Administrative Penalties in the Field of Labor
Violations concerning recruitment and labor management
- A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Failure to declare the use of employees as prescribed;
b) Collecting money from employees during recruitment;
c) Failure to record and fully update employee information in the labor management book from the date the employee commences work;
d) Failure to present the labor management book upon request by a competent state authority. - A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Discrimination in employment, except for discriminatory acts specified in Point d Clause 1 Article 13, Clause 2 Article 23, Clause 1 Article 36, and Clause 2 Article 37 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP;
b) Employing workers without training or without a national occupational skills certificate for jobs requiring trained workers or such a certificate;
c) Failure to report changes in labor as prescribed;
d) Failure to establish a labor management book, or establishing it late, or without ensuring the mandatory contents as required by law. - A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 75,000,000 shall be imposed for acts of luring, enticing, promising, false advertising, or using other deceitful methods to defraud employees or to recruit them for the purpose of exploitation or forced labor, but not to the extent of criminal prosecution.
- Remedial measures: The employer must return to the employee any money unlawfully collected as stipulated in Point b Clause 1 above.
Violations concerning conclusion of labor contracts
- A fine shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts: entering into a labor contract not in writing with an employee performing a job with a term of at least 01 month; entering into a labor contract not in writing with a person authorized to conclude contracts on behalf of a group of employees aged 18 years or older performing seasonal work or work of less than 12 months as provided in Clause 2 Article 18 of the Labor Code; entering into the wrong type of labor contract; or failing to include all mandatory contents in a labor contract, with fines imposed as follows:
a) From VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for violations involving 01 to 10 employees;
b) From VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for violations involving 11 to 50 employees;
c) From VND 10,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 for violations involving 51 to 100 employees;
d) From VND 15,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for violations involving 101 to 300 employees;
dd) From VND 20,000,000 to VND 25,000,000 for violations involving 301 employees or more. - A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 25,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Retaining original personal identification documents, diplomas, or certificates of employees when concluding or performing labor contracts;
b) Requiring employees to provide financial or property security for the performance of labor contracts;
c) Entering into a labor contract with an employee aged from full 15 to under 18 years without the written consent of their legal representative. - Remedial measures:
a) The employer must conclude a written labor contract with the employee in cases of violation as prescribed in Clause 1 above;
b) The employer must conclude a written contract with the authorized representative of a group of employees as provided by law;
c) The employer must enter into the correct type of labor contract;
d) The employer must return original identification documents, diplomas, or certificates unlawfully retained;
dd) The employer must return money or assets unlawfully retained, plus interest calculated at the highest demand deposit rate announced by state-owned commercial banks at the time of sanctioning.
Violations concerning probation
- A fine ranging from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Requiring probation for employees performing jobs under a contract of less than 01 month;
b) Failure to notify employees of probation results as prescribed. - A fine ranging from VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Requiring an employee to undergo probation more than once for the same job;
b) Requiring probation beyond the prescribed duration;
c) Paying probation wages lower than 85% of the wage of that job;
d) Failure to enter into a labor contract with the employee after satisfactory probation where a probation agreement was concluded. - Remedial measures:
a) The employer must pay the full wage of the job to the employee for violations stipulated in Points a, b, c Clause 2 above;
b) The employer must conclude a labor contract with the employee in cases of violation as stipulated in Point d Clause 2 above.
Violations concerning performance of labor contracts
- A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer temporarily transferring an employee to another job inconsistent with the labor contract without giving at least 03 working days’ notice, or failing to specify or clearly state the temporary duration, or assigning work unsuitable to the employee’s health or gender.
- A fine ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 7,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Assigning an employee to work at a location different from that agreed in the labor contract, except as provided in Article 29 of the Labor Code;
b) Failing to reinstate an employee after the expiration of the suspension of the labor contract if the contract remains valid, unless otherwise agreed by the parties or provided by law;
c) Transferring an employee to another job inconsistent with the labor contract without lawful reasons, beyond the permitted duration, or without the employee’s written consent. - A fine ranging from VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for sexual harassment at the workplace not constituting a criminal offense.
- A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 75,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Forced labor or maltreatment of employees not to the extent of criminal prosecution;
b) Forcing employees to perform labor contracts as repayment of debts. - Remedial measures:
a) The employer must assign employees to work at the agreed workplace;
b) The employer must reinstate employees after expiration of suspension, and pay wages for the days employees were not reinstated;
c) The employer must assign employees to the work specified in the labor contract.
Violations concerning amendment, supplementation, and termination of labor contracts
- A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer failing to notify employees in writing of the termination of the labor contract when it ends in accordance with the Labor Code, except in cases provided in Clauses 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Article 34 of the Labor Code.
- A fine shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts: amending the contract term by an appendix; failing to comply with time limits for settlement of employee entitlements upon termination; failing to pay or underpaying severance allowance or job-loss allowance; failing to pay or underpaying compensation in cases of unlawful unilateral termination; failing to complete procedures for confirming social insurance and unemployment insurance contributions and returning original documents; or failing to provide copies of work-related documents at the employee’s request after termination, with fines imposed as follows:
a) From VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 for violations involving 01 to 10 employees;
b) From VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for violations involving 11 to 50 employees;
c) From VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for violations involving 51 to 100 employees;
d) From VND 10,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 for violations involving 101 to 300 employees;
dd) From VND 15,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for violations involving 301 employees or more. - A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on an employer committing any of the following acts:
a) Terminating employees due to restructuring, technological change, or economic reasons without prior consultation with the grassroots employee representative organization (where applicable), or without giving at least 30 days’ prior notice to the provincial People’s Committee or employees;
b) Failing to prepare or inadequately preparing a labor utilization plan, or failing to consult with the grassroots employee representative organization when restructuring, merging, consolidating, dividing, leasing, converting business type, or transferring ownership or usage rights of enterprise/cooperative assets;
c) Applying performance evaluation regulations without consulting the grassroots employee representative organization. - Remedial measures:
a) The employer must fully pay severance or job-loss allowances, plus interest calculated at the highest demand deposit rate announced by state-owned commercial banks at the time of sanctioning;
b) The employer must complete procedures for confirmation of social insurance and unemployment insurance contributions and return retained documents;
c) The employer must pay employees an amount equivalent to contractual wages for the period of insufficient notice in cases of violation as stipulated in Point a Clause 3 above.
👉 Legal basis: Articles 8 -12 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP on penalties for administrative violations in the fields of labor, social insurance, and Vietnamese employees working abroad under contracts.
