Regulations on Implementing Collective Labor Agreements at Enterprises

Must an enterprise publicize the collective labor agreement to all employees? If it fails to publicize the collective labor agreement, what penalties apply?

1. How is the implementation of collective labor agreements at enterprises regulated?

Under Article 79 of the Labor Code 2019, the implementation of collective labor agreements at enterprises is regulated as follows:

(1) Employers and employees, including employees who start work after the effective date of the collective labor agreement, are obligated to fully implement the effective collective labor agreement.

(2) Where the rights, obligations, and interests of the parties in labor contracts concluded before the effective date of the collective labor agreement are lower than the corresponding provisions of the collective labor agreement, the collective labor agreement shall apply. Employer regulations inconsistent with the collective labor agreement must be amended to conform; while unamended, the corresponding contents of the collective labor agreement shall apply.

(3) When one party believes the other party has not fully implemented or has violated the collective labor agreement, it has the right to demand proper enforcement of the collective labor agreement, and the parties are responsible for jointly considering and resolving the matter; if it cannot be resolved, each party has the right to request resolution of the collective labor dispute in accordance with the law.

Accordingly, employees who start work after the effective date of the collective labor agreement remain obligated to fully implement the effective collective labor agreement.

2. Validity of collective labor agreements

Under Article 78 of the Labor Code 2019, the validity and term of collective labor agreements are regulated as follows:

(1) The effective date of a collective labor agreement is agreed by the parties and recorded in the agreement. Where the parties do not agree on an effective date, the collective labor agreement takes effect from the date of signing.

– Once effective, the collective labor agreement must be respected and implemented by the parties.

(2) An enterprise collective labor agreement is valid and applicable to the employer and all employees of the enterprise. Sectoral collective labor agreements and multi-enterprise collective labor agreements are valid and applicable to all employers and employees of the enterprises participating in the collective labor agreement.

(3) A collective labor agreement has a term of 1 to 3 years. The specific term is agreed by the parties and recorded in the collective labor agreement. The parties may agree on different terms for different contents of the collective labor agreement.

3. Must an enterprise publicize the collective labor agreement to all employees?

Under clause 6 Article 76 of the Labor Code 2019 on consultation and signing of collective labor agreements, after the collective labor agreement is signed, the employer is obligated to publicize it to its employees.

4. What penalties apply if an enterprise fails to publicize the collective labor agreement to employees?

Under clause 1 Article 16 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP on penalties for violations of regulations on collective bargaining and collective labor agreements, as follows:

A fine of VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 applies to employers committing one of the following acts:

– Failing to send the collective labor agreement to the specialized labor authority of the provincial People’s Committee where the head office is located as prescribed;

– Failing to pay costs for the negotiation; signing; amendment and supplementation; sending; and publicizing of the collective labor agreement;

– Providing information past the prescribed deadline or providing inaccurate information on: production and business activities; other contents directly related to the negotiation contents as prescribed, when the employee representative requests for conducting collective bargaining;

– Failing to publicize the signed collective labor agreement to employees.

Note: under clause 1 Article 6 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP, the above fines are fines for individuals. Fines for organizations are twice the fines for individuals.

Thus, under the above regulations, if an enterprise fails to publicize the signed collective labor agreement to employees, it may be subject to administrative penalties with fines of VND 2–6 million (fines for organizations).

Frequently Asked Questions

Must an enterprise publicize the collective labor agreement to employees? Yes. Employers must publicize and publicly post the collective labor agreement at the workplace so employees are informed; failure to do so may result in administrative penalties.
When does a collective labor agreement take effect? From the date agreed by the parties and recorded in the agreement, or from the signing date if there is no other agreement.
Must employees who join later comply with the agreement? Yes — the obligation to implement the agreement applies to employees who start work after the agreement’s effective date as well.