Shall an employee in Vietnam have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract if he/sheprovided he/she notices the employer in advance?

According to the Draft of the Labor Code 2017 that has been proposed, the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract of employees in Vietnam is regulated as follows:

Option 1: Maintain the current regulations as per the Labor Code 2012 (with reasons + notice period)

1. Employees working under fixed-term employment contracts, seasonal employment contracts have the right to unilaterally terminate the contract prematurely in the following cases:

a) Not being assigned the correct job or workplace, or not being guaranteed working conditions as agreed in the employment contract;

b) Not being paid in full or on time as agreed in the employment contract;

c) Being maltreated, sexually harassed, or forced to work;

d) The employee or their family faces difficult circumstances that prevent them from continuing to execute the employment contract;

dd) Being elected to hold a full-time position in an elected body or appointed to hold a position in the state apparatus;

e) Female employees who are pregnant and must leave work as prescribed by a competent medical facility;

g) Employees who are sick or have an accident, have been treated for 90 continuous days for those working under a fixed-term employment contract and one-fourth of the contract term for those working under a seasonal employment contract, but their working capacity has yet to recover.

2. When unilaterally terminating the employment contract as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, employees must inform the employer in advance:

a) At least 3 working days for cases specified in Points a, b, c, and g Clause 1 of this Article;

b) At least 30 days if it is a fixed-term employment contract; at least 3 working days if it is a seasonal employment contract for cases specified in Points d and dd Clause 1 of this Article;

c) For cases specified in Point e Clause 1 of this Article, the notice period to the employer will be performed according to the period prescribed in Article 156 of this Code.

3. Employees working under an indefinite-term employment contract have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract, but must inform the employer at least 45 days in advance, except for cases stipulated in Article 156 of this Code.

Option 2: Employees have the right to terminate the employment contract at any time without any reason, with just the notice period (to create better job opportunities for employees and to prevent and eliminate forced labor). This is quite an open and liberal regulation for employees, receiving large support from the workforce. Accordingly:

1. Employees have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract at any time with the condition of prior notice:

a) 45 days for employees working under an indefinite-term employment contract;

b) 30 days for employees working under a fixed-term contract;c) 5 working days for employees working under a seasonal employment contract.

2. Employees do not need to give prior notice as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article in the following cases:

a) Employees are not assigned the correct job or workplace, or not guaranteed working conditions agreed upon by the parties;

b) Employees are not paid in full or on time as agreed upon by the parties;

c) Employees are maltreated, sexually harassed, or forced to work;d) Female employees who are pregnant must leave work as prescribed by a competent medical facility.

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