Is it possible for company to stipulate a weekly day off other than Sunday in Vietnam? How many years of work will get an additional day of annual leave in Vietnam?

Is it possible for company to stipulate a weekly day off other than Sunday in Vietnam? 

Let me ask, is there anyone working as an office worker (accountant, admin...) whose weekly day off will be a day of the week other than Sunday? Is it correct to set that rule? Thank you.

Reply:

Article 111 of the 2019 Labor Code regulates weekly breaks as follows:

1. Each week an employee is entitled to a break of at least 24 consecutive hours. Where it is impossible for the employee to have a weekly day off due to the work cycle, the employer has the responsibility to ensure that on average the employee has at least 04 days off per month.

2. The employer has the right to determine and schedule the weekly breaks either on Sunday or for another fixed day in a week, which must be recorded in the internal labor regulations.

3. In case a public holiday falls on an employee’s weekly break coincide with a public holiday as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 112 of this Labor Code, he/she will have compensatory time-off on the next working days.

Based on the above regulations in Vietnam, your company can stipulate a weekly day off other than Sunday. However, this content must be recorded in the labor regulations.

Is it possible for company to stipulate a weekly day off other than Sunday in Vietnam? How many years of work will get an additional day of annual leave in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

How many years of work will get an additional day of annual leave in Vietnam?

I have worked as a worker at a garment company for more than 4 years. My annual leave is 12 days. I heard that with high seniority you will be given additional days off, so I wonder how much seniority is enough? I don't know much about labor law, so I need your advice.

Reply:

Point a Clause 1 Article 113 and Article 114 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulates:

1. Any employee who has been working for an employer for 12 months is entitled to fully-paid annual leave, which is stipulated in his/her employment contract as follows:

a) 12 working days for employees who work in normal working conditions;

...

The annual leave of an employee as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 113 of this Code shall increase by 01 day for every 05 years of employment with the same employer.

Thus, according to regulations, for every 5 years of working for an employer, the employee's number of annual leave days is increased by 1 day in Vietnam.

In your case, when you work for 5 years, your annual leave days will increase by 1 day to 13 days in Vietnam.

If I go to work on a weekly day off and take a compensatory day off, will I still receive pay as a normal day in Vietnam?

Last time, my company had a large batch of goods to export, so they mobilized us to work on Sunday (work during office hours as usual) and take off the following Saturday, with salary for that Sunday. 100% of salary is still calculated. Is that correct? I thought we had to calculate it based on holiday pay because normally Sunday is our weekly day off.

Reply:

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 111 of the 2019 Labor Code:

1. Each week an employee is entitled to a break of at least 24 consecutive hours. Where it is impossible for the employee to have a weekly day off due to the work cycle, the employer has the responsibility to ensure that on average the employee has at least 04 days off per month.

2. The employer has the right to determine and schedule the weekly breaks either on Sunday or for another fixed day in a week, which must be recorded in the internal labor regulations.

3. In case a public holiday falls on an employee’s weekly break coincide with a public holiday as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 112 of this Labor Code, he/she will have compensatory time-off on the next working days.

According to the information you provided, your company has a weekly holiday on Sunday. However, recently the company mobilized employees to work on weekly days off due to work requirements in Vietnam.

Thus, the employee's Sunday working time is determined to be working on a weekly rest day and must be paid according to the regulations on overtime wages in Article 98 of the 2019 Labor Code. Specifically:

Employees who work on a weekly day off are paid at least 200% of the normal working day's salary.

According to this regulation in Vietnam, in case your company only pays employees 100% of their salary as normal working days of the week for the reason that compensatory leave is not appropriate.

When mobilizing employees to work outside of normal working hours, the company is obliged to calculate overtime wages for them based on the time the employees work overtime. The 2019 Labor Code and related documents do not have any content that allows companies to take compensatory days off to compensate for the salary of employees on overtime days.

Best regards!