Labor contract under Labor Code 2019

How to Determine Labour Relationship under Labour Code 2019? 

During Covid pandemic, many companies face economic challenges that need to reduce the high paid workers’ cost. There are situations which dispute arisen and the employee started to realize that the contract he or she signs with the company he or she spends eight hours each day, follows instructions of work from supervisors, and receives monthly payment at the end of the month, seems to be a consulting contract on the face instead. Is this a consulting contract or a labour contract? It is suggested the disputants engage the dispute lawyers to help resolve the potential conflict or help provide legal opinions if a labor relationship is established or not.

 

 Labor contract under Labor Code 2019

A labour contract is essentially a civil transaction, whereby the employer and the employee enter into it on the basis of voluntarity, equality, goodwill, cooperation and honesty. According to the provisions of the Vietnam Labor Code 2019, “a labor contract is an agreement between an employee and an employer on a paid job, salary, working conditions, and the rights and obligations of each party in the labor relations”. In addition, the agreements which are not under the name of a labor contract but have content showing paid employment, salary and the management, administration and supervision of one party are considered as labor contracts.

An employee is allowed to enter into many labor contracts, but the employee must ensure compliance with signed contracts, this provision creates conditions allowing employees to use their full working capacity and have additional sources of income.

Contents of the labor contract must contain information about the employer and employee; Specific information about the job and workplace; Duration of the employment contract; Job- or position-based salary, form of salary payment, due date for payment of salary, allowances and other additional payments; Regimes for promotion and pay rise; Working hours, rest periods; Personal protective equipment for the employee; Social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance; Basic training and advanced training, occupational skill development, these are basic but very important contents that employees need to pay attention to negotiating closely and fully to ensure the interests of employees in the process of contract performance. Besides, depending on the job and job position, the employer and the employee can agree in writing on issues related to information confidentiality, however, the employer needs to pay attention to building an appropriate system of internal labor documents to ensure the practical and effective application of information confidentiality.

Regarding the probationary contract, Labor Code 2019 allows employees and employers to agree on the content of the probationary period in the labor contract itself or sign a separate probationary contract. The agreement on the content of the probationary period in the labor contract will cause some insurance obligations to the insurance agency, therefore, the employer and the employee need to carefully search relevant legal provisions in order to negotiate and agree on the contents of the labor contract to ensure compliance with the law and the rights and obligations of both parties.

In addition, in case the employee and the employer wish to amend, supplement or replace the agreed contents in the labor contract, the two parties sign an addendum to the labor contract to amend the respective contents. However, if the term of the labor contract is changed, the parties must agree to terminate the old labor contract and enter into a new labor contract. The labor contract appendix is ​​an integral part of the labor contract and has the same effect as the labor contract.

Employees as well as the labor collective and employers should pay attention to selecting the most appropriate and optimal resolution solution when labor disputes occur.  It is also suggested to consult with labour lawyers of Labour dispute law firm in Vietnam speacializing in employment matters for efficiency.

 

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How Cross-Border Supply of Services Works?

Bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements between countries are formed majorly based on the WTO agreement system. In particular, GATS as an Agreement under the WTO system, is the first and only set of multilateral rules governing international trade in services. Ways or modes of trading services are basic provisions of GATS, including: Cross-border supply (mode 1), Consumption abroad (mode 2), Commercial presence (mode 3), Presence of natural person (mode 4). The categorization of modes covering its own regulations depends on the territorial presence of the supplier and the consumer at the time of the transaction. 

 

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According to GATS, cross -border supply means supply of a service from the territory of one Member into the territory of any other member, and supplier and consumer of a member do not present within the territory of other member. Consumption abroad means supply of a service in the territory of one Member to the service consumer of any other member. Presence of natural person means supply of a service by a service supplier of one member, through presence of natural persons of a member in the territory of any other member. It should be noted that cross-border supply of services is defined depending on each Agreement. Under CPTPP, cross-border supply includes modes 1, 2 and 4 above. In this article, cross-border supply is equivalent to mode 1, under GATS.

