Internal labour rules, workplace democracy, trade unions and labour disputes: registration of internal rules, dialogue, collective bargaining, unions and the union fee, mediation, arbitration, courts, strikes, inspection and penalties

Internal labour rules: when they are needed and what they contain

Internal labour rules (nội quy lao động) are the employer's written code of conduct and the legal foundation for discipline. Under Article 118 of Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14 every employer must issue internal rules, and an employer with 10 or more employees must issue them in writing; an employer with fewer may instead set out the rules in the labour contracts. The written rules must cover: working time and rest periods; order at the workplace; occupational safety and hygiene; the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace and the procedure for handling complaints of it; the protection of the employer's assets, business and technology secrets and intellectual property; the cases in which an employee may be temporarily transferred to other work; the violations of labour discipline and the corresponding penalties; material liability for damage; and the persons competent to handle discipline. Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP details each item.

The rules matter in practice because of Article 127 and the disciplinary procedure: an employee may be disciplined only for conduct that the internal rules, the labour contract or the law describe as an offence. An employer without registered rules, or whose rules are vague, often finds that it cannot lawfully discipline or dismiss an employee whose misconduct is obvious (Termination, severance and redundancy). The rules should also contain the performance criteria on which an Article 36 termination for poor performance depends, or refer to a separate performance regulation issued after consultation.

Before issuing or amending the rules, the employer must consult the employee representative organisation where one exists (Article 118(3)). It must then notify the rules to employees and post their main contents at the workplace (Article 118(4)).

Issuing and registering internal labour rules

1. Draft the rulesCover each Article 118 item, in Vietnamese, adapted to the business: sexual harassment procedure, confidentiality, the list of offences graded by penalty, and material liability.
2. Consult the representative organisationSend the draft to the grassroots union, where one exists, and record its comments in minutes; consultation is required, agreement is not.
3. Issue the rulesBy decision of the legal representative or other competent person, with an effective date that respects the registration period.
4. File the registration dossier within 10 daysWith the provincial labour authority (the Department of Home Affairs) where the employer has its head office: the registration request, the rules, the consultation minutes and any related regulations on discipline and material liability (Articles 119 and 120).
5. Respond to any request for amendmentIf the rules conflict with the law, the authority notifies the employer and guides it to amend them within seven working days of receipt; the employer amends and re-files.
6. Notify branches and employeesAn employer with units in other provinces sends the registered rules to the labour authority of each province where a unit is located; post the main contents at each workplace.
7. Apply from the effective dateThe rules take effect 15 days after the authority receives the complete dossier (Article 121); amendments follow the same procedure.

Workplace dialogue and grassroots democracy

Article 63 requires the employer to hold dialogue at the workplace with employees or the representative organisation at least once a year, when either side requests it, and in the cases the law requires, such as the preparation of a labour use plan for redundancies or the adoption of performance criteria. Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP sets out how dialogue is organised, who represents the employees where there is no union, and the content to be covered: the business situation, the performance of contracts and collective agreements, working conditions and the employees' requests.

Workplace democracy is also governed by Law No. 10/2022/QH15 on the Implementation of Grassroots Democracy, in force since 1 July 2023, which applies to enterprises through the labour legislation, and by the workplace democracy provisions of Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP. In practice the employer issues regulations on democracy at the workplace and holds an annual employee conference at which the business results, salary and bonus policies and the collective agreement are discussed and employee representatives for dialogue are chosen. An amended Law on the Implementation of Grassroots Democracy was added to the National Assembly's programme for its October 2026 session.

Collective bargaining agreements

Collective bargaining under Articles 65 to 78 takes place at the request of either side; the employer may not refuse to bargain when the representative organisation requests it, but the Code does not require that an agreement be reached. An enterprise-level collective bargaining agreement may be signed only if more than half of the employees voting approve the negotiated text. Its term is one to three years, it may not provide less than the law, and its provisions prevail over less favourable terms in individual contracts and internal rules. The employer must send the signed agreement to the provincial labour authority within 10 days and publicise it to employees. Multi-enterprise and sectoral agreements also exist, particularly in textiles and garments.

For a foreign-invested employer, a collective agreement is chiefly a tool for fixing pay rises, allowances, bonuses and additional leave for a predictable period, and for reducing the risk of collective disputes. Commitments in it are enforceable by the union and by individual employees, so the text should be drafted with the same care as a commercial contract.

