“Forced labor” has many incarnations. Some forms are shocking, such as a case in 2021 where Vietnamese guest workers were brought to a Chinese-owned factory in Serbia that manufactured tires sold to European car companies. The guest workers allegedly had their passports taken away and were subjected to horrible living conditions, including a lack of food, forcing them to resort to hunting small animals in the nearby forest to survive. However, forced labor more often takes subtler forms, so that most people do not even recognize it as such. For example, a factory may receive an order with an extremely short production deadline, and the workers are instructed to work overtime hours. If the employees refuse to do so and stop working when their regular shift ends, they receive warning letters the next day. While less shocking than the situation of the guest workers forced to hunt squirrels to survive, it is also forced labor. ILO Convention No. 29 on Forced Labor defines forced labor as “all work or service…extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered…[them]self voluntarily.” The ILO names 11 indicators of forced labor: abuse of vulnerability, deception; restriction of movement, isolation, physical/sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working or living conditions, and excessive overtime. Excessive overtime in particular is common in the manufacturing sector in Southeast Asia, and debt bondage is also prevalent. Some companies demand employees provide a “training deposit” when they commence their employment, which they will have repaid provided they continue working for a minimum period. However, these common practices may soon be eradicated due to new supply chain due diligence legislation. Two such examples demonstrating this greater focus on forced labor within

Lawyers from Tilleke & Gibbins’ labor and employment team have contributed a new Vietnam chapter to Thomson Reuters Practical Law’s Employment and Employee Benefits Global Guide. The guide provides a high-level comparative overview of employment laws and regulations across various jurisdictions around the world. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Myanmar chapter of the guide. The Vietnam chapter covers a wide range of typical employment matters, such as limitations on working hours, paid leave requirements, minimum wage, and health and safety obligations. In addition, the guide provides insight on a number of topics of special interest to foreign investors doing business in Vietnam, including the following: Mandatory contents of a labor contract; Visas and permits required for expatriate employees; Employers’ obligations for protecting employees’ privacy and personal data; Procedural requirements for the dismissal of an employee; Employer and parent company liability. To view the latest version of Employment and Employee Benefits, please visit the Practical Law website and enroll in the free Practical Law trial to gain full access.

Employment law specialists from Tilleke & Gibbins in Vietnam provided the Vietnam chapter to the Guide to Restructuring a Cross-Border Workforce from International Employment Lawyer. This global guide, which covers 45 jurisdictions worldwide, examines the issue of workplace restructurings, particularly in relation to the needs of multinational companies. The Vietnam chapter was written by partner Kien Trung Trinh, counsel Sarah Galeski, and associate Dung Thi Phuong Le. The Q&A-style chapter focuses on key areas related to workplace restructuring, covering each of the following topics in detail: Reduction in workforce; Restructuring or reorganization of the business; Changing terms and conditions; and Areas to watch. A PDF of the Vietnam chapter can be downloaded through the button below. Tilleke & Gibbins also provided the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand chapters to the Guide to Restructuring a Cross-Border Workforce 2024. To browse the full guide for all 45 jurisdictions, please visit the International Employment Lawyer website.

On September 18, 2023, the Vietnamese government issued Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP (“Decree 70”) amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP (“Decree 152”), which regulates foreign workers working in Vietnam and the recruitment and management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign entities in Vietnam. While Decree 70 relaxes some conditions relating to foreign workers, the general goal of protecting and prioritizing domestic labor over foreign labor remains. The major changes introduced in Decree 70 are summarized below. 1. Amended Definitions and Requirements for Worker Classifications Decree 70 introduces several changes to the requirements for foreign workers to be classified as “experts” and “technical workers.” Under Decree 152, foreign workers needed to hold bachelor’s degrees or receive training directly related to their intended job positions in Vietnam. However, under Decree 70, experts are only required to have a university degree or higher and at least three years of relevant work experience suitable for their intended positions in Vietnam. Similarly, it is no longer necessary for technical workers to have training in a specific technical field to be eligible to work in Vietnam. Instead, a technical worker is defined as someone who has undergone at least one year of training and possesses at least three years of working experience suitable for their intended job position. Additionally, Decree 70 clarifies and expands the scope of the term “executive director”. Accordingly, an executive director can be (i) the head of a branch, representative office, or business location of an enterprise (which helps clarify the previous definition of “executive director” in Decree 152); or (ii) an individual who oversees at least one field within an agency, organization, or enterprise while being under the direct supervision of the head of that agency, organization, or enterprise. 2. Application for Work Permit The general procedure for