Normal working time, rest breaks at work in Vietnam

Hi DMS Lawyer in Vietnam! Could you advise me about normal working time, overtime, rest breaks at work under the Labour Code ? Can a company require staff to work overtime ? Can a company force employees to work overtime ? Thank you!

Hi!

Normal working time in Vietnam:

Normal working time shall not exceed 08 hours per day or 48 hours per week.

The employer shall have the right to determine the working hours on a daily or a weekly basis; in case of weekly basis, the normal working hours shall not exceed 10 hours per day, but not exceed 48 hours per week

The State encourages the employer to apply 40 working hours per week

The working hours shall not exceed 06 hours in a day for those whose works are extremely hard, harmful and dangerous under the list issued by the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs in coordination with the Ministry of Health.

Working hours at night:     

The working hour at night is calculated from 22 pm to 6 am of the following day.

Overtime work:

Overtime working is the working period besides the normal working hours specified in the law, the collective labor agreement or the internal working rule.

The employer is entitled to employ the employee to work overtime upon fully satisfying the following conditions:

To obtain the consent of the employee;

To ensure that the overtime hours of the employee shall not exceed 50% of the normal working hours in a day; in case of applying regulation on weekly basis, the total normal working hours and the overtime hours shall not exceed 12 hours in a day; not exceed 30 hours in a month and the total of overtime hours shall not exceed 200 hours in a year, except for some special cases stipulated by the Government for the overtime working but shall not exceed 300 hours in a year.

After each period with many consecutive days of working overtime within a month, the employer must arrange compensatory days off for the employee.

Break time:

Rest breaks during working hours:

The employee who consecutively works for 08 or 06 hours as prescribed in the Article 104 of this Code shall be entitled to a break of at least half an hour which shall be included in the number of working hours.  

In case of working nightshift, the employee shall be entitled to a break of at least 45 minutes which shall be included in the number of working hours.

Besides the breaks specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, the employer shall determine the time of short breaks and record in the internal labor rule.

Breaks between shifts:

The employee who works by shift is entitled to a break of at least 12 hours before moving to another shift.

Weekly rest:

Every week, each employee is entitled to a rest of at least 24 consecutive hours. In special cases, due to the work cycle, the employee cannot take weekly rest, the employer shall ensure that employee is entitled to at least 04 days off in a month on average.

The employer has the right to decide and arrange the weekly rest either on Sundays or another fixed day in a week but must record in the internal labor rule.

Legal bases:

Articles 104, 105, 106, 108, 109 and 110 the Labor Code No. 52/VBHN-VPQH dated December 10, 2018.

Related topics:

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Annual leave in Vietnam

Can an employer unilateral terminate a labor contract prior to its expiry ?

Public holidays in Vietnam

Consulting services:

Phone: 0914 165 703 or email: dmslawfirm@gmail.com

Normal working time, rest breaks at work in Vietnam