When Things Get Difficult at Your Job in Vietnam

A Personal Journey Through Workplace Conflict in Vietnam

I had been working at a company for over four years when a change in management turned my job as a teacher—from something I was committed to and enjoyed—into a daily hellhole of stress and growing illness. This led me down a path to learn about workplace laws in Vietnam.

One thing is certain: every country has a different approach to workplace laws. Some might be better than others, but they all aim to set standards for what can happen in the workplace. Vietnam is no different, for both foreign workers and citizens.

Workplace Conflict Can Have Disastrous Effects on the Body

As I reached the five-year mark of my employment with this company, I could see that things were not progressing well. Confusion was my first challenge because I didn’t know if what was happening was due to language barriers, cultural differences, or an intent to bully. This uncertainty is why, I suppose, I let it go for so long. In the first few months, I just wasn’t sure if they meant to do these things or if there was another reason I was being treated so badly.

After nine months, that confusion dissipated as I reached the point of having a breakdown. But rather than report the activity, I chose to keep it to myself because I found that there was no law in Vietnam that related to my situation. Anything I chose to do would have been a case of one person against another, and there was no law that controlled the process—so silence appeared to be my best option.

Wrongly, I started comparing the laws in Vietnam to those in my own country, and there were very different interpretations of the limitations of employers and employees in the workplace. Rather than get angry about it, I focused on learning the new way and doing my best to work within the laws of Vietnam.

And I suppose this is the main point of where I was at that time: a foreigner, in a foreign company that followed the laws of the country, under extreme personal stress and unsure of how to manage the situation. In my home country, I knew exactly what to do, but here in Vietnam, I was unsure.

The real fear I had—and I was totally unsure about—was the scenario of speaking out against this behavior. Would that result in me being terminated just to get rid of the problem? Thankfully, after I finally got to speak to a senior manager about the issue, that was not the case. The manager dealt with the matter with compassion and empathy.

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The Laws in Vietnam Are Different

However, most importantly, the laws need to be understood. Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP regulates employment for foreign workers. What we need to understand is that this decree covers all foreign workers. Most foreign workers are not teachers but factory workers and similar roles, coming from nearby Asian countries to work in factories across Vietnam. This means the decree has laws to cover all these people, as well as teachers.

Contracts for foreigners cannot exceed two years. With a two-year contract, items such as health insurance, social insurance, and leave entitlements should be included. However, if you are on a six-month contract, some of these items are not required.

The Labor Code 2019 (Law No. 45/2019/QH14) is the overarching code that sets out the general conditions of a workplace. Most notably, it specifically identifies sexual harassment in the workplace and how employees and employers must deal with it.

What is missing—and what many foreigners may expect to see—are laws relating to bullying, unfair dismissal procedures, and other similar protections you may be used to in your home country.

Work Contracts Need to Be Read and Understood

However, in your work contract, you may have a number of conditions and agreements that go beyond the code. One example is the contractual inclusion for many foreign teachers that you may have to pay a fine if you fail to arrive at a class as agreed. This can range from one hour’s pay to a full day’s salary.

Another inclusion in Vietnam’s workplace laws that differs from my home country is the regulation that if an employee damages company property, they are responsible for the cost of replacement. I’ve seen this play out in cases where a group of security guards were made to pay for the replacement of a bicycle that was stolen from their car park during their shift.

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What I Did to Restore My Health and Happiness

As I lived through my stresses over the past months, I learned that the laws in Vietnam are different from those in my home country. One cannot assume that laws will align with what you’re used to. We have to learn the laws of Vietnam and follow them.

The result over time in this difficult situation was that I had to relearn the workplace environment and deal with it in a different way—both legally and culturally. I had to understand the standards in Vietnam and work within the laws to make sure I did the right thing.

I have to be honest and say the laws in Vietnam ended up not being the most important part of this matter. What mattered more—and this speaks to the culture of the country—was that I needed to be calm and politely state my position to people who would listen. Of course, sometimes we don’t have that figure in a company, and you’re better off just leaving, as I ultimately did after tolerating this behavior for over 18 months, albeit I did share my story with a compassionate manager on resigning. This now brings up a totally new learning and a totally new future for me, and I am very excited about what it could mean and where it could take me.

Working in any new country means you have to make changes to fit the laws and culture. This doesn’t mean you lose your self-respect and right to fairness, but it may mean you need to adjust your decisions and the way you handle conflict in the workplace.

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At the end of the day, the laws of Vietnam hold one very important rule that is common across every country: the right to resign and work somewhere else. Use it if you have to and live a good life working for a good company in a great country like Vietnam.