VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Ngoc Luong Trinh, Tung Nguyen, Hanh Vo, Esko Cate, Nguyen Dang, Khanh Le, Hoang Nguyen and Truc Ta, VILAF
to encourage the use of electronic employment con - tracts. In terms of duration,an employment contract can be for a definite term of up to 36 months or for an indefinite term. After signing two consecutive defi - nite-term contracts, the parties may only continue the employment relationship under an indefinite-term contract, subject to certain exceptions, including for - eign employees and elderly employees who continue working after reaching the statutory retirement age. In the case of foreign employees, this is because the term of the employment contract cannot exceed the term of the work permit, which has a maximum dura - tion of two years. An employment contract must contain several manda - tory terms, including: • information of the employer and the authorised signatory; • information of the employee and the work permit number or work permit exemption certificate num - ber for a foreign employee. • job description and workplace; • duration of employment contract; • salary and payment terms; • salary increments and promotion regime; • working hours and rest periods; • occupational safety and labour protection equip - ment; • compulsory insurance obligations; and • training and professional development. 4.3 Working Time The normal working time must not exceed 8 hours per day (where working time is determined on a daily basis) or ten hours per day (where working time is determined on a weekly basis) and in any event, must not exceed 48 hours per week. For certain work that exposes employees to hazardous or harmful factors, employers must also comply with the working time limits set by relevant laws and technical regulations. Employers may generally only require employees to work overtime with their consent and must observe the following limits:
• overtime does not exceed 50% of normal working hours per day, not exceed 12 hours (normal plus overtime hours) per day and not exceed 40 hours per month; and • total overtime does not exceed 200 hours per year in normal cases or 300 hours per year in certain industries, such as textiles and garments, leather and footwear and seafood processing or due to exceptional situations such as urgent production deadlines. In the latter case, employers must also notify the relevant Department of Home Affairs. Employers may require employees to work overtime without their consent at any time, without hours limita - tions, in extraordinary cases, such as for the purpose of national defence or security or to protect human life and property in cases of disasters, fire and epidemics. 4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts Leaving aside termination upon expiry of its term, an employer cannot terminate an employment contract or otherwise bring it to an end at will and must comply with the applicable statutory grounds, conditions and procedures. In contrast, an employee may generally terminate the contract at will by giving the required statutory notice. Unilateral Termination by the Employer An employer may unilaterally terminate an employ - ment contract in the following cases: (i) the employee consistently fails to satisfy perfor - mance standards prescribed in the employer’s internal rules, which are only adopted after fol - lowing a statutory procedure; (ii) the employee is ill or injured and has received treatment but has not recovered for a legally pre - scribed period, which varies based on the term of the contract; (iii) the employer is required to reduce its workforce due to a natural disaster, fire, major epidemic or relocation or downsizing required by a competent authority. (iv) the employee fails to return to work within 15 days after expiry of a period of suspension of the contract; (v) the employee reaches the retirement age; (vi) the employee is absent without reason for five
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