The newly issued Decree No. 145/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government has specified privileges of female employees at the workplace. Any employer who violates these provisions shall be fined up to VND 20 million.
Article table of contents
Specifically, according to Article 80 of the Decree No. 145/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, there are 02 privileges of female employees including:
One is, during the menstruation period, female employees are entitled to a daily break of 30 minutes which will be included in their working time and fully paid under their employment contracts. The number of days of menstrual leave shall be negotiated by both parties according to the working conditions and the needs of the female employees but must be at least 03 working days per month. Specific days of leave of each month shall be informed by the employee to the employer due to the fact that each employee’s menstruation period is different.
In case a female employee does not have the need to take menstrual leave and the employer allows her to work, she will be entitled to an extra salary that corresponds to the amount of works done by her during the period of menstrual leave to which she is entitled. The untaken menstrual leave shall not be included in her overtime work according to Article 107 of the Labor Code 2019 of Vietnam. This is a new regulation compared to Decree No. 85/2015/NĐ-CP.
In case the employer fails to facilitates for female employees to exercise their rights, they will be fined according to Clause 1 Article 27 of Decree No. 28/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government as follows:
Fines ranging from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed on any employer that commits one of the following violations:
a) Failing to consult female employees or their representatives when deciding issues related to the rights and interests of these female employees.
b) Failing to allow female employees to rest 30 minutes a day during their menstruation.
Two is, a female employee who is nursing a child under 12 months is entitled to a daily break of 60 minutes for breastfeeding, milking and rest. This daily break time will be fully paid under the employment contract.
In case a female employee does not have the need for rest the employer allows her to work, she will be entitled to an extra salary that corresponds to the amount of works done by her during the rest period to which she is entitled.
This is a privilege of female employees, thus, in case of violation against this provision, employers shall be imposed fines ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 according to Point c Clause 2 Article 27 of the Decree No. 28/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government.
In addition to these two privileges, female employees are still fully protected by law. For the following violations, the employer will also be fined with the same amount:
- Allowing female workers to work overtime, work at night and go on business trips in one of the following cases: They are pregnant from the 7th month, or from the 6th month of pregnancy if they work in highland, remote, isolated, border and island regions; they are raising their children under 12 months old;
- Failing to make work transfer or reduction in working hours for pregnant female employees in the 7th month of pregnancy onwards who are doing heavy work as prescribed in clause 2 of Article 155 in the Labor Code of Vietnam;
- Failing to reinstate female employees in their previous posts after end of their maternity leave period as prescribed in clause 1 and clause 3 of Article 157 in the Labor Code of Vietnam, unless these previous posts are no longer available;
- Imposing labor-related disciplinary actions on female employees who are pregnant or take paid leave for childbirth in accordance with law on social insurance, or are raising children under 12 months of age;
- Sacking or unilaterally terminating employment contracts with female employees for such reasons as marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave or care for their infants aged under 12 months, except when violating employers are individuals who are dead, is judged incapable of civil acts, missing or dead by the Court, or when employers who are not individuals closing their business not to the extent to being liable to criminal prosecution.
- Employing female employees to do any work that female employees are prohibited from doing as prescribed in Article 160 in the Labor Code of Vietnam.
02 mitigative measures for violations against female employee regulations are compelling employers to make full payment of overtime wages for failing to allow female employees to rest 30 minutes a day during their menstruation or failing to allow female employees that are raising their children aged under 12 months to rest 60 minutes a day; and compelling offenders sacking or unilaterally terminating employment contracts with female employees for such reasons as marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave or care for their infants aged under 12 months to reinstate employees in their previous posts. This is a new regulation compared to Decree No. 95/2013/NĐ-CP.
Thus, from February 01, 2021, when the Decree No. 145/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government comes into force, if the employer does not guarantee the rest time for female employees according to the above 02 privileges, they will be fined up to VND 20 million. Therefore, employers and female employees need to understand these regulations well to perform their obligations and ensure their rights at the workplace.
Phuong Thanh
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