Labor Dispute Resolution in Vietnam

According to the regulations of the Labor Code 2019, which is effective from January 1, 2021, labor disputes are defined as follows: “A labor dispute means a dispute over rights, obligations, and interests among the parties during the establishment, execution or termination of labor relation; a dispute between the representative organizations of employees; or a dispute over a relationship that is directly relevant to the labor relation.” In the article below, Viet An Law Firm will provide clients with legal information about labor dispute resolution in Vietnam.

Types of common labor disputes

Labor disputes between the employee and the employer

Labor disputes between the employee and the employer; between the employee and the organization that sends the employee to work overseas under a contract; and between the outsourced worker and the client enterprise.

Collective labor disputes with the employers

Collective labor disputes between one or several representative organizations of employees and the employer or one or several representative organizations of employees.

Labor dispute resolution principles

• Respect the parties’ autonomy through negotiation throughout the process of labor dispute resolution.
• Prioritize labor dispute resolution through mediation and arbitration based on respect for the rights and interests of the two disputing parties, respect for the public interest of the society, and conformity with the law.
• The labor dispute shall be resolved publicly, transparently, objectively, promptly, and lawfully.
• Ensure the participation of the representatives of each party in the labor dispute resolution process.
• Labor dispute resolution shall be initiated by a competent authority or person after it is requested by a disputing party or by another competent authority or person and is agreed upon by the disputing parties.

Methods of resolving labor disputes

Labor disputes between the employee and the employer

Resolve labor disputes through labor mediators

Individual labor disputes shall be resolved through mediation by labor mediators before being brought to the Labor Arbitral Tribunal or the Court, except for the following labor disputes for which mediation is not mandatory:

• Disputes over dismissal for disciplinary reasons or unilateral termination of employment contracts;
• Disputes over damages and allowances upon termination of employment contracts;
• Disputes between a domestic worker and the employer;
• Disputes over social insurance by social insurance laws; disputes over health insurance by health insurance laws; disputes over unemployment insurance by employment laws; disputes over insurance for occupational accidents and occupational disease by occupational safety and health laws;
• Disputes over damages between an employee and an organization that dispatches the employee to work overseas under a contract;
• Disputes between the outsourced worker and the client enterprise.

In case mediation is not mandatory or the labor mediator fails to initiate the mediation by the deadline, or the mediation is unsuccessful, the disputing parties have the right to choose one of the following methods to resolve the dispute:

• Request the Labor Arbitral Tribunal to resolve the dispute by Article 189 of the Labor Code;
• Request the Court to resolve the dispute.

Resolve labor disputes through the Labor Arbitral Tribunal

The parties are entitled to, by consensus, request the Labor Arbitral Tribunal to resolve the dispute in case mediation is not mandatory. After the Labor Arbitral Tribunal has been requested to resolve a dispute, the parties must not simultaneously request the Court to resolve the same dispute, except for the case after 07 working days from the date of receipt of the dispute resolution request, an Arbitral tribunal is not established or a decision on the resolution of the labor dispute is not issued by the Arbitral Tribunal, the parties are entitled to bring the case to the Court. In case a disputing party fails to comply with the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal, the parties are entitled to bring the case to the Court.

Resolve labor disputes through the Court

• The parties are entitled to bring the case to the Court to resolve labor disputes in case mediation is not mandatory.
• In case a disputing party fails to comply with the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal, the parties are entitled to bring the case to the Court.

Time limits for requesting resolution of individual labor disputes

• The time limit to request a labor mediator to resolve an individual labor dispute is 06 months from the date on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights and interests.
• The time limit to request a Labor Arbitral Tribunal to resolve an individual labor dispute is 09 months from the date on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights and interests.
• The time limit to bring an individual labor dispute to the Court is 01 year from the day on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights and interests.
• In case the requester can prove that the aforementioned time limits cannot be complied with due to a force majeure event or unfortunate event, the duration of such event shall not be included in the time limit for requesting resolution of individual labor disputes.

Collective labor disputes with the employers

Competence to resolve right-based collective labor disputes

The agencies, organizations, and individuals who have the competence to resolve collective labor disputes include:

• Labor Mediation;
• Labor Arbitral Tribunal;
• People’s Court.

Labor disputes shall be resolved through mediation by labor mediators before being brought to the Labor Arbitral Tribunal or the Court.

Time limits for requesting resolution of right-based collective labor disputes

• The time limit to request a labor mediator to resolve a right-based collective labor dispute is 06 months from the date on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights.
• The time limit to request a Labor Arbitral Tribunal to resolve a right-based collective labor dispute is 09 months from the date on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights.
• The time limit to bring a right-based collective labor dispute to the Court is 01 year from the day on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights.

Competence to resolve interest-based collective labor disputes

The agencies, organizations, and individuals who have the competence to resolve interest-based collective labor disputes include:

• Labor mediators;
• Labor Arbitral Tribunals.

An interest-based collective labor dispute shall be resolved through mediation by labor mediators before it is brought to the Labor Arbitral Tribunal or a strike is organized.

Services for labor dispute resolution in Vietnam of Viet An Law Firm

To save time and minimize costs for our clients, Viet An Law Firm offers labor dispute resolution consulting services, including:

• Consulting on the rights and obligations of the disputing parties;
• Consulting on options for dispute resolution;
• Determining the basis for resolving disputes;
• Guiding clients in gathering evidence;
• Participating in negotiations and mediations in labor cases;
• Consulting on the procedures for initiating labor lawsuits;
• Representing clients to protect their legal rights and interests before the Labor Arbitral Tribunal and the Courts;
• Representing clients to safeguard their legal rights and interests during the enforcement of judgments.

Clients who have related questions or need legal support for Labor Dispute Resolution in Vietnam, please contact Viet An Law Firm for the best support!