In practice, not all individual labor disputes are accepted by the Court upon the parties’ submission of a lawsuit petition. There are numerous cases that have been rejected due to failure to meet the statutory conditions for initiating a lawsuit under civil and labor laws. Accordingly, a clear understanding and strict compliance with these conditions are key factors in ensuring the lawful rights and interests of the disputing parties.
In this article, BLawyers Vietnam presents the important notes on the conditions for initiating a lawsuit in the event of an individual labor dispute.
1. How is an individual labor dispute defined?
Labor disputes mean disputes over rights, obligations and interests among the parties during the establishment, execution or termination of labor relations; disputes between the representative organizations of employees; or disputes arising from relationships directly related to the labor relations.
Individual labor disputes are a labor dispute between the employees and the employers; between the employees and the companies or organizations that send employees to work overseas under a labor contract; or between leased employees and leased employers.
2. The jurisdiction to resolve individual labor disputes
The authorities, organizations and individuals with the jurisdiction to resolve individual labor disputes include:
- Labor mediators;
- Labor Arbitration Councils;
- People’s Courts.
3. Conditions for initiating a lawsuit concerning an individual labor dispute
3.1. Cases that must be mediated through a labor mediator
Individual labor disputes shall be settled through mediation by labor mediators before being brought to the Labor Arbitration Council or the Court, except for the following labor disputes for which mediation is not mandatory:
- Regarding labor discipline handling in the form of dismissal or unilateral termination of labor contracts;
- Regarding compensation for damages and allowances upon termination of labor contracts;
- Between a domestic worker and the employer;
- Regarding social insurance in accordance with social insurance laws; regarding health insurance in accordance with health insurance laws; regarding unemployment insurance in accordance with employment laws; regarding insurance for occupational accidents and occupational disease in accordance with occupational safety and health laws;
- Regarding compensation for damages between an employee and business or organization that dispatches the employee to work overseas under a contract;
- Between the leased employee and the leased employer.
Accordingly, the parties in the labor relationship must determine the nature of the labor dispute in order to consider whether it falls under a category that requires mandatory mediation before initiating a lawsuit.
3.2. Conditions for the Court or the Arbitration Council to settle an individual labor dispute
For individual labor disputes that are required to be resolved through mediation by a labor mediator, the Court or the Arbitration Council may only accept and settle the cases under the following circumstances:
- Five or more working days have passed from the date the labor mediator receives the request from the disputing party or from the labor authority under the People’s Committee, and the labor mediator has not conducted the mediation.
- A disputing party fails to adhere to the agreements specified in the record of successful mediation.
- The disputing parties have undergone mediation, but the mediation was unsuccessful.
In addition, the parties in the dispute have the right to choose to request the Court or the Labor Arbitration Council to resolve the dispute in cases where mediation is not mandatory.
4. Jurisdictional conflicts in the resolution of individual labor disputes
When the disputing parties request the Labor Arbitration Council to resolve the dispute, they may not simultaneously request the Court to adjudicate the matter, except in the following case:
- After 07 working days from the date of receiving the request for dispute resolution, if the Labor Arbitration Panel has not been established; or
- After 30 days from the date the Labor Arbitration Panel is established, if the Panel fails to issue a decision on the dispute resolution.
The above is not official advice from BLawyers Vietnam. If you have any questions or suggestions about the above, please contact us at info@blawyersvn.com. BLawyers Vietnam would love to hear from you.
Date: 08 May 2025
Writer: Tuyen Duong
