VN Employment Manual 2015 Part 2

10.2 Maternity leave allowance

During maternity leave, a female employee is not entitled to receive her normal salary. Instead, the employee receives a maternity allowance from the Social Insurance Fund, provided that she has paid social insurance for at least six months within the twelve months immediately preceding maternity leave. The employer is responsible to claim this from the Social Insurance Fund for the employee.

The maternity leave allowance is equal to 100% of the average monthly salary during the last six months in which the female employee contributed social insurance.

In addition to the maternity leave allowance, a female employee is entitled to an allowance equaling the national minimum salary for two months per baby.

In practice, most employers front the allowance claim to avoid hardship. The employee agrees to furnish the paperwork within a certain period of time in order to complete the claim which is then used to reimburse the company.

10.3 Working conditions

A female employee is entitled to special working conditions if she is pregnant or if her baby is below 12 months of age:

A female employee who has reached her seventh month of pregnancy or whose baby is below 12 months of age does not have to work overtime or at night, or go on business to distant localities;
A female employee who is employed in heavy work and has reached her seventh month of pregnancy must be transferred to a position with lighter duties; otherwise, she may work one hour less every day and receive full pay; and
A female employee with a baby below 12 months of age is entitled to a break of 60 minutes every day, but must receive full pay.

An employer is advised to take the nature of its workforce into account, since it will be affected by these regulations. While the labor market is tight, there are still a lot of temporary employees ready to cover women on maternity leave. Moreover, since maternity benefits are paid by the insurance fund, an employer's budget should support the hire of temporary employees without additional costs. Temporary workers permit business continuity and immediate continuous coverage if the new mother decides not to return.



10.4 Termination of the labor contract of a female employee during maternity

Unless the company ceases operation, an employer is not allowed to dismiss or unilaterally terminate the labor contract of a female employee if she is pregnant, on maternity leave, or has a baby who is below 12 months of age.

11. Retirement

Article 187 of the Labor Code 2012, the Law on Social Insurance, Decree 152 and Circular 03 regulate the retirement regime. Rules on the retirement regime are summarized in Schedule 3.

12. Disciplinary action

Disciplinary action can be taken by an employer against an employee in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Labor Code 2012.

12.1 Grounds for disciplinary action

In order to have solid grounds to take disciplinary action against an employee, the employer must have internal labor regulations ("ILRs") which are carefully worded and duly registered with the DOLISA. Disciplinary action will be regarded as unlawful unless the ILRs are followed. A discussion of ILRs is provided in Section 23 of this Manual.

It is unclear whether the general terms of the Labor Code 2012 will apply in order to determine whether or not there are grounds for disciplinary actions in cases where a company does not have ILRs. To properly protect your rights as an employer and to help assure compliance, ILRs should be in place even if you have fewer than 10 employees (registration is required only when you have 10 or more employees).

While the penalty depends on the seriousness of the breach, an employee who breaches the ILRs may be disciplined in one of the following ways:

Reprimand, either oral or in writing. This disciplinary action is for a first-time offense that constitutes only a minor breach.
Suspension of scheduled pay raise by not more than six months, or removal of the employee from the current position. Such disciplinary action may be taken if an employee has been reprimanded in writing and commits another offense--the same or a different offense - during the three months following the written reprimand.
The law also allows an employer to include in its ILRs other circumstances in which it can take disciplinary action. For example, an employer may dismiss an employee for a repeated breach of the ILRs. We suggest that the employer elaborate on this circumstance in the ILRs with as much detail as possible.

Dismissal. Dismissal is possible only in the circumstances specified in the employer's ILRs. Grounds for dismissal will be discussed in Section 14 of the Manual.
In addition to authorizing implementation of disciplinary action, the Labor Code 2012 allows the employer to claim compensation from an employee who damages or loses tools, equipment, or other assets of the company. Likewise, an employee may be required to compensate the employer if he uses work-related materials at an excessive rate. The compensation, depending on each case, is equal to all or a part of the market price of the assets. However, compensation is subject to the following limitations:

If the damage is not serious (the value is less than the amount of 10 months of the regional minimum salary) and is due to the employee's negligence, the amount of compensation is limited to three months salary and must be deducted gradually at a maximum of 30% from the employee's monthly salary after withholding compulsory insurances.
If the employee loses tools, equipment, or assets assigned by the employer, or uses work-related materials at an excessive rate (beyond the permitted limit), s/he must compensate for all or a part of such assets at the market price;
If there is a "contract of responsibility" between the employer and the employee, compensation must be in accordance with such contract; and
If damage is caused by force majeure, the employee has no obligation to compensate the employer.
12.2 Temporary suspension of work

The employer is entitled to temporarily suspend an employee from work when further work by the employee may jeopardize an investigation. An employer may suspend an employee from 15 to 90 days, but only after the employer consults with the trade union or other organization that represents the labor force in the company.

