The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs issued Official Letter No.1064/LDTBXH-QHLDTL on March 25th,2020, provided guidance on the payment and processing labor regime during the work suspension period due to the impact of Covid-19 epidemic. Details are as follow:
- Payment of wage in case of work suspension shall be based on Article 98 Labor Code 2012 to consider that the cause of work suspension is due to the employer, the employee or other objective reasons in order to dertermine the wage accordingly.
- In case that the work suspension was caused by Covid-19 epidemic, the employee’s wage shall be agreed by the two parties, provided that it must not be lower than the regional minimum wage stipulated by the government, applicable to following cases:
– Foreign employees who are not allowed to return to work during the pandemic due to the competent authoritie’s request.
– Employees who have to be quarantined as requested by competent authorities
– Employees who are suspended from work because their companies or departments are suspended since the employer or other employees in the same enterprise or department are being quarantined or not allowed to return to work as requested by competent authorities.
- Enterprises that cannot provide adequate employment due to supply shortage or market reduction may temporarily reassign the employees against their employment contracts in accordance with Article 31 of the Labor Code; In case an employer is not able to pay the suspended employees due to prolonged work suspension, they may reach an agreement on suspension of the employment contracts in accordance with Article 32 of the Labor Code; Employers that have to scale down shall implement regulations of Article 38 or Article 44 of the Labor Code.
