When can a labor dispute be settled at the court without mediation in Vietnam?

When can a labor dispute be settled at the court without mediation in Vietnam? (Illustration)

1. When cạn labor disputes be settle diirectly at the court in Vietnam?

According to Clause 1, Article 188 of the Labor Code 2019, individual labor disputes between employees and employers, for which mediation is not mandatory are as follows:

- Disputes over dismissal for disciplinary reasons; unilateral termination of employment contracts;

- Disputes over damages and allowances upon termination of employment contracts;

- Disputes between a domestic worker and his/her employer;

- Disputes over social insurance in accordance with social insurance laws; disputes over health insurance in accordance with health insurance laws ; disputes over unemployment insurance in accordance with employment laws; disputes over insurance for occupational accidents and occupational disease in accordance with occupational safety and health laws;

- Disputes over damages between an employee and organization that dispatches the employee to work overseas under a contract;

- Disputes between the outsourced worker and the client enterprise.

Thus, when a labor dispute falls into the above categories, the disputing parties have the right to request the Court to settle without mediation in Vietnam.

2. Court Jurisdiction to Settle Labor Disputes

2.1 Jurisdiction of People’s Courts of districts

Pursuant to Point c, Clause 1, Article 35 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 stipulates that People's Courts of districts shall have the jurisdiction to settle according to first-instance procedures individual labor disputes between employees and employers.

In particular, for disputes in which the involved oversea parties or assets or require judicial entrustment, the jurisdiction to settle belongs to the provincial-level People's Courts at the first instance level.

2.2. Territorial jurisdiction of courts

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 39 of the Civil Procedure Code

- The Courts of the localities where the defendants reside or work, applicable to defendants being individuals, or where the defendants are headquartered, applicable to defendants being agencies or organizations;

- The involved parties shall have the right to agree with each other in writing to petition the Courts of the localities where the plaintiffs reside or work, applicable to plaintiffs being individuals, or where the plaintiffs are headquartered, applicable to plaintiffs being agencies or organizations,

2.3 Jurisdiction of Courts selected by plaintiffs or petitioners

- If the plaintiff does not know where the defendant resides or works or where his/her head-office is located, the plaintiff may petition the Courts of the area where the defendant last resides or works or where the head-office of the defendant is last located or where the defendant' properties are located to settle the case;

- If the defendant does not have residence place, work place or head-office in Vietnam or the case is related to disputes over alimonies, the plaintiff may petition the Court of the area where he/she resides or works to settle the case;

- If the dispute is over compensation for damage or allowance upon termination of a labor contract, over social insurance, the rights and/or interests in relation to job, wages, income and other working conditions for the laborers, the plaintiff being a laborer may petition the Court of the area where he/she resides or works to settle it;

-  If the dispute arises from the employment of labor by a sub-contractor or a mediator, the plaintiff may petition the Court of the area where his/her actual employer resides, works or is headquartered or where the sub-contractor or the mediator resides or works to settle it;

- If the defendants reside, work or are headquartered in different places, the plaintiff may petition the Court of the area where one of the defendants resides or works or is headquartered to settle the case;

Bao Ngoc

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