Is the act of forcing the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt to the employer legal in Vietnam?

Is the act of forcing the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt to the employer legal in Vietnam? (Internet image)

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

1. What is employment contract?

- An employment contract is an agreement between an employee and an employer on a paid job, salary, working conditions, and the rights and obligations of each party in the labor relations.

A document with a different name is also considered an employment contract if it contains the agreement on the paid job, salary, management and supervision of a party.

- Before recruiting an employee, the employer shall enter into an employment contract with such employee.

(Article 13 of the Labor Code 2019)

2. Is the act of forcing the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt to the employer legal in Vietnam? 

According to Article 17 of the Labor Code 2019, prohibited acts by employers during conclusion and performance of employment contracts include:

- Keeping the employee’s original identity documents, diplomas and certificates.

- Requesting the employee to make a deposit in cash or property as security for his/her performance of the employment contract.

- Forcing the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt to the employer.

Thus, according to the above regulations, employers are not allowed to force the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt

3. What are the penalties for forcing the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt to the employer in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 4, Article 11 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP, penalties for Forcing the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt to the employer are as follows:

A fine ranging from VND 50.000.000 to VND 75.000.000 shall be imposed upon an employer for commission of one of the following violations:

- Coercing or maltreating employees if not liable to criminal prosecution.

- Forcing the employee to keep performing the employment contract to pay debt to the employer.

4. Competence to conclude employment contracts in Vietnam

Competence to conclude employment contracts is specified in Article 18 of the Labor Code 2019 as follows:

- Employees may directly conclude their employment contracts, except for the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

- In respect of seasonal works or certain jobs which have a duration of less than 12 months, a group of employees aged 18 or older may authorized the representative of the group to conclude the employment contract, in which case such employment contract shall be effective as if it was separately concluded by each of the employees.

The employment contract concluded by the said representative must be enclosed with a list clearly stating the full names, ages, genders, residences and signatures of all employees concerned.

- The person who concludes the employment contract on the employer’s side shall be:

= The legal representative of the enterprise or an authorized person as prescribed by law;

= The head of the organization that is a juridical person, or an authorized person as prescribed by law;

= The representative of the household, artels or an organization that is not a juridical person, or an authorized person as prescribed by law;

= The individual who directly hires the employee.

- The person who concludes the employment contract on the employee’s side shall be:

= The employee himself/herself if he/she is 18 or older;

= The employee aged 15 to under 18 with a written consensus by his/her legal representative;

= The employee aged under 15 and his/her legal representative;

= The employee lawfully authorized by the group of employees to conclude the employment contract.

- The person who is authorized to conclude the employment contract must not authorize another person to conclude the employment contract.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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