Is it possible to reassign employees to perform work which is not prescribed in the employment contract in Vietnam?

 Is it possible to reassign employees to perform work which is not prescribed in the employment contract in Vietnam? (Internet image)

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

1. Is it possible to reassign employees to perform work which is not prescribed in the employment contract in Vietnam?

According to Article 29 of the Labor Code 2019, the reassignment of an employee against the employment contract is as follows:

- In the event of sudden difficulties such as natural disasters, fire, major epidemics, implementation of preventive and remedial measures for occupational accidents or diseases, electricity and water supply failures, or for reasons of business and production demands, the employer may temporarily assign an employee to perform a work which is not prescribed in the employment contract for an accumulated period of up to 60 working days within 01 year, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the employee.

The employer shall specify in the internal labor regulations the cases in which the employer may temporary reassign employees against the employment contracts.

- In case of temporarily reassignment of an employee specified in Clause 1 of Article 29 of the Labor Code 2019, the employer shall inform the employee at least 03 working days in advance, specify the reassignment period and only assign works that are suitable for the employee’s health and gender.

- The reassigned employee will receive the salary of the new work. If the new salary is lower than the previous salary, the previous salary shall be maintained for 30 working days. The new salary shall be at least 85% of the previous salary and not smaller than the minimum wages.

- In case the employee refuses to be reassigned for more than 60 working days in 01 year and has to suspend the employment, he/she shall receive the suspension pay from the employer in accordance with Article 99 of th eLabor Code 2019.

Thus, the employer is allowed to reassign employees to perform work which is not prescribed in the employment contract, but the employer must notify and have employee's consent in writing.

2. Cases of suspension of an employment contract in Vietnam

Cases of suspension of an employment contract in Vietnam include:

- The employee is conscripted into the army or militia;

- The employee is held in custody or detention in accordance with the criminal procedure law;

- The employee is sent to a reformatory school, drug rehabilitation center or correctional facility;

- The female employee is pregnant as specified in Article 138 of this Code;

- The employee is designated as the executive of a wholly state-owned single-member limited liability company;

- The employee is authorized to representative the state investment in another enterprise;

- The employee is authorized to represent the enterprise’s investment in another enterprise;

- Other circumstances as agreed by both parties.

(Clause 1, Article 30 of the Labor Code 2019)

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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