An employee will be advanced 50% of his/her monthly salary during the temporary suspension. In case such employee is subjected to a form of discipline, the advance is not required to be returned.

13. Termination of employment

Schedule 4 summarizes the rules on termination.

Some specific bases for termination are listed in the Labor Code 2012, and an employer may rely on any to unilaterally terminate a labor contract. Repeatedly failing to perform satisfactory work is the most common cause. Other causes include: (i) the employee suffering from sickness or an accident and does not recover after 12 consecutive months of treatment. This rule is applicable to labor contracts with an indefinite term. However, termination may occur after only six months for employees who work under a definite term labor contract. Employees under a casual labor contract or a regular labor contract with a term of less than 12 months may be terminated after half of the contract term; (ii) if the employer has to reduce production and there were no vacancies after taking all measures to overcome the consequences of a natural disaster, fire or other force majeure; or (iii) the employee is not present at the workplace after 15 days from the date that a labor contract suspension expires.

Previously, the law clearly provided that when an employee is warned in writing at least twice in a month, but fails to redress his/her shortcomings, the employee is considered to have failed to perform satisfactorily. The Labor Code 2012, however, no longer requires two written notices. Rather, the employer is permitted to regulate its own criteria for determining what qualifies as "failing to perform satisfactorily." The employer is not required to register these criteria with the labor authority, and they are enforceable as long as the employer consulted with the trade union or other organization that represents the labor force in the company before establishing them.

A terminated employee is entitled to receive a severance allowance for a period equaling the total number of years employed, excluding the time the employee participates in the compulsory unemployment insurance scheme (normally since January 1, 2009).

In practice, despite the requirements of advance notice and clear grounds to terminate a labor contract, termination is often not easy. A mutual termination agreement between the employer and the employee is often used. This helps to avoid any dispute that may arise or any shortcoming of the termination procedure. The employer and employees may reach agreements on the date of termination, compensation, etc. The time required to comply with termination procedures is reduced significantly when resolved through mutual agreement.

14. Dismissal

The term "dismissal," as used in Chapter VIII of the Labor Code 2012, should be distinguished from the term "termination by the employer," as used in Chapter IV of the Code. "Dismissal" means termination by the employer for a breach of labor rules.

The employer may dismiss an employee in the following circumstances:

An employee steals, embezzles, gambles, is deliberately violent and the violence causes injury, discloses business or technological secrets, infringes intellectual rights of the employer, or engages in other conduct that causes serious damage or threatens to cause particularly serious damage to the assets or well-being of the employer. The law requires the employer to set out an amount of damage in the ILRs that would give rise to dismissal. In addition, it is worth specifying in the ILRs what the employer considers to be a business or technological secret, and what conduct is considered to cause serious damage to the assets or well-being of the company;
An employee has been disciplined by suspension of a scheduled pay raise and repeats his breach--either through the same or a different offense--while he is still being disciplined for the first breach; or
An employee takes an aggregate of five days off in one month or 20 days off in one year without the employer's permission and without plausible reason.
Such circumstances, however, must be discussed in the employer's ILRs in order to serve as grounds for dismissal.

Due to negative connotations for the employee, dismissal is generally subject to rather strict procedural requirements, e.g, having a meeting to deal with the dismissal which includes participation by the internal trade union.

15. Non-solicitation of employees, customers and suppliers

The labor law does not prohibit an employer from including a clause on non-solicitation of employees, customers and suppliers in the labor contract. An employer can include such a clause in both the labor contract and in its ILRs.

The employer may prohibit its employees from taking commissions from vendors. This is an employment matter, rather than a criminal matter, and the employer can establish its own policy.

16. Use of computers

The employer may monitor the use of computers at work and may take appropriate disciplinary action against an employee who makes unauthorized use of a computer. However, in order to do so, the employer must include in its ILRs' policies on the use of computers at work, what conduct constitutes a violation of such policies, which violations are subject to disciplinary action, and the disciplinary consequences.

17. Drug and alcohol testing, police and criminal background checks and general medical testing

The employer is allowed to conduct drug and alcohol testing, police and criminal background checks, and general medical testing of its employees. Although it is not a common practice, an employer can include certain tests as part of pre-employment health checks.

