Employment
2019 Labour Code with regional minimum wages and severance at half a month per year
The Labour Code 2019, effective 2021, allows unlimited-term and one fixed-term contract, sets minimum wages by four regions, and gives severance of half a month's wages per year of service on lawful termination.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Provincial labour departments supervise; disputes go through conciliation, then arbitration councils or the People's Court. Only Vietnam General Confederation of Labour unions are lawful.
Governing law
- Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14
- Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15
- Law on Trade Unions2012
In practice
A fixed-term contract may be renewed once, after which it converts to indefinite, which is the single most consequential rule for employers. Normal hours are eight per day and 48 per week with overtime capped at 40 hours a month and 200 a year, extendable to 300 in listed sectors. Employees get twelve days of annual leave plus eleven public holidays. Termination requires a statutory ground with notice of 30 or 45 days, and unlawful dismissal exposes the employer to reinstatement plus back pay. The retirement age is rising incrementally to 62 for men by 2028 and 60 for women by 2035. The 2024 Social Insurance Law tightened one-off withdrawal rules and broadened compulsory coverage.