Is the Transfer of Workplace Subject to Employee Consent?
At Article 29 of the 2019 Labor Code, regulations on transferring an employee to perform work different from the labor contract are set forth as follows:
- In case of unexpected difficulties caused by natural disasters, fires, dangerous epidemics, application of measures to prevent and mitigate labor accidents, occupational diseases, electrical or water incidents, or due to production and business needs, the employer may temporarily transfer the employee to perform work different from the labor contract, but not for more than 60 cumulative working days in a year; in cases where the employee is transferred to perform work different from the labor contract for more than 60 cumulative working days in a year, it can only be done with the employee's written consent.
The employer shall specify in the labor regulations the cases due to production and business needs that allow the employer to temporarily transfer the employee to perform work different from the labor contract.
When temporarily transferring an employee to perform work different from the labor contract as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the employer must notify the employee at least 03 working days in advance, clearly state the temporary work duration, and assign work suitable to the employee's health and gender.
The employee transferred to perform work different from the labor contract shall be paid according to the new job. If the new job's salary is lower than the old job's salary, the old job's salary shall be maintained for 30 working days. The new job's salary must be at least 85% of the old job's salary, but not lower than the minimum wage.
If the employee does not agree to temporarily perform work different from the labor contract for more than 60 cumulative working days in a year and has to stop working, the employer must pay the stoppage salary according to the provisions of Article 99 of this Code.
=> Thus, the company can transfer employees in the above-mentioned cases. The total cumulative transfer time within a year must not exceed 60 days. If it exceeds 60 days, the employee's written consent is required.
Sincerely.