In a labor contract or in its ILRs, the employer may also require that an employee be tested or investigated during the course of his employment. However, mentioning such a requirement is not enough. In order to take action against an employee who abuses drugs or alcohol or who has committed a criminal offense, carefully worded ILRs are required. According to Article 126 of the Labor Code 2012, an employee who uses drugs at the workplace may be dismissed as a form of discipline.

18. Retrenchment

Retrenchment is a form of redundancy. The law permits an employer to retrench its employees under limited circumstances.

18.1 Retrenchment due to technological changes or organizational restructuring

Retrenchment due to technological changes or organizational restructuring is defined as: (i) changes to the organizational structure, reorganizing work; (ii) changes of products or product structure; and (iii) changes in connection with the process, technology, machinery, equipment for manufacturing, business operations associated with the business lines of the employer.

Rules on retrenchment due to technological changes or organizational restructuring are provided in Article 44.1 of the Labor Code 2012. Item 1.1 (a) of Schedule 4 summarizes these rules.

18.2 Retrenchment due to merger, consolidation, division, separation, or transfer of assets of the employer

Rules on retrenchment due to merger, consolidation, division, separation, or transfer of the assets of the employer are provided in Article 45 of the Labor Code 2012. Item 1.1 (b) of Schedule 4 summarizes these rules.

18.3 Retrenchment due to economic reasons

By law, retrenchment due to economic reasons includes: (i) crisis or recession; and (ii) implementation of a State's policy in order to restructure the economy or implementation of an international commitment.

Rules on retrenchments due to economic reasons are provided in Article 44.2 of the Labor Code 2012. Item 1.1 (b) of Schedule 4 summarizes these rules.

19. Annual leave

An employee with 12 months of service is entitled to have annual leave with full pay. The total annual leave is:

12 working days for an employee who works in normal working conditions;
14 working days for an employee who does heavy, noxious or dangerous work, or who works in a locality with harsh living conditions, or who is under 18 years of age;
16 working days for an employee who does especially heavy, noxious or dangerous work or who works in a locality with especially harsh living conditions.
An employee is entitled to long service leave in accordance with Article 112, Section 2, Chapter VII of the Labor Code 2012. The number of annual leave days will increase in proportion to an employee's seniority or experience in a job, or in proportion to an employee's service with an employer. The increase is one additional day for every five years of service.

For an employee who does not work for the entire 12 months in a year, the amount of annual leave is calculated by the following formula: [total annual leave / 12] ? actual working months (provided that any fraction will be rounded up to one day if it is equal or greater than 0.5). If the employee does not take annual leave, that unused annual leave must be paid in full.

The unused annual leave of an employee who resigns or is made redundant must also be paid in full.

According to a recent survey, more and more companies are offering professionals more than 12 days as starting annual leave. Also, more FIEs are giving additional holidays for international festivities celebrated in their home countries, such as Christmas, Easter and national days. Some will even give an extra holiday to an employee on their birthday if it falls on a working day.

20. Unions

Chapter XIII of the Labor Code 2012 and the Law on Trade Unions 2012 regulate the activities of trade unions. A company is not responsible for setting up an internal trade union. Rather, the trade union in the province where the company is located must take the initiative.

Enterprises in both the public and private sectors are required to contribute to a fund, established within that enterprise, to support operation of the trade union. The rate of contribution is equal to 2% of the employee salaries. 15

The rights of union officers have been increased under the Law on Trade Unions 2012. Specifically, if a labor contract of an employee who is a part-time union officer expires while such officer is still within the term of his/her office, then the labor contract of such officer must be extended until the expiration of the period of such office.16

21. Collective negotiation

Based on the theory that it builds a good labor relationship between employees and the employer, shapes new labor conditions and resolves difficulties, the Labor Code 2012 grants the employer and employees the right to request collective negotiation. Collective negotiation may concern the following: (i) salaries, bonuses, allowances, pay rises; (ii) working hours, rest time, overtime working hours, breaks between shifts; (iii) assurances in connection with the employees' jobs; (iv) assurances of labor safety, occupational health and compliance with internal labor rules; and (v) other matters.

The Labor Code 2012 requires the employer to encourage dialogue in the workplace. The purpose of the dialogue is for the employees to share information and create a better understanding between the employer and the employees in order to formulate a good labor relationship. The dialogue is in the form of discussions and includes an annual labor meeting. A discussion in the workplace is required to be held at least every three months or by request of either the employer or the employees' collective labor representative (ie, the trade union at the grassroots level or the direct upper level trade union). A labor meeting must be held every 12 months, and any employer who hires up to 10 employees, is responsible to hold such meetings.