When participating in GATS, members make commitments for market access with respect to each mode of service supply and sub-sector. The GATS provides a set of general principles that all WTO members must adhere to, which there is no unnecessary barriers applied to trade. However, GATS expressly recognizes the rights of member governments to manage and regulate the supply of services in pursuit of their own policy objectives. GATS also does not interfere in internal affairs ad policies of members. Therefore, the governments absolutely have the right to decide and adopt their trade policies. The enterprise of a member must comply with domestic regulations in the territory of other member where they conduct business and trade in services and refer to that Member’s Schedule of Specific Commitments to understand market access obligations and national treatment.

Most sub-sectors do not restrict market access and national treatment for foreign suppliers providing cross-border services in Vietnam (legal, accounting, auditing, tax, architecture, advertising, management consulting, …). Although the market access is not restricted, it does not mean that the foreign suppliers freely provide services in Vietnam without satisfaction of conditions or without the consent of the competent state authorities. To consider this mater and have a correct understanding, the national treatment principal should be reviewed, it requires that each member shall accord to services and service suppliers of any other member the treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its own like services and service suppliers. Having said that, in the event that a member maintains business conditions for the domestic services and service suppliers, these conditions may also apply to the foreign services and service suppliers.

Such as accounting service business, foreign service suppliers are not restricted in market access and national treatment under the Schedule of Specific Commitments in Services. It means that a foreign accounting firm can provide accounting services to a Vietnamese enterprise. However, accounting service is a conditional business applicable to domestic firms. According to the national treatment principle, Vietnam has the right to impose similar conditions on foreign suppliers. Reference to the provisions of Vietnamese laws, the foreign accounting firm must fully meet the conditions of head office and personnel to be licensed its business in Vietnam. Further, there are tax liabilities arisen which obligations of registration and declaration depend on particulars of transactions. It is suggested that international trade lawyers are consulted to avoid potential disputes or non-compliance of cross-border supply of services.

We are a law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or services request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529

 

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Dispute Settlement in International Trade

In international trade, when drafting international contracts, the parties usually focus on the terms of payment and expense but little attention to terms of dispute settlement. Thus, the parties should be aware that the disagreements and disputes can arise at any time. Therefore, in the process of concluding an international economic agreement, the parties should note the provisions on the selection methods of dispute settlement if a dispute occurs. Currently, there are 4 dispute resolution methods in international trade as follows: negotiation, mediation, commercial arbitration and court.

 

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Negotiation

Negotiation is a settlement method which is usually applied in international dispute settlement. In particular, the parties discuss together, struggle, compromise and agree to settle the dispute. The result of the negotiation is that the dispute could be resolve or not. Negotiation is conducted in two ways: The two parties directly meet each other to discuss and deal or one party submit complaint to the other party and the other party answers the complaint.

Mediation

Mediation is the method of resolving dispute between the parties through the role of a third party. Mediation can be accomplished by two ways: One is that the parties agree with each other about mediation, the mediator will be designated and conduct the mediation without following any rules of mediation. The second way is that the parties agree to conduct the mediation under rules of a professional organization or one specific arbitration institution, such as mediation rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Commercial arbitration

Arbitration is a method of dispute settlement arising in trade activities that are agreed between the parties and carried out according to the order and proceedings. Presently, there are kinds of arbitration such as: ad hoc arbitration and permanent arbitration.

Court

The 3 dispute settlement methods above are voluntary in nature. They are different from the dispute settlement in accordance with judicial procedures at court. The settlement of dispute by court is to resolve dispute through the activities of the State tribunals. Therefore, litigants in the dispute are often considered as a final solution to protect their legitimate interests. Especially, when there is a conflict, the parties will choose the form of trade negotiation or mediation rather than commercial arbitration or court.

ANT Lawyers – Arbitration law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or service request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529.

 

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Fundamental Contract Breaches in Law on Commerce 2005 and CISG 1980

What Are Fundamental Contract Breaches in Law on Commerce 2005 and CISG 1980?

Fundamental breach is a type of contract breach, in which the Law on Commerce 2005 defines that a breach of contract committed by one of the parties is fundamental if it causes damage to the other party to the extent that the other party fails to achieve purpose of contract conclusion. The significant factor that makes the difference between the fundamental and minor breach of contract is the materiality.

