Is it permissible to take time off for personal family matters?
According to Article 35 of the Labor Code 2019 on the right of employees to unilaterally terminate a labor contract,
The employee has the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract without notice in the following cases:
- The employee is not assigned the correct job, working location, or guaranteed working conditions as agreed, except for the cases specified in Article 29 of this Code;
- The employee is not paid in full or paid on time, except for the cases specified in Clause 4, Article 97 of this Code;
- The employee is mistreated, beaten by the employer, or verbally insulted, acts that affect the health, dignity, and honor of the employee; or the employee is coerced into labor;
- The employee is sexually harassed at the workplace;
- The female employee is pregnant and must take leave as specified in Clause 1, Article 138 of this Code;
- The employee reaches the retirement age as specified in Article 169 of this Code, unless otherwise agreed by the parties;
- The employer provides dishonest information as specified in Clause 1, Article 16 of this Code, affecting the implementation of the labor contract.
Thus, if your family has a personal matter that requires immediate leave to return home to resolve, this does not fall under the cases of unilateral termination of the labor contract without notice to the company. Therefore, you have the right to take leave but are required to notify the company, specifically:
- At least 45 days if working under an indefinite-term labor contract;
- At least 30 days if working under a definite-term labor contract with a term of 12 to 36 months;
- At least 03 working days if working under a definite-term labor contract with a term of less than 12 months;
Therefore, your sudden leave in this case is an unlawful leave. You are required to fulfill the following obligations:
No severance allowance will be given.
You must compensate the employer half a month’s salary under the labor contract and an amount corresponding to the salary under the labor contract for the days of unnotified leave.
You must reimburse the employer for the training costs as specified in Article 62 of this Code.
