Previously, according to the Labour Law 2019, the maximum number of overtime working hours in a month was 40 hours.

In Resolution 17/2022/UBTVQH15, effective from 1 April 2022, the maximum number of overtime working hours increased to 60 hours/month, if there is business demand and the employer has obtained the employees' consent.

This measure seeks to meet the demand of production and business in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as to let employees to earn more income to provide for their families.

The standard annual overtime cap in Vietnam is 200 hours, that can become 300 hours, according to The Labour Code 2019, for specific exceptional industries, sectors and job positions.

Effective from 1 January 2022, Resolution No. 17 removed those restrictions and provided for employer of any industry and sector – that has business demand and obtains employees' consent for overtime work -, the possibility to have employees work overtime for more than 200 hours but not exceeding 300 hours in a year.

Certain protected classes of employees are exceptions to this rule:

• Employees from full 15 years old to under 18 years old.
• Employee who is a mildly disabled person with a working capacity decrease of 51% or more, a severe disability, or a particularly severe disability;
• Employees who do heavy, toxic or dangerous occupations or jobs or especially heavy, toxic, or dangerous jobs;
• Female employees who are pregnant from the 7th month or from the 6th month if working in the highland, remote, border, or island areas;
• Female employees who are raising children under 12 months old.

Employers, according and within the limits to this new overtime regulations, will have more flexibility in organizing working hours for employees.

Since the pandemic, businesses stressed that labour shortages have increased significantly.

Resolution 17 will help businesses and employees in the short term, but the government and social parties will probably have to find efficient long-term strategies to maintain production and recover from the pandemic, considering Vietnam’s economy expansion and the need to be competitive in the global market.