 

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Fundamental breach is an important foundation for the imposition of trade remedies such as temporary suspension of performance, suspension of performance or contract cancellation when the contract has no specific agreement. Nonetheless, Law on Commerce 2005 does not provide further guidance on fundamental breach. Court or arbitrator has a right to determine whether a breach is fundamental on a case-by-case basis. 

As set forth in CISG 1980, a breach of contract committed by one of the parties is fundamental if it results in such detriment to the other party as substantially to deprive him of what he is entitled to expect under the contract, unless the party in breach did not foresee and a reasonable person of the same kind in the same circumstances would not have foreseen such a result. CISG also does not provide specific provisions to explain fundamental breach in details. Nonetheless, it can be deemed that in order to constitute a fundamental breach, three following factors need to be met: (i) a breach is made, (ii) detriment resulted from such breach substantially deprives him of what he is entitled to expect under the contract, and (iii) the breach can be foreseen.

The difference between constitution of a fundamental breach under CIGS 19080 and Law on Commerce 2005 is that: a breach cannot be treated as under CISG 1980 in case the breaching party did not foresee and a reasonable person of the same kind in the same circumstances would not have foreseen such a result. Law on Commerce 2005 does not stipulate factor (iii) as mentioned herein but requires that (1) a breach is made and (2) damage resulted from such breach causes other party failed to achieve its purpose of contract conclusion to constitute a fundamental breach. The aggrieved party accordingly has a right to impose remedies such as temporary suspension of performance, suspension of performance or contract cancellation.

The consequence factor of fundamental breach in Law on Commerce 2005 is similar to CIGS 1980. In case the purchaser is aggrieved party, what he/she is entitled to expect under the contract is right to receive the goods, to own the goods and to sell to other parties to earn profits or manufacture products or other ways he/she can make a profit. In case the seller is aggrieved party, what he/she is entitled to expect under the contract is right to receive payments, which is profits he/she may earn. The purpose of contract conclusion as provided in Law on Commerce 2005 is same as what the purchaser and seller are entitled to expect under the contract as stipulated in CISG 1980.

ANT Lawyers - a Dispute Law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or service request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529.

 

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Termination of Labour Contract to Employee Before Contract Expiration

When Should the Employer Send Notice of Termination of Labour Contract to Employee Before Contract Expiration?

Expiration is one of the circumstances which permit termination of labor contract under the Labor Code 2012. Accordingly, the employer must inform in writing to the employee of the terminating date of labor contract at least 15 days prior to the expiration. Termination of labor relationship in each circumstance must follow different conditions and procedures to ensure the interests and obligations of both employee and employer and avoid potential labour disputes in Vietnam.

 

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Previously, an administrative penalty was applied to violations of the labor contract termination notice mentioned above. If the employer fails to inform the employee, the employer will be subject to a warning or a fine with amount from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000. However, the Decree 28/2020/ND-CP issued on March 1st, 2020 by the Government has repealed sanction for this behavior.

If the employee continues to work upon expiration of labor contract, both parties will be required to sign a new labor contract within the next 30 days, otherwise the signed contract will become an indefinite-term. Failure of the employer to inform the labor contract termination to the employee does not mean that the labor relationship is automatically extended after the expiration. If both parties fail to sign a new labor contract within the next 30 days, but the employee still do normal assigned job and is paid a full monthly salary, an indefinite-term labor contract is deemed as entered into by them. Any disputes arising out then will be settled based on provisions of indefinite term labor contract and laws.

The Labor Code 2019 repealed the employer’s informing responsibility upon expiration of labor contract except in a few circumstances such as the employee being sentenced to imprisonment, disciplined, expelled, ..., the employer is required to inform the employee in writing the termination of the labor contract.

ANT Lawyers – A labour dispute law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or services request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529.

 

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What Are Procedures for Postponement at the First Instance Court?

In case that civil lawsuit cannot be mediated or cannot conduct the mediation, the Judge shall hold the meetings for checking the handover, access, disclosure of evidences and mediation. In cases there are many parties in a case and some of them are absent but present parties agree to conduct the meetings and the conduct of the meeting does not affect rights and obligations of absent parties, the Judges shall conduct meeting between present parties. If parties request to postpone the mediation meeting until all parties attend, the Judge shall postpone the meeting. The Judges must notify postponement and re-open of meeting to the parties. The litigation dispute lawyers in Vietnam could be the best advisors to the client to utilize the procedures for the best interests of their client depending on the situation.

