According to legal regulations By law, can a company director sign a labor contract with himself?

1. How is the authority to enter into labor contracts regulated?

According to Article 18 of the 2019 Labor Code, the authority to enter into labor contracts is stipulated as follows:

“Article 18. Authority to enter into labor contracts

1. Employees directly enter into labor contracts, except for the case specified in Clause 2 This.

2. For seasonal jobs and certain jobs with a term of less than 12 months, a group of employees aged 18 or older can authorize one employee in the group to enter into a labor contract; in this case, the labor contract must be concluded in writing and has the same effect as if it were signed with each employee.

The authorized signatory must be accompanied by a list clearly stating the full name, date of birth, gender, place of residence and signature of each employee.

3. The person signing the labor contract on the employer’s side is a person in one of the following cases:

a) The legal representative of the enterprise or an authorized person according to the provisions of law. law;

b) Heads of agencies or organizations with legal status according to the provisions of law or authorized persons according to the provisions of law;

c) Representatives of households, cooperative groups, other organizations without legal status or authorized persons according to provisions of law;

d) Individuals who directly employ workers labor contract.

4. The person who signs the labor contract on the employee’s side is a person in one of the following cases:

a) The employee is 18 years of age or older;

b) The employee is from 15 years old to under 18 years old with the written consent of the employee’s legal representative that person;

c) A person under 15 years old and that person’s legal representative;

d) An employee who is legally authorized by the employees in the group to enter into a labor contract.

5. A person authorized to enter into a labor contract may not authorize another person to enter into a labor contract.”

Based on the above regulations, the employer with the authority to enter into a labor contract includes the legal representative, the direct employer and the person authorized to enter into the contract. Employees can themselves or authorize employees in the same group to enter into labor contracts.

2. Can a director sign a labor contract with himself or not?

According to Clause 3, Article 141 of the 2015 Civil Code, the scope of representation is specified as follows:

“Article 141. Scope of representation

1. The representative may only establish and perform civil transactions within the scope of representation on the following grounds:

a) Decision of the competent authority;

b) Charter of the legal entity;

c) Authorization content;

d) Other provisions of law.

2. In case the scope of representation cannot be specifically determined as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the legal representative has the right to establish and perform all civil transactions for the benefit of the represented person, unless otherwise prescribed by law.

3. An individual or legal entity may represent many different individuals or legal entities but may not act in the name of the represented person to establish or perform civil transactions with themselves or with a third party of which they are also the representative, unless otherwise prescribed by law.

4. The representative must notify the transaction party about the scope of his or her representation.”

Thus, based on the above regulations, one person cannot be the representative of two subjects in the same labor contract. Therefore, the director cannot sign a labor contract with himself.

3. Can the deputy director be authorized to sign a labor contract with the director?

According to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 18 of the 2019 Labor Code, a person authorized by law can represent the employer to enter into a labor contract.

At the same time, in Clause 3, Article 141 of the 2015 Civil Code, an individual may not act in the name of the person being represented to establish or perform civil transactions with himself or with a third party of which he or she is also the representative, unless otherwise prescribed by law.

From the above grounds, to sign a labor contract in this case with the director, re-authorization must be made to the deputy director in accordance with the law.