Trade unions and other employee representative organisations

The usual employee representative organisation is a grassroots trade union (công đoàn cơ sở) affiliated to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour through its provincial or industrial-zone federation. Employees may form or join one, and the employer may not obstruct its formation, discriminate against members or interfere in its affairs. Law No. 50/2024/QH15 on Trade Unions, in force since 1 July 2025, extended membership to foreign employees working under labour contracts of 12 months or more. Where a union exists, the employer must provide it with facilities and time for its activities, consult it on internal rules, salary scales, bonus regulations, labour use plans and discipline, and respect the special protections of union officials in Article 177, including the extension of a part-time official's contract that expires during the union term and the consultation required before a union official's contract is terminated.

Whether or not a union exists, every enterprise pays the trade union fee of 2% of the social insurance salary fund under Law No. 50/2024/QH15 and Decree No. 105/2026/ND-CP, in force since 16 May 2026, which sets monthly payment and permits suspension or a reduction of up to 20% for businesses in difficulty (FAQ 60; Social, health and unemployment insurance). Union members pay their own dues.

Articles 170 to 174 of the 2019 Labour Code also recognise a second kind of body: an organisation of employees at the enterprise, formed by employees and registered with the State, not affiliated to the Confederation, with the same rights as a union in dialogue, bargaining and dispute resolution. The provision reflects Vietnam's commitments under the CPTPP and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. Its practical operation depends on implementing rules for registration; employers should check the current position, since in most enterprises the grassroots union remains the only representative organisation in fact. Where neither exists, the employees choose representatives for workplace dialogue, and the superior trade union may, at the employees' request, represent them in certain matters.

Labour disputes: individual and collective

An individual labour dispute between an employee and the employer is resolved, under Article 187, by a labour mediator, a labour arbitration council or the People's Court. Article 188 makes mediation by a labour mediator, appointed by the provincial labour authority, a mandatory first step, completed within five working days of the request, except for disputes over disciplinary dismissal and unilateral termination, damages and allowances on termination, domestic workers, social, health and unemployment insurance and occupational accident insurance, and certain sub-leasing and overseas-placement disputes, which may go straight to court. If mediation fails or is not held in time, the parties may agree to refer the dispute to the labour arbitration council, which forms a panel within seven working days and decides within 30 days, or either party may sue in court. While an arbitration request is pending, neither party may go to court. Under Article 190 the limitation periods run from the date the party discovers the infringement: six months for a mediation request, nine months for arbitration and one year for court.

A collective labour dispute is either a dispute about rights, concerning the interpretation or performance of the law, a collective agreement or internal rules, or a dispute about interests, concerning new terms. Rights disputes go through mediation and then to the competent administrative body or the court; interests disputes go through mediation and then to the labour arbitration council, and only interests disputes can lead to a lawful strike. Commercial disputes with partners, by contrast, go to commercial arbitration or the economic courts, covered in Chapter 9.

Strikes

Under Articles 198 to 212 a strike is lawful only if it is organised and led by an employee representative organisation with the right to bargain collectively, arises from an interests dispute after mediation has failed or the arbitration council has not been formed or its decision has not been implemented, is supported in a ballot by more than half of the employees consulted, and is preceded by a strike decision sent to the employer and the authorities at least five working days before it starts. Strikes are prohibited in the essential services listed by the Government. Spontaneous work stoppages that do not follow these steps, which have historically been the commonest form of industrial action in Vietnam's industrial parks, are unlawful, but employers usually resolve them through negotiation with the provincial union federation and the labour authority rather than by disciplinary action. An employer may not retaliate against employees who take part in a lawful strike, or use sub-leased labour to replace them.

Labour inspection and penalties

Compliance is policed by labour inspectors of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the provinces, within the inspection system reorganised in 2025, by Vietnam Social Security, which checks contribution compliance, and by the union federations, which monitor workplace conditions. Inspections are scheduled annually or triggered by complaints, accidents and disputes. A typical inspection asks for labour contracts, the registered internal rules, salary scales and evidence of their publication, overtime records and notifications, insurance registrations and payment records, work permits for every foreign employee, occupational safety records and the minutes of workplace dialogue.

Penalties are set by Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP, issued on 15 July 2026 and in force since 10 September 2026, which replaced Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP. It covers labour, social insurance and Vietnamese workers sent abroad. The amounts stated are for individuals; under Article 7 an organisation is fined twice the individual amount. Fines are graduated, often by the number of employees affected, and come with remedial measures such as orders to pay underpaid wages or contributions, reinstate employees or register internal rules. Examples are given in the table above and in the sections on working hours, insurance and work permits. Serious breaches, such as evasion of social insurance contributions or violations of occupational safety causing death, can also lead to criminal liability under the Penal Code.