Verification of employee’s background information during probation period in Vietnam

Under the Labour Code 2012, an employer and an employee are permitted to agree about working on a probation basis (thử việc) and the rights and obligations of the parties during the probation period. In addition, before entering into the probation contract, the employer may request the employee to submit various information, including full name, age, sex, residential address educational standard, professional qualifications, health status, and other “information directly relevant to the employment agreement”. To select the qualified candidates, the employer may also agree with the employee on a verification for such information, which shall give the employer the right to terminate probation contract in case of unsuccessful verification results. While it is not entirely clear, there is a risk to the employer to be considered as illegal termination. This is because:

Changes to long-term visa rules for foreign directors/managers in Vietnamese companies

Under the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, which came into effect on 1 January 2015, a “foreign investor” (nhà đầu tư nước ngoài) may be granted a long-term visa (or temporary resident permit) of up to five years. The problem is, however, that many foreign investors in Vietnam are companies, not individuals. Technically, the individual representatives of such foreign companies are not considered as foreign investors and are therefore not qualified for long-term visas to stay in Vietnam. In the past, individual representatives of foreign companies which invest in Vietnam may obtain a long-term visa on the ground that they enter into Vietnam to implement investment projects. Such regulations are now no longer valid. Accordingly, foreign directors/managers in Vietnamese companies who have obtained a long-term visa on the ground that they are representatives of foreign investors in the Vietnamese companies may now need to obtain a shorter visa on the ground that they are employees or staffs of the Vietnamese companies. 

Working overtime in Vietnam

Some basic rules about working overtime in Vietnam are:

  • Normal working time is limited to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week.
  • The aggregate overtime should not exceed 300 hours per year.
  • Night working time is from 22:00 to 6:00.
  • Overtime payment is exempt from personal income tax.

The table below provides for the overtime rate that an employer must pay an employee if the employee is working overtime.  The rate is calculated over salary paid during normal working hour.