Regulations on Working Hours of Employees in Vietnam from January 01, 2021

Regulations on Working Hours of Employees in Vietnam from January 01, 2021 (Illustration)

Working hours of employees in Vietnam are regulated in the 2019 Labor Code including:

- Normal working hours;

- Night working hours;

- Overtime (including overtime in special cases).

Regarding normal working hours of employees in Vietnam:

According to Clause 1 Article 105 of the 2019 Labor Code, normal working hours must ensure:

- Not more than 08 hours in 01 day and not more than 48 hours in 01 week.

- In cases calculated by week, normal working hours should not exceed 10 hours in 01 day and not more than 48 hours in 01 week.

Note: ****** Employers have the right to stipulate working hours by day or week but must notify the employee. This is a new point of the 2019 Labor Code. If as of now, the 2012 Labor Code allows employers to stipulate working hours by hour, day, or week, then from January 1, 2021, employers, when stipulating working hours, must notify the employee.

Furthermore, the State continues to encourage employers to adopt a 40-hour workweek for employees.

Additionally, the 2019 Labor Code stipulates that employers have the responsibility to ensure the time limit for working with hazardous or harmful elements complies with national technical regulations and relevant laws in Vietnam. This is a regulatory approach referencing other valid laws instead of specifying directly as the 2012 Labor Code currently does.

“3. Working hours do not exceed 06 hours in 01 day for those doing particularly heavy, toxic, or dangerous jobs according to the list issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs in coordination with the Ministry of Health.”

(according to Clause 3 Article 104 of the 2012 Labor Code)

Regarding night working hours:

According to Article 106 of the 2019 Labor Code, the night working hours of employees are calculated from 22:00 to 06:00 the following morning. This regulation remains unchanged from the 2012 Labor Code.

Regarding overtime:

Employers can require employees to work overtime when meeting the following conditions:

- Must have the consent of the employee;

- Ensure the overtime hours of the employee as follows:

- Not more than 50% of normal working hours in 01 day;- In cases where normal working hours are calculated by week, the total normal working hours and overtime hours must not exceed 12 hours in 01 day; not more than 40 hours in 01 month;- Ensure the overtime hours of employees do not exceed 200 hours in 01 year, except for certain special cases where overtime can be up to 300 hours in 01 year:

-  Production,  processing  of  export  goods  in  the  textile,  garment,  leather,  footwear,  electronics,  agroforestry,  salt  production,  and  aquaculture  sectors;

-  Production,  supply  of  electricity,  telecommunications,  oil  refining;  water  supply  and  drainage;

-  Cases  requiring  high-skilled  labor  that  the  labor  market  does  not  adequately  provide  promptly;

-  Cases  requiring  immediate  resolution  due  to  seasonal  or  timing  nature  of  materials,  products,  or  to  handle  unexpected  tasks  due  to  objective  factors,  weather  events,  natural  disasters,  fire,  war,  power  or  material  shortages,  technical  failures  of  production  lines;-  Other  cases  regulated  by  the  Government  of  Vietnam.

Note: When organizing overtime in cases exceeding 200 hours but not exceeding 300 hours/year, employers must notify in writing the labor authority of the provincial People's Committee.

When requesting employees to work overtime, employers must ensure not more than 40 hours in 01 month for cases where normal working hours are calculated by week, an increase of 10 hours from the 30 hours/month regulation of the 2012 Labor Code.

Simultaneously, the 2019 Labor Code also specifically regulates cases where employers can organize overtime exceeding 200 hours but not exceeding 300 hours/year as a basis for businesses to apply.

If under the 2012 Labor Code, employers had the right to request employees to work overtime on any day without time limitation and employees could not refuse, the 2019 Labor Code stipulates an exception for this case where if overtime poses a risk to the life or health of employees according to occupational safety and health regulations, employees have the right to refuse. This is an important new point regarding overtime in special cases that employees need to note.

The above are the complete regulations on working hours of employees according to the 2019 Labor Code, effective from January 1, 2021. Employers should note these regulations, especially new ones, to reasonably organize working hours for employees. At the same time, employees should be clear about these regulations to ensure their legitimate rights.

Thuy Tram

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