The topics at both the discussions in the workplace and labor meetings may include:

The employer's production and business;
Performance of labor contracts, collective labor agreement, ILRs, and other internal regulations, undertakings, and arrangements at the workplace;
Working conditions;
Requests of the employer to the employees and the labor collective; and
Other matters in which the employer and employees are interested
Collective negotiation may be conducted at the industry level or at the corporate level. Neither the employer nor the employee is allowed to refuse a request for collective negotiation initiated by the other party. If a party refuses the request for collective negotiation, the other party is entitled to treat the matter as a labor dispute.

22. Collective Labor Agreement ("CLA")

A CLA is a written agreement between the employees (as one party) and the employer (as the other party) with respect to the matters identified in Section 21 above. A CLA is made in accordance with Section 4, Chapter V of the Labor Code 2012.

Representatives of the employees and the employer negotiate and sign a CLA based on principles of voluntary commitment and fairness. The representative of the employees, under the Labor Code 2012, is the chairman of the company's trade union.

When the trade union or provisional trade union committee is established, the chairman is responsible for asking the employer, on behalf of its employees, to enter into a CLA and to propose its terms and conditions. Therefore, a CLA is not required unless and until a trade union is set up at a company, as discussed in Section 20 of this Manual, and its chairman requests that the employer enter into a CLA.

A CLA normally has a duration of one to three years. If a CLA is entered into for the first time in an enterprise, it may have a term of less than one year.

Each party is entitled to request an amendment or a supplement to the CLA. For a CLA of less than one year, an amendment or supplement can occur only after three months from its effective date. For a CLA covering a period of one to three years, an amendment or supplement can occur only after six months of implementation.

The Labor Code 2012 addresses CLAs at the industry level. If the regulations of the employer, or the rights, obligations, or legal interests of the employees as provided by the CLA at the corporate level are less favorable than those provided by the CLA at the industry level, the corporate-level CLA must be amended accordingly. It must be done within three months from the date on which the CLA at the industry level takes effect. The terms of CLAs at the industry level range from one to three years. CLAs at the corporate level have the same terms, but an initial term may be less than one year.

23. Compulsory worker's compensation or compulsory insurance schemes for work-related accidents

Compensation for work-related accidents is paid to an injured employee in accordance with Chapter IX of the Labor Code 2012. Criteria for the level of compensation are also provided in the Law on Social Insurance.

Navigos Search Practical Notes

Personal accident insurance is fast gaining popularity. The cost is reasonable. The insurance ensures that employees' medical costs and loss of salary are taken care of without any added burden to the company. There are many reputable service providers in the market and they have very flexible plan options for long term or even temporary employees.

23.1 Compensation by the employer

When a work-related accident occurs, and the employer participates in compulsory insurance, the employer and the Social Insurance Fund must jointly pay the compensation. The proportions of the allowance paid by the employer and the Social Insurance Fund are discussed in Schedule 5.

If a work-related accident occurs, and the employer has not participated in compulsory insurance, the employer must bear all medical expenses incurred from the point that first aid or emergency treatment is provided until completion of the medical treatment of the injured employee. The law also requires the employer to pay the full salary to the injured employee during the period he is absent from work for medical treatment. Furthermore, the employer must compensate an employee injured in a work-related accident, in accordance with Part I of Schedule 5.

The law also prevents the employer from unilaterally terminating the labor contract of an injured employee during the period of medical treatment, unless the employee remains unable to work after receiving treatment for a certain period of time (see Schedule 4).

The salary level used for calculating compensation is the employee's average salary for the six months immediately prior to the accident plus allowances. If the employee has been employed for less than six months, the salary level used for the calculation is the monthly salary at the time of the accident.

If the employer recruits a trainee or an apprentice, as outlined in Article 23.2 of Labor Code 2012, and a work-related accident occurs, the employer must compensate the trainee or apprentice as stipulated in Part I of Schedule 5. The salary level for calculating compensation is the minimum salary in the company at the time the accident occurs or the trainee/apprentice's actual salary, whichever is higher.

