in Vietnam? 

Article 137 of the Labor Code 2019 provides for maternity protection as follows:

1. An employer must not require a female employee to work at night, work overtime or go on a long distance working trip in the following circumstances:

a) The employee reaches her seventh month of pregnancy; or her sixth month of pregnancy when working in upland, remote, border and island areas;

b) The employee is raising a child under 12 months of age, unless otherwise agreed by her.

2. Whenever an employer is informed of the pregnancy of an female employee who is doing a laborious, toxic or dangerous work, a highly laborious, toxic or dangerous work or any work that might negatively affect her maternity, the employer shall assign her to a less laborious or safer work, or reduce the working hours by 01 hour per day without reducing her salary, rights or benefits until her child reaches 12 months of age.

3. The employer must not dismiss an employee or unilaterally terminate the employment contract with an employee due to his/her marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, or nursing a child under 12 months of age, except for cases where the employer that is a natural person dies or is declared incapacitated, missing or dead by the court, or the employer that is not a natural person ceases its business operation, declared by a provincial business registration authority that it does not have a legal representative or a person authorized to perform the legal representative’s rights and obligations.

Upon expiration of the employment contract with female employee who is pregnant or nursing a child under 12 months of age, conclusion of a new employment contract shall be given priority.

4. During her menstruation period, a female employee shall be entitled to a 30 minute break in every working day; a female employee nursing a child under 12 months of age shall be entitled to 60 minutes breaks in every working day with full salary as stipulated in the employment contract.

The above are regulations on maternity protection for female employees in Vietnam.

Best Regards!