 

 Procedures for Postponement at the First Instance Court

In the first-instance court hearings, when being summoned duly the the Court for the first time, the parties or their representatives and defense counsels shall be present at the Court hearings. If any of them is absent, the Trial Panel shall postpone the Court hearings, unless such person requests for trial in his/her absence. The Courts must notify the postponement of the Court hearings to the parties, their representatives and defense counsels. When being summoned duly for the second time, parties or their representatives and defense counsels shall be present at the Court hearings unless they request for trials in their absence. If the absence is caused by a force majeure event or an objective obstacle, the Court may postpone the Court hearings, otherwise the Court shall handle as follows: (i) The absence of plaintiff without his/her representative shall be considered giving up the lawsuit initiation, thus the Court shall issue a decision to terminate the case resolution for his/her request for lawsuit initiation, unless such plaintiff requests for trials in their absence. The plaintiff may re-initiate lawsuits according to law provisions; (ii) If neither the defendant without counter-claims or a person with relevant interests and duties (relevant person) without independent claims nor his/her representative participates in the Court hearings, the Court shall conduct trial in their absence; (iii) If neither the defendant with counter-claims nor his/her representative participates in the Court hearings, such defendant shall be considered giving up the counter claims, thus the Court shall issue a decision to terminate the resolution for his/her counter claims, unless such defendant requests for trial in his/her absence. The defendant may re-initiate lawsuits for his/her counter-claims according to law provisions; (iv) If neither relevant person with independent claims nor his/her representative participates in the Court hearings, such person shall be considered giving up the independent claims, thus the Court shall issue a decision to terminate the resolution for his/her independent claims, unless such person requests for trial in his/her absence. Such person may re-initiate lawsuits for his/her independent claims according to law provisions; (v) If the defense counsels of the parties is absent, the Court shall conduct trial in their absence.

When the witnesses are absent, the Trial Panels shall decide to conduct trial or to postpone the court. The Trial Panels shall still conduct trial if the witnesses are absent but have earlier given their testimonies in person or sent their testimonies to courts. The presiding Judges shall make such testimonies public. The Trial Panels shall decide to postpone the Court hearings if the absence of the witnesses at Court creates difficulties or affects the objective and comprehensive resolution of the cases.

If the expert-witnesses are absent, the Trial Panels shall decide to conduct trial or to postpone the court. If the interpreters are absent without substitutes, the Trial Panels shall decide to postpone the Court hearings. If expert-witnesses or interpreters must be replaced, the Judges, the Trial panels or the Civil matter-resolving council shall issue decisions to postpone the Court hearings.

When any procedure participants are absent from Court hearings and it does not fall into the cases which the Courts must postpone the Court hearings, the presiding Judges must ask if there is any one requesting to postpone the Court hearings. If there is, the Trial Panels shall consider and decide to accept or not accept such request. In case of non-acceptance, the reasons must be clearly stated.

In addition to absence and change of procedure participants, the change of procedure-conducting person may make the Court hearings be postponed. Firstly, in case of change of the Judge, People’s Jurors, Ombudspersons, Court clerks, procurators, the Trial Panels shall issue decisions to postpone the Court hearings.

Decision on postponing the Court hearings in above circumstances is made by Trial Panels and the time limit for postponing shall not exceed 01 month or not exceed 15 days, applicable to Court carried out under simplified procedure, from the day on which the decision to postpone the Court session is issued.

Having said that, the client could rely on the litigation dispute lawyers in Vietnam for the solution in each case to protect the best interests if postponement procedures of the first instance trial could be applied.

We are a law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or services request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529

 

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What Bona Fide Possession of Property Are and How the Rights Are protected?

Possession in good faith means the possession that the possessor has bases to believe that he/she has the right to the property in Vietnam under his/her possession. Bona fide possessor is protected by the law on property rights. Owning this type of property might be subject to many potential disputes which parties should consult with dispute lawyers in Vietnam from time to time to understand his/her rights to the property.

