This is one of the notable contents stipulated in the Labor Code 2019, which was officially ratified by the National Assembly at the 8th session of the 14th National Assembly on November 20, 2019, and will take effect from January 1, 2021.
Article table of contents
Officially, break time is not counted as working hours for employees (Illustrative Photo)
LABOR CODE 2019 (OFFICIAL)
To be specific, according to the content in the Labor Code 2019, employees working their regular hours of 6 hours or more in a day are entitled to a continuous break of at least 30 minutes; in the case of night work, a continuous break of at least 45 minutes is provided and not counted in working hours; for shift workers, break time is counted as working hours.
Thus, from January 1, 2021, break time will only be counted as working hours for shift workers, while for those working regular hours, it will not be counted.
Currently, according to the Labor Code 2012, break time for employees working regular hours is still considered as working hours.
According to both the Labor Code 2019 and the Labor Code 2012, the regular working hours of employees are not to exceed 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. However, the State encourages employers to implement a 40-hour work week for employees.
Also, according to the Labor Code 2019, employers have the right to regulate working hours by day or week but must inform the employees (Labor Code 2012 does not specify the employer’s obligation to inform); if by week, regular working hours should not exceed 10 hours per day and not exceed 48 hours per week.
Nguyen Trinh
