(Vietnam) Currently, because of the outbreak of the disease, many companies are facing a lot of difficulties due to travel bans or employees suspected of being infected or positive for covid (nCOV) causing the company to stop operation. Faced with the above situation, the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has issued Official Letter No. 1064/LDTBXH-QHLDTL guiding the payment of salary for work stoppage and settlement of regimes for employees during the work stoppage related to Covid epidemic to guide employers on how to solve problems with employees.
Thus, according to this Official Letter, due to the impact of the epidemic on the market (travel ban, mandatory isolation, not allowed to gather in large numbers,...), employees have to stop working due to the non-operation of enterprise or a part of that enterprise because the employer or other employees of the same enterprise or that part of the enterprise are in quarantine or have not yet returned to the enterprise. Therefore, since a covid-19 suspected or positive worker is being quarantined, the employer may have to stop operations and stop the entire company staff. work until the end of the quarantine period of the suspected or infected person. At this time, employees and people working at the hotel will be entitled to stoppage pay in accordance with the law. In addition, according to Clause 3 of the official letter, in case the prolonged work stoppage affects the employer's ability to pay, the owner can negotiate with the employee to suspend the contract (Article 30 of the Vietnam Labor Code 2019).
Moreover, according to Clause 3 of this Official Letter, in case the employer faces difficulties in the market (maybe due to the travel ban or transportation ban of the Government to limit the epidemic) leading to the temporary closure of the company but unable to arrange a job, the owner may temporarily transfer the employee to a job other than the job on the labor contract.
Finally, because of the financial difficulties caused by the epidemic, the employer was forced to temporarily close the company, leading to a reduction in the workplace for the employees, the dispatch instructing this case will be resolved according to the provisions of Article 36 or Article 42 of the Vietnam Labor Code 2019.
According to the provisions of Vietnamese law, the case of staff reduction is the last case, whereby the employer has to narrow its business and lead to a reduction in jobs as well as layoffs for the employer to solve the problems caused by the epidemic. As mentioned above, due to the difficulties caused by the covid epidemic, employers can dismiss their employees under Article 36 or Article 42 of the Vietnam Labor Code 2019 but this reduction of staff must meet the conditions according to the provisions of the labor law. Specifically, according to point c, clause 1, article 36 of the Labor Code, the employer can unilaterally terminate the labor contract with the employee because of the dangerous epidemic, but the employer has sought all remedies but is still forced to cut the jobs. Therefore, the employer wants to unilaterally terminate the contract with his staff, the employer needs to prove that despite taking measures to overcome the difficulties encountered, he is still obliged to downsize businesses and reduce workplaces. Besides, according to Clause 2, Article 32 of the Vietnam Labor Code 2019, the employer must also perform the obligation to notify his employees at least 45 days in advance for an indefinite term contract and 30 days for a definite term contract.
In the case of dismissal according to Article 42 of the Vietnam Labor Code 2019, which is changes in structure, technology or economic reasons, the obligations of the employer are completely different. Accordingly, stipulated in this article, one of the cases of change in structure and technology is change in organizational structure. If the employer is in trouble due to the epidemic, then the employer may dissolve one or more parts of the company, affecting the employment of many employees. Therefore, according to Clause 3, Article 42 of the Labor Code 2019, the employer must first develop a labor use plan according to Article 44 of the Labor Code, in case of having a new job, priority must be given to employee for training. In case it is not possible to solve new jobs for employees, the employer must discuss with the grassroots-level employees' representative organization and notify 30 days in advance to the provincial People's Committee and the employer.
Thus, currently, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many labor and employment problems have emerged in society, mainly revolving around the troubles of legal procedures, conditions, and impacts from the layoff of employees. Employers need to pay close attention to the changes occurring during this tumultuous period and strictly comply with the provisions of the law on the layoff procedures, or the employer can also contact a renowned law firm to receive advice, in-depth answers to issues about the layoff of employees during the Covid-19 crisis.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
