A Vietnamese employer can dismiss an employee for misconduct only if the conduct falls within the grounds the Labour Code lists for dismissal, the act is covered by the internal labour rules, the contract or the law, and the employer follows the disciplinary procedure: proof of fault, a meeting where the employee can defend themselves, participation of the employee representative organisation where the employee is a member, and written minutes. Discipline must also start within a time limit and cannot be imposed during certain protected periods.
Skipping any of these requirements turns a justified dismissal into an unlawful one, with reinstatement and back pay as the likely outcome. This guide walks through the grounds, the role of internal labour rules, the meeting itself, the timing traps and the mistakes foreign-invested employers most often make. It reflects the Labour Code adopted in 2019; verify current guidance with the labour authority or a licensed lawyer before acting.
The forms of discipline and the dismissal grounds
The Labour Code provides four forms of labour discipline: a reprimand, extension of the period before the next salary increase for a limited time, demotion, and dismissal. Dismissal is reserved for specific serious conduct. In outline, the grounds are:
- Theft, embezzlement, gambling, deliberately causing injury, or using drugs at the workplace.
- Disclosing the employer's business or technology secrets, or infringing its intellectual property rights.
- Acts that cause serious damage, or threaten especially serious damage, to the employer's property or interests.
- Sexual harassment at the workplace as defined in the internal labour rules.
- Committing a new violation, of a type that leads to discipline, while still under a salary-increase extension or demotion that has not yet been cleared.
- Being absent without a legitimate reason for a cumulative number of days within thirty days, or a larger cumulative number within a year, as set by the code.
The list is closed. Poor performance, rudeness to a manager or a single late arrival is not a dismissal ground on its own, however irritating. Performance problems belong to a different track, unilateral termination for habitual failure to complete work, which has its own conditions and notice.
Internal labour rules: the foundation most employers neglect
An employer can only discipline an employee for an act that is described as a violation in the internal labour rules, the employment contract or the law. In practice, the internal labour rules carry most of the weight, because they translate general legal categories into concrete behaviour: what counts as serious damage in this business, how absence is recorded, what the workplace definition of sexual harassment is, how confidential information is handled.
Employers above a certain size must issue internal labour rules in writing and register them with the provincial labour authority; smaller employers can set out their rules in the employment contract. When drafting or amending the rules, the employer must consult the employee representative organisation where one exists, and the rules must be publicised to employees, with key content posted at the workplace. Since the 2025 reorganisation, the provincial labour functions sit within the provincial Department of Home Affairs, so confirm where registration is currently handled.
Foreign-invested companies frequently rely on a global code of conduct in English and assume it serves as internal labour rules. It does not, unless it has gone through the Vietnamese process. A hypothetical example: a technology company in Ho Chi Minh City dismisses an engineer for sharing source code with a friend. The conduct plainly fits the secrets ground, but the company never registered internal rules, and its English policy was never consulted or posted. The engineer argues that the procedural foundation is missing, and the company spends a year defending a case it should have won easily.
The disciplinary procedure, step by step
The Labour Code and its guidance set out a procedure that employers should follow precisely. A typical sequence:
- Investigate and document. Collect evidence of the act: records, witness statements, system logs, damage assessments. The employer carries the burden of proving the employee's fault.
- Consider suspension if needed. Where the violation is complicated and leaving the employee at work would hinder the investigation, the employer may suspend the employee for a limited period after consulting the employee representative organisation, advancing a portion of salary during suspension.
- Send a written invitation. Notify the employee, the employee representative organisation (if the employee is a member) and, for a minor, a parent or legal representative, of the time, place and content of the disciplinary meeting, sufficiently in advance.
- Hold the meeting. The employee must be present and has the right to defend themselves or to be assisted by a lawyer or other representative. If the employee does not attend after proper invitation, the guidance allows the meeting to proceed in specified circumstances.
- Record minutes. The minutes record what was said, the evidence presented and the employee's response, and are signed by those attending. If someone refuses to sign, the reason is noted.
- Issue the decision. The person with authority issues a written disciplinary decision within the time limit, and sends it to the employee and the employee representative organisation.
Each step leaves a document. When a dispute reaches a mediator or court, those documents are what the employer relies on. A missing invitation or unsigned minutes is often enough to overturn a dismissal.
Timing rules and protected periods
Two sets of timing rules catch employers out: the limitation period for starting discipline, and the periods during which discipline cannot be imposed.
| Rule | In principle |
|---|---|
| Limitation for discipline | Discipline must be imposed within a fixed period from the date of the violation, with a longer period for violations involving finances, assets or disclosure of business or technology secrets |
| Protected periods | No discipline while the employee is on sick leave or convalescence, on leave approved by the employer, in temporary detention or custody, or awaiting investigation results for certain serious grounds |
| Maternity protection | No discipline while a female employee is pregnant, on maternity leave or raising a child under twelve months old; similar protection for an employee raising a child under twelve months in specified cases |
| Extension after protected periods | If the limitation period expires during a protected period, the employer may still impose discipline within a short period after the protection ends |
| Loss of capacity | No discipline for acts committed while the employee had a mental illness or another condition that impaired awareness or self-control |
Check the exact durations in the current code and guidance before relying on them. A dismissal decided one day after the limitation period has run is unlawful, however serious the misconduct.
