Unilateral termination of labor contract is the premature termination of one side’s will. Employee has the right to unilateral termination of labor contract, but must comply with the regulations of law.
I. Right of employee to unilateral termination of labor contract
1. Ensuring the advance notice period
- At least 45 days in case of working under the indefinite-term labor contract;
- At least 30 days in case of working under the labor contract with a fixed term of 12 to 36 months;
- At least 03 working days in case of working under the labor contract with a fixed term of less than 12 months;
- The advance notice period in certain fields and jobs shall be specified by the government.
2. Cases in which an employee is entitled to unilateral termination of labor contract without advance notice:
- He is not assigned correctly to the work or workplace or not ensured the working conditions as agreed, except for employer’s unexpected difficulties such as natural disasters, fires, major epidemics, implementation of preventive and remedial measures for occupational accidents or diseases, electricity and water supply failures, or for reasons of business and production demands;
- Not being paid in full or on schedule, unless the employer encounters a force majeure event;
- Being maltreated, assaulted, physically or verbally insulted by the employer in a manner that affects the employee’s health, dignity or honor; or being forced to work against his/her will;
- Being sexually harassed at the workplace;
- Being pregnant to be stopped working;
- Reaching the retirement age;
- The employer failed to provide truthful information as prescribed that affects the labor contract performance.
II. Rights and obligations of employees when unilateral termination of labor contract
1. Unilateral termination of labor contract termination in accordance with the laws
a) With regard to the rights
- Being entitled to severance allowance;
- Being entitled to the relevant benefits such as salary, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance;
- Getting back documents such as the Social Insurance and others kept by the employer;
- To be provided with copies of documents related to the employee’s working process as required.
b) With regard to the obligations
Handing over work and labor tools to the employer. The handover must be in writing, signed by the employee, the employer, and/or the employer’s recipient representative.
2. Illegal unilateral termination of labor contract
The employee who illegally unilaterally terminates the labor contract under conditions of the labor contract termination, shall bear the following legal consequences:
- Not receiving the severance allowance;
- Compensating the employer with a half month’s salary plus an amount equal to his/her salary for the days without the advance notice from the termination date;
- Reimbursing the employer with the training costs as prescribed.
For further information on how we can help clients in labor cases, feel free to contact ALB & Partners, a professional law firm in Vietnam. With a team of experienced lawyers, we are pleased to assist Clients in any legal issues related to labor laws in Vietnam. Kindly send us your requests via our email address: [email protected]
