One of the important changes in the Labor Code 2019 is the employment contract allowed to be concluded between the employer and the employee.

Under the law, the parties choose to sign either of the employment contracts: An employment contract of an indefinite term and an employment contract of a definite term that stays within 36 months. The employer can negotiate the repeated signing of a fixed-term labor contract with elderly employees, foreign workers, and executives of the incumbent board of management whose employment contract expires during the term. No amendment to the contract term in the Contract Appendix is allowed.  The employer is entitled to temporarily transfer the employee to do different jobs from the contract agreement due to production and business needs in the following cases: The time of transference for doing the different job does not exceed 60 working days in total in one year: No agreement of the employee required; and the time of transference for doing another job is over 60 working days in total in one year: Written agreement of the employee required.

The employer has more flexible rights to unilaterally terminate the employment contract: (1) The employee often fails to complete the work as per the employment contract; (2) The employee gets sick or has an accident (depending on the contract term to specify the corresponding treatment duration); (3) The employee suffers from natural disasters, fires, dangerous epidemics, enemy sabotage or relocation and business shrinkage; (4) the employee is not present at the workplace upon the end of employment contract suspension; (5) The employee reaches enough years of age for retirement unless otherwise agreed by both parties; (6) The employee voluntarily quits his/her job for 5 or more consecutive working days without having a plausible reason; and (7) The employee provides untruthful information when entering into the employment contract that affects the worker recruitment.

The employee who wants to quit his/her job only needs to notify the employer in advance without giving a reason. There are seven cases of no prior notice requirement: (1) Not being assigned the right job; (2) The salary is not paid in full or on time; (3) Being mistreated, beaten, verbally or behaviorally abused by the employer - the act that affects his/her health, dignity and honor, being forced to labor; (4) Being sexually harassed; (5) The pregnant female employee takes leave as prescribed by the physician; (6) The employee reaches the retirement age unless otherwise agreed by both parties; (7) The employer provides dishonest information that affects the employment contract fulfillment.

 Source: Vietnam Business Forum