The Labor Code 2019: Is it legal to reduce the salary of employees in Vietnam who have not submitted complete documentation?

The Labor Code 2019: Is it legal to reduce the salary of employees in Vietnam who have not submitted complete documentation?​ (Illustration)

Salary is the amount of money that the employer pays the employee according to an agreement to perform a job, including the wage level according to the job or title, salary allowances, and other additional amounts. The salary paid to the employee must not be less than the prescribed minimum wage and must be paid according to the following principles (Article 94, Labor Code 2019 in Vietnam):

- The employer must directly, fully, and timely pay the salary to the employee. In cases where the employee cannot receive the salary directly, the employer may pay the salary to a legally authorized person of the employee;

- The employer must not restrict or interfere with the employee's right to decide on how to spend their salary; must not force the employee to spend their salary on purchasing goods or using services from any unit.

The labor law specifically stipulates the payroll period in Article 97 of the Labor Code 2019 to ensure the rights of employees as follows:

- Employees paid by the hour, day, or week are paid after the hour, day, week of work, or are paid in bulk according to the agreement of both parties, but must be paid in bulk at least once every 15 days;

- Employees paid by the month are paid monthly or semi-monthly. The payment time is agreed upon by both parties and must be fixed at a cyclic point;

- Employees paid by product, under contract are paid according to the agreement of both parties; if the work spans multiple months, the employee is to be advanced a monthly salary based on the amount of work done in the month.

In cases where due to force majeure, the employer has tried all remedies but still cannot pay the salary on time, the delay must not exceed 30 days; if the salary is delayed for 15 days or more, the employer must compensate the employee with an amount at least equal to the interest amount of the delayed salary calculated at the 1-month term deposit interest rate announced by the bank where the employer opens the salary account for the employee at the time of salary payment.

An enterprise in Vietnam is only allowed to delay salary payment to employees for a maximum of 30 days due to force majeure reasons that the enterprise has tried all measures but cannot remedy. A force majeure event under the Civil Code 2015 is understood as an event occurring objectively that cannot be foreseen and cannot be remedied even though all necessary measures and capabilities have been applied. Therefore, using the reason that the employee has not provided complete personnel dossiers to delay salary payment is entirely contrary to the law, whether this has been agreed upon in the labor contract/probationary contract or not. In cases where the employer delays the salary payment contrary to the regulations, the employee can directly complain to the employer or the local state labor management agency for resolution.

Hoa Hong

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