4 notable regulations regarding registration of internal labor regulations in Vietnam from 2021

4 notable regulations regarding registration of internal labor regulations in Vietnam from 2021 (Internet image)

1. What are cases required registration of internal labor regulations in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 118, Clause 1, Article 119 of the Labor Code 219, every employer that has at least 10 employees shall issue their own written internal labor regulations and register the internal labor regulations at the labor authority of the province where business registration is applied for

In cases where the employer has fewer than 10 employees, the internal labor regulations can be issued in another form, but the employer must ensure that all employees know how to implement them and do not require the registration of internal labor regulations.

Thus, employer that has at least 10 employees are required to register the internal labor regulations at the labor authority of the province where business registration is applied for. This is a condition for the internal labor regulations to have legal effect. As for employer has fewer than 10 employees, it is not necessary to have written internal labor regulations, in which case labor discipline is expressed in legal orders and requests of the employer.

2. Procedures and application for registration of internal labor regulations in Vietnam

According to the content in Article 119 and Article 120 of the Labor Code 219, the documents and procedures for registering labor regulations are prescribed as follows:

- Within 10 days from the date of issuance of the internal labor regulations, the employer must submit the application for registration of the internal labor regulations at the labor authority of the province where business registration is applied for.

An application for registration of internal labor regulations shall consist of:

+ The application form;

+ A copy of the internal labor regulations;

+ A document containing comments of the representative organization of employees if there is such a representative organization of employees at the working place;

+ Documents of the employer that are relevant to labor discipline and material responsibility (if any).

-  If any of the contents of the internal labor regulations is found contrary to the law, within 07 working days from the date of receipt of the application, the provincial labor authority shall notify and instruct the employer to revise it and re-submit the application.

An employer whose branches, units or business locations in different provinces shall send the registered internal labor regulations to the labor authority of those provinces.

The provincial labor authority may authorize a district-level labor authority to process an application for registration of internal labor regulationsaccording to the regulations in Vietnam.

Note: Before issuing or revising the internal labor regulations, the employer shall consult the employee representative organization (if any).

3. Mandatory contents of the internal labor regulations in Vietnam

According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 118 of the Labor Code 219, the contents of the internal labor regulations shall not be contrary to labor laws or to relevant legal provisions. The internal labor regulations shall include the following key contents:

- Working hours and rest periods;

- Order at the workplace;

- Occupational safety and health;

- Actions against sexual harassment in the workplace;

- Protection of the assets and technological and business secrets and intellectual property of the employer;

- Cases in which reassignment of employees are permitted;

- Violations against labor regulations and disciplinary measures;

- Material responsibility;

- The person having the competence to take disciplinary measures.

Concretizing this regulation in the Labor Code 219, the Draft Decree details the implementation of a number of articles of the Labor Code on labor management, employment contracts, salaries, labor discipline and material responsibility is being posted for comments online, expected to take effect from January 1, 2021, and also details the main contents that must be included in the labor regulations as follows:

- Specific working hours, rest periods in 01 day, 01 week; work shifts; beginning and ending time of shifts; overtime work (if any); special cases of overtime work; extra rest breaks; breaks between shifts; weekly days off; annual leave, personal leave, unpaid leave;

- Workplace order; work area, movement during working hours; code of conduct; dress code; compliance to job assignment by the employer;

- Occupational hygiene and safety in the workplace: responsibility to comply with rules and regulations, procedures and measures for assurance of occupational hygiene, occupational safety and fire safety; use and preservation of personal safety equipment and other equipment serving assurance of occupational hygiene and safety at the work place; cleaning, decontamination and disinfection at the workplace;

- The employer’s regulations on preventing and combating sexual harassment in the workplace; procedures for taking actions against sexual harassment in the workplace as prescribed in the Government's regulations on policies for female employees and ensuring gender equality.

- Protection of the employer’s assets, business secrets, technological secrets and intellectual property: A list of assets, documents, technological secrets, business secrets, intellectual property; responsibility, measures for protection thereof; definition of infringements upon these assets and secrets;

- Cases in which employees may be temporarily reassigned against their employment contracts: specify cases where due to production and business needs, employees are temporarily reassigned against their employment contracts according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 29 of the Labor Code.

- Violations of labor regulations by employees and forms of disciplinary actions: specific employees’ violations and corresponding disciplinary actions;

- Material responsibility: specify cases in which the employee has to pay compensation for causing damage to tools, instruments or assets; cases in which the employee has to pay compensation for losing tools instruments or assets or exceeding material consumption limits; the level of compensation corresponds to the level of damage.

- Persons having the power to take disciplinary actions: persons having the power to conclude employment contracts on behalf of the employer as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 18 of the Labor Code or specific persons specified in the internal labor regulations.

Person with authority to handle labor discipline: person with authority to enter into labor contracts on the employer's side as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 18 of the Labor Code or a person specified by the employer. specifically defined in the internal labor regulations.

Thus, compared to now, from January 1, 2021, the labor regulations will have more mandatory content such as content onActions against sexual harassment in the workplace; cases where an employee is temporarily reassigned against their employment contracts; material responsibility; person with authority to handle labor discipline.

4. Effect of internal labor regulations in Vietnam

According to the provisions of Article 121 of the Labor Code 219, the internal labor regulations shall start to have effect after 15 days from the day on which the satisfactory application is received by a competent authority as prescribed in Article 119 of this Labor Code.

The effect of the written internal labor regulations issued by an employee that has fewer than 10 employees shall be decided by the employer.

Nguyen Trinh

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