What is a Seasonal Contract?

Seasonal contracts are a concept stipulated in the Labor Code 2012 (BLLD), whereby a seasonal contract is a labor contract for a seasonal job or a specific job with a term of less than 12 months. Consequently, a seasonal contract is concluded in such cases where an agreement is made between the employer and the employee regarding temporary, non-regular work, or work defined within a 12-month period.

Regarding the concept of a seasonal contract, we need to note the following regulations:

- A seasonal contract contains main contents similar to a regular labor contract (Article 23 BLLD) and these contents also ensure the rights of the employee.- Employees still have the following benefits:- Entitled to unemployment allowance;- Entitled to full benefits for maternity, pension, work accident, occupational disease;- Settled by the Court in case of disputes with the employer.- In case the employee unilaterally terminates the contract, they are not entitled to severance allowance because, according to regulations, severance allowance only applies to employees who have worked regularly for 12 months or more;- Still subject to personal income tax for income from wages and salaries as prescribed by tax law;- Not allowed to conclude a seasonal or specific job labor contract with a term of less than 12 months for jobs of a regular nature from 12 months or more, except in cases of temporarily replacing an employee performing military duty, taking maternity leave, being ill, having a work accident or other temporary leave (Clause 3 Article 22 BLLD). Violations will be handled according to the regulations in Clause 1 Article 5 of Decree 95/2013/ND-CP;- Upon the expiration of the first contract term, a second contract can still be signed. However, the work agreed upon in the seasonal contract must be temporary and non-regular work;- Employees working under a seasonal labor contract are not subject to probation (Clause 2 Article 26 BLLD);- During the execution of the labor contract, if either party requests amendments or supplements to the labor contract, they must notify the other party at least 3 working days in advance of the contents to be amended or supplemented (Clause 1 Article 35 BLLD);- When unilaterally terminating the labor contract, the employer/employee must notify the employee/employer at least 03 working days in advance (Point c Clause 2 Article 38 BLLD);- When temporarily transferring an employee to a different job than specified in the labor contract, the employer must notify the employee at least 03 working days in advance, clearly stating the temporary duration and arranging suitable work according to the health and gender of the employee (Clause 2 Article 31 BLLD);- Entitled to benefits on personal leave, unpaid leave as prescribed by BLLD.

Relevant documents:

Decree 44/2013/ND-CP guiding the Labor Code on labor contracts

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