 

Bona fide Possession of Property in Vietnam

According to Clause 3 Article 184 of the 2015 Civil Code, a person possessing in good faith, continuously and overtly shall be eligible for prescriptive periods for enjoying the rights and enjoy the yield and income derived from the property as prescribed in this Code and relevant laws.

A person possessing in good faith is entitled to protect his/her rights and his right to possession when meeting specific conditions. Before a third person entered into a civil transaction, a prior civil transaction was established, the previous civil transactions were invalidated. Besides, the third person establishing civil transactions must be honest. Property traded in accordance with law and civil transactions must be compensated.

The owner has the right to reclaim the property from the rightful owner in accordance with Article 167 and Article 168 of the Civil Code 2015. Accordingly, depending on the type of property subject to ownership registration or not, the reclaim of ownership of the owner has a certain difference. Specifically, owners may reclaim movable property not subject to ownership right registration from bona fide possessors in cases where such bona fide possessors have acquired such property through unindemnifiable contracts with persons who have no right to dispose of the property; in case of indemnifiable contracts, the owners may reclaim the movable property if such movable property has been stolen, lost or other cases of possession against the owners’ will.

Owners may reclaim their movable property subject to ownership right registration and immovable property, except for cases where a civil transaction is invalid but the transacted property is registered at a competent authority and such property has already been transferred to a bona fide third party through another transaction which is established according to that registration, such transaction shall remain valid.

In cases where the transacted property which is required to be registered has not registered at a competent authority, the transaction with the third party shall be invalid, except for cases the bona fide third party received such property through an auction or a transaction with an another party being the owner of such property pursuant to a judgment or decision of a competent authority but thereafter such person is not the owner of the property as a result of the judgment or decision being amended or annulled.

ANT Lawyers is a law firm in Vietnam located in the business centers of Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.  We provide convenient access to our clients. Please contact us to book your time in advanced to let us provide our best service. Call us at +84 28 730 86 529 or send us email ant@antlawyers.vn 

 

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Settlement of Land Disputes in Vietnam

What Procedures for Conciliation and Settlement of Land Dispute?

Land dispute is one of the most complicated problems which arises regularly in daily life in Vietnam. Land dispute is very diverse, which may be dispute over land use right, ownership of house attached to land use right related to inheritance, divorce, transfer and transformation transaction, leasing, sub-leasing, mortgage, etc.

 

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What is land dispute?

Land dispute means a dispute over the rights and obligations of land users among two or more parties in a land relationship.

In case of conflict over land, what should parties do to settle dispute?

Land dispute can be settled in two resolutions, in court or settlement procedures at state administrative agencies.

Firstly, no matter what resolution parties choose, conciliation procedure at commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the disputed land is located is mandatory condition and procedure. In particular, if conciliation by parties cannot be achieved, the parties may send a petition for conciliation to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the disputed land is located. The conciliation procedure carried out at the commune-level People’s Committees shall be completed within 45 days from the date which the commune-level People’s Committees receives a petition for settlement of land dispute. The conciliation may take place only when all the disputing parties are present. If any of the disputing parties is absent for the second time, the conciliation shall be regarded as unsuccessful.

If the conciliation at a commune-level People’s Committee fails, land dispute shall be settled according to one of the following two cases. Firstly, the land dispute in which the party possesses a certificate or any of the papers prescribed in Article 100 of Land law and the dispute over assets attached to land shall be settled by the People’s Court. Secondly, regarding the land dispute in which the party does not possess above papers, the parties may choose between the following two options of settlement: filing a written request for dispute settlement with a competent People’s Committee or filing a lawsuit with a competent People’s Court in accordance with the law on civil procedures.

Regarding the second case, when the party choose to settle at competent People’s Committee, the chairperson of the district-level People Committee is responsible for the settlement of disputes among households, individuals and communities. If the parties disagree with the settlement decision, they are entitled to claim with the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee or to file a lawsuit at a People’s Court in accordance with the law on administrative procedures.

In case one party is an organization, a religious institution, an overseas Vietnamese or a foreign-invested enterprise, the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee is responsible for the settlement. If the parties disagree with the settlement decision, they are entitled to file claim with the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment or to file a lawsuit with a People’s Court in accordance with the law on administrative procedures. It should be noted that the legally effective decision on dispute settlement must be strictly abided by the parties. If the parties fail to comply, the decision shall be enforced.