23.2 Allowances paid by the Social Insurance Fund

In addition to compensation from the employer as discussed above, an employee injured in a work-related accident is entitled to an allowance paid by the Social Insurance Fund. If the company does not make a compulsory social insurance contribution to the Social Insurance Fund, as discussed in Section 8.1 of this Manual, it must pay the injured employee an allowance equal to the amount that would have been paid by the Social Insurance Fund had the social insurance contribution been made. The scale of this allowance is summarized in Part II of Schedule 5. This payment is in addition to the compensation discussed previously in this Section.

24. Employee handbook or Internal Labor Regulations (ILRs)

A company must have written ILRs registered with the DOLISA if it has 10 or more employees. A company located in an industrial/export processing/hi-tech zone should register its ILRs with the Board Management of the zone. After registration, all employees must be notified of the ILRs.

The ILRs must include the following major components:

Working hours and rest breaks;
Rules and discipline in the company;
Occupational safety and hygiene in the workplace;
Protection of assets and confidentiality of technology and business secrets of the company; and
Conduct that is in breach of labor regulations, penalties imposed for those breaches, and responsibility for damages.
Carefully worded ILRs will enable the employer to take disciplinary action against an employee or terminate a labor contract in the case of poor performance by an employee (see the first bullet in Item 1.2 of Schedule 4). If an offense is not specified in a company's ILRs, or if the company does not have duly registered ILRs, it will be difficult to dismiss an employee.

It is highly recommended for companies with fewer than 10 employees to have ILRs even though they may not be required by law. This allows them to implement the Labor Code 2012. An employer can adapt ILRs from the parent's global/regional employee handbook or draft them based on local regulations or MOLISA's template. Please note that the ILRs must be registered and disseminated to the employees in the Vietnamese language with an acknowledgement receipt kept on file. You may also want to have an English version for reference purposes.

25. Labor disputes

Labor disputes may be individual labor disputes, disputes between an individual employee and his employer, or collective labor disputes. There are two forms of collective labor disputes: (a) disputes regarding employees' rights, which is a dispute between a group of employees and their employer regarding the implementation of labor laws, the collective labor agreement, or ILRs that have been registered with the labor authorities; and (b) disputes involving employees' interests. The latter form usually involves a dispute between a group of employees and their employer in which the employees request that the employer give them new, better labor conditions relating to salary, bonuses, working time, or other benefits.

25.1 Labor dispute resolution

Resolution of most individual labor disputes must first be attempted by the company's mediation council or a labor mediator. If the attempt fails, disputes may be resolved by the appropriate court. However, certain kinds of individual labor disputes, such as disputes regarding dismissal, unilateral termination of a labor contract, and payment of allowances in the case of termination, may be resolved by the court first.

Collective labor disputes involving employees' rights may be resolved by:

A labor mediator;
Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level; and/or
The relevant court.
Resolution of collective labor disputes that involve employees' rights must be carried out in the above order (ie, aggrieved employees must exhaust remedies at one level before proceeding to the next).

Collective labor disputes involving employees' interests may be resolved by:

A labor mediator; and/or
A council of labor arbitrators established by the People's Committee at the provincial level.
Resolution of collective labor disputes involving employees' interests must be carried out in the above order. In cases where resolution by a council of labor arbitrators fails, the employees have the right to go on strike.

26. Strikes

Legal strikes must be carried out in accordance with a process set forth in the law. A strike must be organized and led by an internal trade union, or, for cases in which an internal trade union has not been established, by the trade union at a superior level. A strike is illegal if:

It does not arise from a collective labor dispute involving employee's interests;
The people on strike do not all work for the same company;
Attempts to resolve the collective labor either have not been made, or the dispute is in the process of resolution;
The employees have not voted on the strike, or the written request that the labor collective presents to the employer prior to the strike as required by law does not include required information;
It has not been organized and led by the internal trade union or the representative of the employees;
It occurs at an enterprise that is on the list of enterprises for which strikes are not allowed, such as enterprises in the following industries: electricity, petrol and gas, aviation, shipping, telecommunications, water supply and discharge, environmental hygiene, and national security; or
There has been a decision to suspend or discontinue the strike.
During a strike or within three months from the conclusion of a strike, the internal trade union, the trade union at the superior level, and the employer each have the right to request that the relevant provincial court consider the legality of the strike. If the court concludes that a strike is illegal, the internal trade union, the trade union at the superior level, or the employees themselves may be required to pay damages to the employer.

The Labor Code 2012 provides a special procedure to resolve a strike that breaches orders and procedures regulated in Article 212 and Article 213 of the Labor Code 2012. That is, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level is entitled to declare that a strike has improper orders and procedures, and must then notify the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level. Within 12 hours from the time he receives the notification, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level, together with the district labor authority and the trade union at the same level, must meet with the employer and the employees in order to resolve the dispute.

