Vietnam Tightens the Screws on Employers: New Fines Target Probation Abuses and Wage Gaps
Published on 08/01/2026 at 10:21 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
When Vietnamese authorities begin enforcing a sweeping new labor decree this September, companies that overwork their probationary staff could find themselves facing fines of up to 5 million VND. The penalties are part of a broader regulatory push designed to reshape how employers handle everything from trial periods to temporary worker pay.
The legal foundation for these changes rests on Decree 283/2026/ND-CP, which takes effect on September 10, 2026. Previously, many of these violations carried either no punishment or far lighter consequences. Now, the Vietnamese government is signaling that early-stage employment relationships deserve the same level of protection as long-term ones.
Probation Periods Under the Microscope
The decree draws a clear line around working hours during probation. If a company requires an employee to work beyond what was contractually agreed during this trial phase, the financial penalty ranges from 2 to 5 million VND. That same fine bracket applies to employers who stretch the legally permitted probation duration or attempt to run multiple probation periods for a single position.
There's a catch for repeat offenders: when a probation period exceeds legal limits, the employer must also back-pay the affected worker their full salary for the entire duration of the unlawful probation. That requirement could add up quickly for companies with multiple affected staff members.
Document Retention and Communication Failures
A separate set of provisions targets how businesses handle workers' personal paperwork. Holding onto original documents or identification cards is now classified as a serious infraction, carrying fines between 20 and 25 million VND. The message from regulators is clear: workers must remain free to move between jobs without employers using their papers as leverage.
Even the simple act of failing to communicate probation outcomes will cost companies. Employers who don't notify staff about their probation results in a timely manner face penalties of 500,000 to 1 million VND. The rule aims to give workers clarity about their employment status without unnecessary delay.
Wage Discrimination in Temporary Work Gets Pricey
Perhaps the most significant financial exposure comes from the decree's stance on pay inequality among temporary workers. The fines scale according to how many employees are affected. Violations involving 1 to 10 workers trigger penalties between 10 and 20 million VND. At the upper end, companies where more than 301 temporary employees face wage discrimination could be hit with fines reaching 100 million VND.
For international businesses already operating in Vietnam or considering market entry, the September deadline creates an immediate compliance imperative. HR departments will need to audit their probation policies, document-handling procedures, and temporary worker compensation structures well before the decree takes effect. The cost of getting it wrong is no longer a minor administrative headache — it's a direct financial hit that scales with the size of the violation.
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