The settlement of land disputes in which the disputing parties have no certificate or any of the papers prescribed in Article 100 of the Land Law and Article 18 of Decree 43/2014/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the land law shall be based on the following grounds: Evidences on the origin and use process of the land presented by the disputing parties; Actual land areas currently used by the parties in addition to the disputed land area and the average land area per household member in the locality; Conformity of the current use status of the disputed land with land use plans already approved by competent state agencies; Preferential treatment policies toward persons with meritorious services to the State; Regulations on land allocation, land lease and land use rights recognition.

It is suggest to consult with land dispute lawyers in Vietnam for advice and representation at early stage for dispute avoidance or dispute resolution.

 

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Mediation Services in Vietnam

What are the Benefits of Mediation Services in Vietnam?

The process of integrating with market economy is developing strongly, which creates many opportunities for businesses to extend their operation and cooperate with international companies. As a result, dispute arising is inevitable. To coincide with benefits, especially information confidentiality under parties’ agreement, commercial mediation is one of the commercial alternative dispute resolution which is more and more popular.

 

Mediation Services in Vietnam

Commercial mediation is a dispute resolution negotiated by parties and the mediator is the third party as an intermediary to support parties to resolve dispute under the regulations of Decree 22/2017/ND-CP on February 24^th, 2017. Following the regulations, commercial mediation can be negotiated by parties before, after or at any time of dispute resolution process. By Decree 22, commercial mediation is applied in cases of a dispute between parties with at least one party practicing commercial activities or another dispute under the laws can be resolved by the commercial mediation. Moreover, participating in commercial mediation is voluntary and all the information of mediation shall be kept secret under parties’ agreement, provided that agreement’s content is legal.

Commercial mediation is becoming a popular dispute resolution because of its simple and flexible procedure, economical cost for parties. Parties have chance to choose a suitable procedure and avoid complicated legal procedure. Under the law on parties’ self-determination to choose any mediator and a place to proceed procedures, which helps parties select a mediator with professional skills on dispute resolution. Furthermore, parties could reach an agreement with good will and cooperating spirit. Both still continue to develop and protect business relationship because of parties’ benefits. Under the Decree, all the information involving dispute must be kept secret, unless parties have written agreement or current law has other regulations.

Under the law, parties are entitled to choose a mediator to resolve dispute. According to Decree 22/2017/ND-CP, commercial mediators include commercial case mediators and mediators from commercial mediation institutions selected by the parties or appointed by a commercial mediation institution at the request of disputing parties to support them to resolve dispute pursuant to regulations of this Decree. A person who wants to become a mediator must qualify conditions of Article 7 of Decree 22. Apart from general moral standards following Law on Civil, mediators must have a university or higher qualification and at least two years of working experience in their educated discipline, also mediation skills as well as legal understanding, knowledge of business and commercial practice. Instead of bringing the case to court, which parties cannot predict the result, even inextricable, choosing a mediator who is knowledgeable and experienced could help parties resolve dispute smoothly.

Pursuant to Civil Procedure Code 2015, time for resolving commercial disputes belonging to the jurisdiction of the Court could take years. Meanwhile, choosing mediation, parties take less time to resolve dispute. Moreover, dispute is absolutely resolved by parties’ agreement because in the mediating procedure, with mediator’s support, parties can show their decision on dispute resolution. Then, they can save significant cost.

Another benefit of dispute resolution is that parties decide themselves how to resolve dispute and can know the result. This is a prominent advantage of dispute resolution compared with other resolutions, which have unpredictable result. Importantly, mediation is a private procedure so that parties’ name is not revealed publicly during mediating procedure, decrease hazards to parties’ business reputation.

According to Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group, Alternative Dispute Resolution Center Manual: A Guide for Practitioners on Establishing and Managing ADR Centers, mediating resolution has brought many benefits. For individual benefits, mediation reduces the need for enforcement proceedings to ensure one party complies with an agreement, since the parties enter into their settlement agreements consensually. For private sector benefits, mediation enhances private sector development by creating a better environment for business. It lowers the direct and indirect costs that businesses incur in enforcing contracts and resolving disputes.