27. Transfer of business

According to Article 45 of the Labor Code 2012, if a company undergoes a change, including a merger, consolidation, division, split, or transfer of ownership, or transfers the right to manage or use its assets, the successor company must sustain the existing labor contracts of the employees. That is, the terms and conditions of employment that existed before the change will survive the change. No severance or redundancy allowances are paid to an employee if he continues to be employed. If there is a retrenchment as a consequence of a transfer of business, the current employer or its successor, depending on specific situation, is required to have a plan to use the same employees after consulting with the trade union or other organization that represents the labor force in the company.

28. Labor outsourcing

The term "labor outsourcing" as defined in the Labor Code 2012 means an arrangement involving "an employee who is employed by a labor outsourcing enterprise, and is assigned to work for another organization, is subject to the management of the latter organization but remains under the labor relationship with the labor outsourcing enterprise".17

With this new feature, employers will have another channel to engage skilled employees in order to secure and meet their manpower requirements, especially for a temporary increase of production or for other temporary positions. However, labor outsourcing is conditional under the Labor Code 2012. Among other things, labor outsourcing enterprises must have a specific license, issued by MOLISA,18 and maintain a deposit of two billion Vietnamese dong. In addition, the types of jobs available for labor outsourcing are limited, and the maximum term for labor outsourcing is 12 months.

Details of conditions for issuing a labor outsourcing license and a list of the types of jobs available for labor outsourcing are provided in Schedule 6 of this Manual.

The Labor Code 2012 also requires the labor outsourcing enterprise to perform the obligations of an employer with regard to the employees it provides to other organizations. These obligations include the payment of salaries, unused leave, suspension and severance allowances, redundancy allowances and mandatory social, health and unemployment insurances.

The salary of an outsourced employee must not be less than the salary of an employee with the same professional qualifications performing the same or a similar job at the organization using the services. At any point, the organization using the services may agree with the employee and the labor outsourcing enterprise to recruit the employee.

The Labor Code 2012 requires the outsourced employee to obey the internal labor rules of the organization using the service. However, the organization using the service is not entitled to impose disciplinary actions on the outsourced employee. It can only send the employee back to the labor outsourcing enterprise, which is authorized to discipline the employee.

29. Administrative Sanctions

On August 22, 2013, the Government issued Decree 95/2013/ND-CP ("Decree 95"), which imposes administrative sanctions in a range of categories: labor, social insurance, and arrangement of a Vietnamese employee working overseas under contract. Before the adoption of Decree 95, administrative sanctions with respect to these three matters had been provided in separate decrees.

Under Decree 95, administrative penalties fines are higher than the fines stipulated under previous regulations. In addition, new acts and behaviors are listed as administrative violations and subject to penalties.

Footnotes

1 This Employment Manual has been written by lawyers in the Vietnam offices of Russin & Vecchi and is current as of July, 2015. Several practical notes embedded in the text of the Employment Manual have been prepared by Navigos Search's consultants. In various places, we refer to amounts in Vietnamese dong. The approximate current exchange rate is US$1.00 = VND 23,000.
2 According to the Civil Code, a representative office or a branch does not have legal status. The parent is liable before the law for the activities of the representative office or branch.
3 The Law on Enterprises, Arts. 55.2, 70.2, 74.3, and 116.4.
4 Ibid.
5 Art. 759.3 of the Civil Code.
6 Art. 173 of the Labor Code 2012.
7 Art.13.2 of Decree 102.
8 Circular No. 41/2014/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade dated November 5, 2014 regarding foreign employees seconded to enterprises belonging to one of the eleven services under the list of Vietnam's WTO Commitments
9 Article 4 of Decree 102 and Article 3 of Circular 03.
10 Art. 22.3 of the Labor Code 2012.
11 Schedule 2 prescribes main terms as regulated in Article 23.1 of the Labor Code 2012.
12 The revised Law on Social Insurance was promulgated on November 20, 2014, with effect from January 1, 2016.
13 The Law on Social Insurance, Art. 94.3.
14 The current basic salary is VND 1,150,000 per month. See Article 1 of Decree 66/2013/ND-CP, dated June 27, 2012.
15 Article 26 Law on Trade Union dated 2012.
16 Art. 25.1 of the Law on Trade Unions dated 2012.
17 Article 53.1 of the Labor Code 2012
18 Article 13 of Decree 55/2013/ND-CP

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.