What are the Benefits for Employees When the Labor Code 2019 Comes Into Effect? This is a question that the majority of employees are interested in ever since the Labor Code was passed and officially came into effect on January 1, 2021.
Article table of contents
What do employees get when the 2019 Labor Code takes effect? (Illustration)
Employees can authorize someone else to receive their salary
To be specific, according to the provision in Article 94 of the 2019 Labor Code, the employer must pay the salary directly, fully, and on time to the employee. However, in cases where the employee is unable to receive the salary directly, the employer can pay the salary to the legally authorized person of the employee. (The 2012 Labor Code only provided that the employee must be paid directly, fully, and on time without allowing the employer to pay the salary to a legally authorized person of the employee).
Rewards can be given in cash, assets, or other forms
The 2019 Labor Code has expanded the forms of rewards for employees compared to the 2012 Labor Code. Accordingly, rewards are cash or assets or other forms that the employer gives the employee based on production and business results and the level of job performance. (The 2012 Labor Code only specified that rewards are a specific amount of money and did not include other forms).
Officially 2 days off for National Day on September 2
According to the new regulation in the 2019 Labor Code, from January 1, 2021, employees will get an extra day off for National Day on September 2 (adjacent to either before or after September 2 in the solar calendar). From 2021 onwards, employees will have a total of 11 holidays per year (currently, employees only get 1 day off for National Day, totaling 10 holidays per year).
Additional cases for personal leave with full pay
To be specific, according to the 2019 Labor Code, employees are entitled to personal leave with full pay and must notify the employer in the following cases:
- Getting married: 3 days off;- Biological or adopted child getting married: 1 day off;- Death of a biological father, biological mother, adoptive father, adoptive mother; biological father, biological mother, adoptive father, adoptive mother of spouse; spouse; biological or adopted child: 3 days off.
Thus, it can be seen that the 2019 Labor Code has added 2 more cases where the employee is entitled to personal leave with full pay, specifically in the case of the death of an adoptive father and adoptive mother.
Labor contracts can be entered into online
To be specific, according to Article 14 of the 2019 Labor Code, besides the two current forms of labor contracts which are verbal and written, from January 1, 2021, employers and employees can enter into labor contracts through electronic means in the form of data messages. Labor contracts concluded through electronic means in the form of data messages according to the law on electronic transactions hold the same validity as labor contracts in writing.
Female employees during pregnancy are fully protected
According to Clause 3, Article 37 of the 2019 Labor Code, the employer may not unilaterally terminate the labor contract when “the female employee is pregnant; the employee is on maternity leave or is nurturing a child under 12 months old”. Even when the employee is pregnant or nurturing a child under 12 months old and falls into a case of unilateral termination, the employer cannot exercise the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract.
Previously, Clause 3, Article 155 only stipulated: “The employer is not allowed to dismiss or unilaterally terminate the labor contract of a female employee on the grounds of marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, or nursing a child under 12 months old...”. However, in reality, there were many cases where female employees during pregnancy or nursing a child under 12 months old were unilaterally terminated due to other reasons such as frequently not completing tasks according to the labor contract, for example.
Protecting employees from sexual harassment
To be specific, according to Article 118 of the 2019 Labor Code, from January 1, 2021, when the 2019 Labor Code takes effect, in addition to the five mandatory contents currently required in the labor regulations, the enterprise's labor regulations must also include the following contents:
- Prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace; procedures and measures for handling acts of sexual harassment at the workplace;- Cases in which employees can be temporarily reassigned to work different from the labor contract;- Persons authorized to handle labor discipline.
Moreover, Article 125 of the 2019 Labor Code has also added regulations on applying the disciplinary form of dismissal to those who commit sexual harassment at the workplace.
Previously, the 2012 Labor Code mentioned acts of sexual harassment but only scattered across a few articles, considering it as one of the prohibited acts and as one of the grounds for the employee to unilaterally terminate the labor contract ahead of time, rather than one of the acts subject to disciplinary dismissal.
Right to resign without prior notice in 7 cases
To be specific, according to Clause 2, Article 35 of the 2019 Labor Code, there are 7 cases where employees have the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract without prior notice, including:
- Not being arranged according to the agreed job, workplace, or not being assured of the working conditions as agreed, except in case of reassignment to a different job than the labor contract due to sudden difficulties caused by natural disasters, fires, dangerous epidemics, implementation of preventive measures, and accident remediation, occupational diseases, electrical or water problems, or due to business and production needs as prescribed by law.- Not being paid fully or on time, except in case of force majeure where the employer has taken all remedial measures but cannot pay on time.- Being mistreated, beaten by the employer or having insulting words or actions, or having actions affecting the health, honor, and dignity; being forced to work.- Being sexually harassed at the workplace.- Female employees must resign if it is affirmed by a competent health examination facility that continuing to work will negatively affect the fetus.- Reaching the retirement age as prescribed in Article 169 of the 2019 Labor Code, except where otherwise agreed upon by the parties.- The employer provides dishonest information about the job, workplace, working conditions, working hours, rest periods, occupational safety and hygiene, salary, payment forms, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, security regulations for business secrets, technological secrets and issues related to the conclusion of the labor contract as required by the employee, affecting the performance of the labor contract.
Nguyen Trinh
