Protection of Business Secrets and Technological Secrets in Labor
Protection of Trade Secrets and Technological Secrets in Employment
Pursuant to Article 4 of Circular 10/2020/TT-BLDTBXH, the following guidelines are provided:
When an employee's work is directly related to trade secrets and technological secrets as prescribed by law, the employer has the right to agree with the employee on the content of protecting trade secrets and technological secrets in the labor contract or by other written documents as prescribed by law.
The agreement on protecting trade secrets and technological secrets may include the following key contents:
a) List of trade secrets and technological secrets;
b) Scope of use of trade secrets and technological secrets;
c) Duration of protection of trade secrets and technological secrets;
d) Methods of protection of trade secrets and technological secrets;
dd) Rights, obligations, and responsibilities of employees and employers within the duration of protection of trade secrets and technological secrets;
e) Handling of breaches of the agreement to protect trade secrets and technological secrets.
- When it is discovered that an employee has violated the agreement to protect trade secrets and technological secrets, the employer has the right to request the employee to compensate according to the agreement between both parties. The procedure for addressing compensation is as follows:
a) In the case of discovering that the employee has engaged in violating behavior during the duration of the labor contract, the issue is handled according to the procedure for handling damage compensation stipulated in Clause 2, Article 130 of the Labor Code;
b) In the case of discovering that the employee has engaged in violating behavior after the labor contract has ended, the issue is handled according to civil law and other related laws.
- For trade secrets and technological secrets listed as state secrets, implementation should follow the laws regarding the protection of state secrets.
Obligation to Provide Information When Concluding a Labor Contract
According to Article 16 of the Labor Code 2019:
The employer must provide truthful information to the employee about the job, workplace, working conditions, working hours, rest periods, labor safety, labor hygiene, wages, forms of salary payment, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, regulations on protecting trade secrets, technological secrets, and other issues directly related to the conclusion of a labor contract that the employee requests.
The employee must provide truthful information to the employer about their full name, date of birth, gender, place of residence, educational qualifications, professional qualifications, health status confirmation, and other issues directly related to the conclusion of a labor contract that the employer requests.
Respectfully!