Things an employer must never do
Fine or cut wages as punishment. Monetary penalties and wage deductions are prohibited as a form of discipline. Compensation for damage is a separate process with its own limits.
Punish twice for one act. One violation attracts one form of discipline. If several violations are handled together, the most severe applicable form is imposed.
Discipline for conduct not in the rules. An act that is not described in the internal labour rules, the contract or the law cannot be the basis for discipline.
Violate dignity. Discipline must not infringe the employee's health, honour or dignity. Public humiliation, such as announcing the dismissal to the team with accusations, invites a separate claim.
Skip the employee representative. Where the employee is a member of the employee representative organisation, its participation is a condition of a lawful procedure, not a courtesy.
Decide before the meeting. Issuing a dismissal decision dated before the meeting, or making clear in emails that the outcome was fixed in advance, undermines the employee's right to defend themselves and can be used as evidence that the procedure was a formality.
The employee's side: responding to a disciplinary process
If you receive an invitation to a disciplinary meeting, take it seriously and attend. Ask in writing for the evidence the employer relies on, so that you can respond to specific facts rather than general accusations. You have the right to bring a lawyer or another person to help you, and if you are not comfortable in Vietnamese, ask for an interpreter or bring one.
At the meeting, stay factual. Explain your version of events, point out any evidence that supports you, and note any procedural problems, such as an act that is not in the internal rules or a violation that happened long ago. Read the minutes carefully before signing; if they do not reflect what you said, write your comments on them or refuse to sign and state why.
If you are dismissed, you can challenge the decision directly in court; disputes about disciplinary dismissal do not have to pass through labour mediation first. Keep your copy of the invitation, minutes and decision, and note the date you received the decision, because the limitation period for your claim runs from when you knew your rights were infringed.
Lesser forms of discipline matter too. A reprimand or a salary-increase extension stays on your record for a period and, if another violation follows, can open the door to dismissal. If you think a lesser sanction was unjustified, raise it in writing at the time rather than waiting for the next incident.
When you need a Vietnamese lawyer
Employers should involve a licensed Vietnamese lawyer before starting any disciplinary process that could end in dismissal, especially for senior employees, foreign employees, employees in protected categories, or where the facts depend on technical evidence such as system logs. The lawyer can check the internal rules, the timing and the evidence before the invitation is sent, which is when problems are cheapest to fix.
Employees facing dismissal for alleged serious misconduct, particularly where the allegation could also have criminal implications such as theft or embezzlement, should get advice before the meeting. What you say in a disciplinary meeting can be used in other proceedings. For an initial view of whether the procedure followed so far is sound, you can ask a lawyer on AI Co Van.
Recovering losses is a separate question from discipline. If an employee damaged equipment or caused financial loss, the employer may seek compensation under the rules on material responsibility, which have their own procedure and caps, and in cases of theft or embezzlement may report the matter to the police. Running these processes in parallel without coordination can create contradictions in the record, which is another reason to plan the whole response with counsel.
In every case, check the current time limits, protected periods and registration requirements with the labour authority or a licensed lawyer. Implementing guidance has been revised several times, and details matter in this area more than almost any other.
Frequently asked questions
Can an employer in Vietnam dismiss someone for poor performance?
Not through disciplinary dismissal. Poor performance is not one of the listed dismissal grounds. The employer may instead terminate unilaterally for habitual failure to complete work, but only against written performance criteria and with the required notice, which is a separate process with its own conditions.
Does the employee have to attend the disciplinary meeting?
The employee has the right and is expected to attend after being properly invited. If the employee repeatedly fails to attend without a valid reason after correct notice, the guidance allows the employer to proceed in specified circumstances. Employers should keep proof of each invitation.
Is a trade union always involved in a disciplinary meeting?
The employee representative organisation at the workplace must participate if the employee is a member. If there is no such organisation, or the employee is not a member, the procedure differs. Employers should check membership before sending invitations to avoid a procedural gap.
Can a foreign employee be disciplined under Vietnamese labour law?
Yes. A foreign employee under a Vietnamese employment contract is subject to the employer's internal labour rules and the Labour Code's disciplinary provisions in the same way as local staff, and enjoys the same procedural protections, including the right to defend themselves and be assisted.
What happens if a disciplinary dismissal is found unlawful?
The consequences are similar to those for an unlawful unilateral termination: reinstatement, payment of salary and insurance contributions for the time out of work, and additional compensation, or alternative payments if the employee does not return. The employer may also face administrative sanctions.
Can an employer suspend an employee during an investigation?
Yes, in limited circumstances. Where the violation is complicated and keeping the employee at work would hinder the investigation, the employer may suspend them for a limited period after consulting the employee representative organisation, and must advance part of their salary during the suspension.