Gov’t issues new rules on foreign workers in Vietnam

The Government recently issued Decree No 152/2020/ND-CP featuring regulations on foreigners working in Vietnam and the recruitment and management of Vietnamese working for foreign organisations and individuals in the country.

A Chinese receives check-up upon arriving at a quarantine site in Vietnam

This degree stipulates that foreigners working in Vietnam are those under labour contracts; moving within a business; carrying out contracts or agreements on economy, trade, finance, banking, insurance, science - technique, culture, sports, education, vocational training, or health care; providing services under contract; offering services; working for foreign non-governmental organisations or international organisations permitted to operate under Vietnam’s law; working as volunteers; being in charge of setting up trade representative offices; being managers, managing directors, experts, or technical personnel; taking part in the implementation of bidding packages or projects in Vietnam; or being relatives of members of foreign representative agencies in Vietnam who are allowed to work in the country under regulations in the international treaties to which Vietnam is a party.

At least 30 days prior to the day planned to start using foreign labourers, employers, except for contractors, are responsible for identifying the demand for foreign employees for each position that Vietnamese workers have yet to satisfy and explaining the issue to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) or the provincial-level People’s Committees in the localities where foreigners are set to work in.

If they want to change the demand for foreign labourers, employers have to report to the MoLISA or provincial-level People’s Committees at least 30 days prior to the day planned to start using foreign labourers, according to the decree.

The decree also stated that in case foreigners are subject to Clauses 3, 4, and 5 of Article 154 in the Labour Code and Clauses 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of Article 7 in this decree, employers do not have to identify the foreign labourer demand.

Meanwhile, the MoLISA or the provincial-level People’s Committees have to issue documents accepting or rejecting the use of foreign workers for each job position within 10 working days since the reception of explanation about or report on the change in foreign labourer demand.

In addition, before recruiting foreigners, contractors has responsibility for detailing the number, professional capacity, and experience of foreign workers they want to employ to implement bidding packages in Vietnam, while proposing the recruitment of Vietnamese workers for the positions for which they plan to employ foreigners to the chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees in the localities where bidding packages are carried out.

The chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees will order local agencies and organisations to introduce and supply Vietnamese workers for the contractors or coordinate with agencies and organisations in other localities to introduce and supply Vietnamese workers.

If local parties are unable to provide Vietnamese workers for contractors within two months since they receive the request for at least 500 Vietnamese labourers, one month in terms of the request for 100 to less than 500 Vietnamese labourers, or 15 days in terms of the request for under 100 Vietnamese labourers, the chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees have to make decisions on contractors’ recruitment of foreigners for the jobs for which no qualified Vietnamese workers are found.

Contractors have to report on the use of foreign employees during the first half of a year and the whole year before July 5 and January 5 of the following year, respectively, the decree said./.

VNA