Vietnam: Are employees who quit their jobs due to dispute with their boss considered as illegal termination of labor contracts?

According to Clause 2 Article 35 of the Labor Code 2019 of Vietnam, an employee shall have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract without prior notice if he/she:

- is not assigned to the work or workplace or not provided with the working conditions as agreed in the employment contract;

- is not paid adequately or on schedule, except for the case of a force majeure event in which the employer is unable to pay the employee on schedule after all remedial measures have been implemented.

- is maltreated, assaulted, physically or verbally insulted by the employer in a manner that affects the employee’s health, dignity or honor; is forced to work against his/her will;

- is sexually harassed in the workplace;

- is pregnant and has to stop working where she obtains a confirmation from a competent health facility which states that if she continues to work, it may adversely affect her pregnancy;

- reaches the retirement age as prescribed, unless otherwise agreed by the parties;

- finds that the employer fails to provide truthful information in a manner that affects the performance of the employment contract.

Thus, according to this regulation, from January 01, 2021, there are 07 cases where an employee shall have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract without prior notice to the enterprise. Particularly, if the employer has insulting words or acts that affect the honor and dignity of the employee, the employee has the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract.

Therefore, when a dispute occurs, an employee has the right to resign without prior notice if the boss scolds him and has words, abusive behavior, behavior that affects the health, dignity and honor of the employee. However, to avoid being disadvantaged, employees should collect enough evidence such as videos, audio recordings, witnesses, etc. to prove the boss's offensive behavior.

Accordingly, in this case, when quitting, the employee will enjoy the following legitimate benefits:

- To be paid salary according to the provisions of Clause 1 Article 48 of the Labor Code 2019 of Vietnam;

- To be paid a severance allowance when working regularly for full 12 months or more, and half a month's salary for each working year according to Clause 1 Article 46 of the Labor Code 2019 of Vietnam;

- To be entitled to unemployment benefits when fully meeting the conditions under Article 49 of the Law on Employment 2013 of Vietnam, specifically:

+ Having paid unemployment insurance premiums for at least full 12 months within 24 months before terminating the labor contract or working contract (for the case of labor contracts or working contracts of indefinite time and labor contracts or working contracts of definite time from 12 months to 36 months) or having paid unemployment insurance premiums for at least full 12 months within 36 months before terminating the labor contract.

+ Having submitted a dossier for receipt of unemployment allowance to an employment service center as prescribed by Law;

+ Having not yet found any job after 15 days from the date of submission of the dossier for receipt of unemployment allowance.

On the other hand, in the event of a dispute, but the boss does not have words, acts of insult, or behavior that affects the health, dignity and honor of the employee, the employee is not allowed to quit without notice. If the employee quits but does not notify the enterprise in advance, this is considered an illegal termination of the labor contract.

When terminating a labor contract illegally, the employee has the following obligations:

- Not receive the severance allowance.

- Pay the employer a compensation that is worth his/her half a month’s salary plus (+) an amount equal to his/her salary for the remaining notice period from the termination date.

- The employee shall reimburse the employer with the training costs as prescribed by Law (if any).

Ty Na

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE