Employees have the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract, but should pay attention to the notice period to ensure their rights.

This article was consulted by Lawyer Nguyen Quang Trung

Legal grounds:

• Employment Law 2013;
• Labor Code 2019.

Current labor laws allow employees to unilaterally terminate labor contracts quite easily. Accordingly, only a period of notice is required without any reason. Therefore, if an employee violates the notice period, he or she will lose many benefits.

1. How many days in advance do employees need to give notice when they want to quit their job?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 35 of the 2019 Labor Code as follows:

Article 35. Right to unilaterally terminate the employee’s labor contract

1. The employee has the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract but must notify the employer in advance as follows:
   1. At least 45 days if working under an indefinite-term labor contract;
   2. At least 30 days if working under a fixed-term labor contract with a term from 12 months to 36 months;
   3. At least 03 working days if working under a fixed-term labor contract with a term of less than 12 months;
   4. For some specific industries, occupations, and jobs, the notice period is implemented according to the Government’s regulations.

According to the above regulations, the minimum notice period when an employee wants to unilaterally quit will depend on the type of labor contract the employee is working under.

Therefore, employees must comply with the above deadline when they want to proactively quit their job, but are not allowed to voluntarily quit mid-way before the end of the notice period.

2. Responsibilities of employees if they violate the notice period

Pursuant to Article 39 of the 2019 Labor Code, an employee who terminates a labor contract without complying with the provisions of Article 35 above is considered to unilaterally terminate the labor contract illegally.

Then, based on Article 40 of the 2019 Labor Code, Point a, Clause 1, Article 49 of the 2013 Employment Law, the employee may have to compensate the company and lose the following benefits:

• Do not receive unemployment benefits
• No severance pay.
• Must compensate half a month’s salary according to the labor contract and an amount corresponding to the salary according to the labor contract for days without prior notice.
• Must reimburse training costs (if any).

3. In what cases can an employee unilaterally terminate the labor contract without notice?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 35 of the 2019 Labor Code, some cases where employees can proactively quit their jobs without prior notice are as follows:

• Not being arranged according to the correct job, working location or not guaranteed working conditions as agreed, except for the cases specified in Article 29 of this Code;
• Not being paid in full or not paid on time, except for the cases specified in Clause 4, Article 97 of this Code;
• Being mistreated, beaten, or subjected to humiliating words or actions by the employer, or acts that affect health, dignity, or honor; forced labor;
• Being sexually harassed at work;
• Pregnant female employees decide to quit work due to confirmation from a competent medical examination and treatment facility that continuing to work will adversely affect the fetus;
• Full retirement age, unless otherwise agreed by the parties;
• The employer provides dishonest information as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 16 of this Code, affecting the implementation of the labor contract.

According to the above regulations, in cases where rights are violated during working or when pregnant and need to quit job to take care of the pregnancy and reach retirement age, the employee has the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract. without prior notice to the company.

However, the employee should still notify the company about unilateral termination of the labor contract and provide the reason for his or her termination to ensure the best benefits.