What are the consequences upon illegal unilateral termination of the employment contract in Vietnam?

Notice period upon unilateral termination of employment contracts in Vietnam

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 35 of the Labor Code 2019, an employee shall have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract, provided he/she notices the employer in advance:

(1) At least 45 days in case of an indefinite-term employment contract;

(2) At least 30 days in case of an employment contract with a fixed term of 12 – 36 months;

(3) At least 03 working days in case of an employment contract with a fixed term of under 12 months;

(4) If an employee working in certain fields and jobs unilaterally terminates the employment contract, the notice period shall be as follows:

- At least 120 days before the termination date if the employment contract has an indefinite term or a term of at least 12 months;

- At least one fourth (1/4) of the employment contract duration if the duration is less than 12 months.

In particular, special works and lines of business include:

- Aircrew members; aircraft maintenance technicians, aviation repairmen; flight coordinators;

- Enterprise managers defined by the Law on Enterprises; the Law on Management and use of State Investment in Enterprises;

- Crewmembers working on Vietnamese vessels operating overseas; crewmembers dispatched to foreign vessels by Vietnamese dispatching agencies;

- Other cases prescribed by law.

(5) If falling into one of the following cases, the employee may unilaterally terminate the labor contract immediately without prior notice:

- Employees are not arranged according to the right job, working location, or are not guaranteed working conditions as agreed (except for the case specified in Article 29 of the Labor Code 2019);

- The employee is not paid in full or the salary is not paid on time (except for the case specified in Clause 4, Article 97 of the Labor Code 2019);

- The employee is abused, beaten by the employer, or has abusive words, acts, or behaviors that affect health, dignity, or honor; forced labor;

- Employees are sexually harassed at work;

- Pregnant female employees must take leave as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 138 of the Labor Code 2019;

- The employee reaches the retirement age as prescribed in Article 169 of the Labor Code 2019, unless otherwise agreed by the parties;

- The employer provides untruthful information as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 16 of the Labor Code 2019 affecting the performance of the labor contract.

What are the consequences upon illegal unilateral termination of the employment contract in Vietnam? (Internet image)

Consequences upon illegal unilateral termination of the employment contract in Vietnam

In case an employee violates the regulations on giving notice before leaving, he/she will be considered as illegal unilaterally terminating the labor contract. At that time, the employee will have to bear the following consequences:

(i) 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.

(ii) Reimburse the employer with the training costs in accordance with Article 62 of this Code.

(iii) Not receive the severance allowance.

Mai Thanh Loi

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