Legal Q&A

According to the information provided by Mr. NVT: He signed a labor contract with Company X in 2000. In October 2014, the Company announced that employees were required to be present at the company to work overtime. At that time, he was busy and could not participate. Then the Company announced orally that it would fine those who were absent. Because there was no written notice, he refused to pay the fine. At the end of October 2014, the Company issued a Decision to handle compensation for violations of company rules and regulations, the compensation amount was 7 million VND.

Ask:

1.Is it right or wrong for the Company to arbitrarily make a decision on compensation without holding a meeting and without your participation?

2.What should I do to protect my legitimate rights and interests?

Reply:

1.It is wrong for the Company to arbitrarily make a decision on compensation without holding a meeting or consulting you.

Clause 1, Article 123 of the 2012 Labor Code provides detailed regulations on the principles and procedures for handling labor discipline. Accordingly:

“Labor discipline is regulated as follows:

a) The employer must prove the employee's fault;

b) Must have the participation of the organization representing the collective labor at the facility;

c) The employee must be present and has the right to defend himself/herself, have a lawyer or another person defend him/her; in the case of a person under 18 years of age, the participation of his/her parents or legal representative is required;

d) Labor discipline must be recorded in writing"

Thus, according to this regulation, before issuing a decision on labor discipline, Company X must prove your fault. At the same time, it must organize a meeting on disciplinary action with your participation.

2.The law provides for the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of employees as follows:

Article 132 of the 2012 Labor Code provides as follows:

“A person who is subject to labor discipline, is temporarily suspended from work or is required to pay compensation under the material liability regime, if deemed unsatisfactory, has the right to complain to the employer, to the competent authority as prescribed by law or request the settlement of the labor dispute according to the procedures prescribed by law.”

According to this regulation, if you find that the Decision on handling compensation for violations is unsatisfactory and infringes on your legitimate rights and interests, you can file a complaint with the Director of Company X (the person who issued the Decision) or with the competent authority for settlement. In case you do not agree with the result of the complaint settlement, you can file a petition with the People's Court at the district/city level where the Company is headquartered to request the Court to resolve the above dispute.

Law Office of Trong Hai & Associates