Vietnam raises the number of overtime hours

However, the total number of overtime working hours cannot exceed 300 hours annually. The new regulations, released in Resolution 17/2022/UBTVQH15 (Resolution 17), took effect from April 1 and will last till December 31 this year.

This development came after the proposal by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) to increase the overtime cap due to the lack of labour at production sites and as businesses in the country recover from the pandemic.

The two main reasons for the shortage of labour are employees calling in sick due to being infected by COVID-19 and workers not returning to work after going back to their hometowns when pandemic restrictions were lifted across the country.

Under the new regulations, employers are required to get consent from employees before allowing them to work overtime.

While Resolution 17 will provide a stopgap measure for businesses and employees in the short term, the government and employers will need better long-term strategies to meet demand. This, however, will take a bit of time as businesses and employees re-adjust to post-pandemic recovery and as Vietnam’s economy steadily expands.

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To attract and retain workers, businesses will need to offer incentives such as additional meal and fuel allowances (as fuel prices have risen drastically), daily stipends, additional benefits such as paid travel, supplemental health insurance, family-focused benefit packages, and continuing education to develop skills, according to Vietnam Briefing.