Enterprises must promulgate internal labor regulations to stipulate codes of conduct in the workplace, and served as a basis for handling labor discipline

Legal grounds:

• Labor Code 2019.

Pursuant to Article 118 of the 2019 Labor Code as follows:

Article 118. Labor regulations

1. The employer must promulgate the internal labor regulations, if employing 10 or more employees, the labor regulations must be in writing.
2. The contents of the labor regulations must not be contrary to the labor law and relevant provisions of law. Labor regulations include the following main contents:
   • a) Working time and rest time;
   • b) Order at the workplace;
   • c) Occupational safety and hygiene;
   • d) Preventing and combating sexual harassment at work; order and procedures for handling sexual harassment at the workplace;
   • đ) The protection of assets and business secrets, technology secrets and intellectual property of the employer;
   • e) Cases in which the employee is temporarily transferred to work other than the labor contract;
   • g) Violations against labor discipline by employees and forms of handling labor discipline;
   • h) Material liability;
   • i) Persons competent to handle labor discipline.
3. Before promulgating labor regulations or amending and supplementing labor regulations, the employer must consult with the employee representative organization at the grassroots level if having the representative organization of employees.
4. Labor regulations must be notified to employees and the main contents must be posted at necessary places at the workplace.
5. The Government shall detail this Article.

According to the above regulations, enterprises must issue labor regulations. If the enterprise has 10 or more employees, the labor rules must be made in writing.

1. Contents of labor regulations

Labor regulations include the following main contents:

Time to work, time to rest

This content includes the following main contents:

• Normal working time in 01 day, 01 week;
• Working shift, start time, end time of shift;
• Overtime (if any);
• Short breaks in addition to the break time, break between shifts;
• Weekly leave, annual leave, personal leave, unpaid leave.

Order at work

This content includes the following main contents:

• Workplace code of conduct, work attire;
• Rules for the use of workplace equipment;
• Comply with the assignment and dispatch of work.

Occupational safety and hygiene

This content includes the following main contents:

• Responsibility to comply with regulations, processes and measures to ensure occupational safety and hygiene, fire prevention and fighting;
• Use and maintain means and equipment to ensure occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace;
• Cleaning, decontamination and disinfection at the workplace.

Prevention and combat of sexual harassment in the workplace; order and procedures for handling sexual harassment in the workplace

This includes rules on preventing and combating sexual harassment in the workplace.

Protect assets, technology secrets, business secrets, intellectual property of enterprises

This content includes the following main contents:

• To prescribe the list of assets, documents, technology secrets, business secrets and intellectual property;
• Measures applied to protect assets and business secrets;
• Acts of infringing upon property and trade secrets and liability if violated.

Cases of temporary transfer of employees to work other than the labor contract

This includes the following provisions:

• Cases due to production and business needs are temporarily assigned employees to work different from the labor contract;
• Temporarily working time;
• Salary for new job.

Violations of labor discipline, forms of handling labor discipline

This content specifically prescribes violations of labor discipline; corresponding form of handling labor discipline for each violation.

Material responsibility

This content includes the following main contents:

• Cases of having to compensate for damage due to damage, loss of tools, equipment, or excessive consumption of materials;
• Level of compensation for damage; person competent to request compensation for damage.

Persons competent to handle labor discipline

This content stipulates which individual has the right to handle labor discipline. Enterprises can decentralize in handling labor discipline.

2. Procedures for registration of labor regulations

In case the internal labor regulations must be made in writing:

Within 10 days from the date of promulgation of the labor regulations, the enterprise must submit 01 application for registration of labor regulations to the specialized labor agency of the People’s Committee of the province where the employer is located (Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs) where the enterprise is located.

Application Documents:

• A written request for registration of labor regulations;
• Labor regulations;
• Written comments of the representative organization of employees at the grassroots level if having the representative organization of employees;
• Documents of the employer with regulations related to labor discipline and material responsibility (if any).

Within 07 working days from the date of receiving the application for registration of labor regulations:

• If the labor regulations are contrary to the law, the Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs shall notify the company and guide the company to amend and supplement.

Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the application for registration or re-registration (if it has to be amended or supplemented), if the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has no opinion, the labor regulations shall come into effect.