Are enterprises required to organize health check-ups for employees in Vietnam?

Are enterprises required to organize health check-ups for employees in Vietnam? (Internet image) 

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Are enterprises required to organize health check-ups for employees in Vietnam?

According to Article 21 of the Law on occupational safety and hygiene 2015, the health check-ups and treatment for occupational diseases applicable to employees is as follows:

- Annually, an employer shall organize health check-ups at least once a year for employees; and health check-ups at least twice a year for employees doing heavy and harmful jobs and disabled, underage and elderly employees.

- Beside regulations prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 21 of the Law on occupational safety and hygiene 2015, the employer shall organize obstetric checks for female employees, and occupational disease checks for employees who work in conditions with hazards of occupational diseases.

- Before an employee is assigned works or taken another work that is more heavy, harmful or dangerous, or after a victim recovers from occupational accident or occupational disease and returns to work, the employer shall have them went for health check-ups, unless they have undergone decreased work capacity examinations conducted by a Medical Examination Council.

- The employer shall organize health check-ups or occupational disease check-ups for employees at health facilities meeting professional and technical conditions.

- The employer shall send the employee who is diagnosed as an occupational disease to a health facility meeting professional and technical conditions according to the treatment regimen of occupational diseases prescribed by the Minister of Health.

- Costs of health check-ups, occupational disease check-ups, and treatment for occupational diseases for employees paid by employers as prescribed in Clause 1, 2 3 and 5 of Article 21 of the Law on occupational safety and hygiene 2015 shall be recorded to deductible expenses when determining their taxable income as prescribed in Law on enterprise income tax and recorded to regular operating expenses applicable to administrative units without service provision.

Thus, the employer must organize at least one health check-up for the employee; for employees who do heavy, hazardous, dangerous jobs or especially heavy, hazardous or dangerous jobs, employees with disabilities, minor workers, elderly workers health check-up at least every 6 months.

2. Responsibility of the employer for assurance of occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace in Vietnam

Responsibility of the employer for assurance of occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace in Vietnam according to Article 16 of the Law on occupational safety and hygiene 2015 are as follows:

- The workplace is required to meet requirements pertaining to space, clearance, dust, steam, noxious gases, radioactivity, electromagnetic field, heat, moisture, noise, vibration, and other dangerous or harmful factors as prescribed in relevant technical standards and they are regularly inspected and measured; there are enough bathrooms and restrooms suitable for the workplace as prescribed by the Minister of Health.

- Machinery, equipment, materials and substance shall be used, operated, maintained and preserved at the workplace in conformity with technical standards of occupational safety and hygiene, or technical regulation on occupational safety and hygiene that promulgated, applied and internal regulations and process for assuring occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace.

- Employees are sufficiently provided with personal protective equipment when they perform tasks having dangerous or harmful factors; and occupational safety and hygiene equipment at the workplace.

- Annually or when necessary, dangerous or harmful factors at the workplace must be inspected and assessed to carry out technical measures for elimination or reduction in dangerous or harmful factors at the workplace, improvement of working condition and healthcare for employees.

- Machinery, equipment, materials, workshops, and depots must be periodically inspected and maintained.

- There are warning and instruction signs made in Vietnamese and popular language of employees in relation to occupational safety and hygiene for machinery, equipment, materials and substances that having strict safety and hygiene requirements at the workplace, preservation places, usage places that are placed at obvious locations.

- Employees shall be propagated and trained in internal regulations, process of occupational safety and hygiene, measures for prevention ò dangerous or harmful factors at the workplace in relation to their work assignment.

- Formulate and promulgate plans for breakdown responses, emergency rescue at the workplace; organization of breakdown responses, emergency rescue, rescue forces and promptly send reports to the persons in charge when any hazard is found or any accident or breakdown occurs beyond the control capacity of the employer.

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