Contact Us for ADR & Mediation Services in Vietnam provided by qualified mediators and lawyers, supported by field experts. Via email ant@antlawyers.vn, office tel +84 28 730 86 529

 

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How to Resolve Disputes in Employment in Vietnam?

A labor dispute is a dispute over rights, obligations and interests arising between parties in employment relationship. Labor disputes include individual labor disputes between employees and employers, and collective labor disputes between labor collectives and employers. When a labor dispute occurs, the competent agency, organization or individual will settle it on the basis of the measures and principles of labor dispute settlement prescribed in Chapter XIV of the Labor Code 2012.

 

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Measures for resolving labor disputes include: negotiation, grassroots conciliation, settlement of individuals and organizations competent to settle labor disputes.

For individual labor dispute resolution, labor conciliator, People’s Court is an individual or organization competent to resolve disputes. Labor conciliator; Chairman of the district People’s Committee; The People’s Court is competent to resolve collective labor disputes over labor rights and conciliators; The Labor Arbitration Council is competent to settle collective labor disputes about benefits.

Negotiation is a method of resolving a dispute in which the parties to a dispute deal directly with each other in order to reach an agreement on the settlement of the dispute. In fact, this is the most widely used solution. During the negotiation process, the parties will discuss issues related to the dispute, and propose solutions to resolve that dispute. The decision is made on the basis of agreement between the parties themselves and is not the result of any external pressure.

Unlike negotiation, conciliation is a method of resolving disputes involving third parties but not third parties make decisions but only support and guide the parties to negotiate. Under the provisions of Clause 1, Article 201 of the Labor Code 2012, individual labor disputes must go through the conciliation procedure of a labor conciliator before requesting a court to settle them, except for labor disputes on disciplinary measures in the form of dismissal or disputes over the unilateral termination of the labor contract; compensation for damages, benefits when terminating a labor contract; between domestic servants and employers; on social insurance in accordance with the law on social insurance, on health insurance in accordance with the law on health insurance; on compensation for damages between laborers and enterprises and non-business units that send laborers to work abroad under contracts. If the two parties reach an agreement, the labor conciliator shall make a record of successful conciliation. On the contrary, the two parties cannot reach an agreement, and the labor conciliator issues a conciliation plan for the two parties to consider and if the two parties accept the conciliation plan, the labor conciliator shall make a record of successful conciliation. In case the two parties do not accept the conciliation plan or a disputing party has been duly summoned for the second time but still absent without plausible reasons, the labor conciliator shall make a record of unsuccessful conciliation.

Dispute resolution by the Chairman of the district People’s Committee is the method to be applied when there is a request for resolving a collective labor dispute on rights. Chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees shall base themselves on labor laws, collective labor agreements, registered labor rules and legal regulations and agreements to consider and settle labor disputes dynamic.

The Labor Arbitration Council is the competent authority to settle collective labor disputes about benefits. At the meeting of the Labor Arbitration Council, there must be representatives of both parties to the dispute. The Labor Arbitration Council has the responsibility to assist the parties in self-negotiation. In case the two parties reach an agreement or accept the mediation plan, the Labor Arbitration Council shall make a record of successful mediation and issue a decision recognizing the agreement of the parties. In case the two parties fail to reach an agreement or one of the disputing parties has been duly summoned for the second time but still absent without plausible reasons, the Labor Arbitration Council shall make a record of unsuccessful mediation and after within 03 days, the labor collective has the right to carry out the procedures to go on strike.

Trial is a mode of resolving individual labor disputes and collective labor disputes over rights, in which the Court will issue a judgment or decision to resolve the case. The settlement of labor disputes in court is generally the final settlement activity after the dispute has been settled at other stages with no results. The settlement of labor disputes at the Court is done by a judicial body with special state power, proceeding according to the strict procedures and procedures prescribed in the Civil Procedure Code 2015. The greatest advantage of this method of dispute resolution is that the court’s decisions on labor disputes are guaranteed to be enforced by state coercive measures.

Employees as well as the labor collective and employers should pay attention to selecting the most appropriate and optimal resolution solution when labor disputes occur.  It is also suggested to consult with labour lawyers of law firm in Vietnam speacializing in employment matters for efficiency.

 

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