Internal labour regulations are the sole legal basis on which an enterprise can lawfully discipline its employees. Many small and medium enterprises operate for years without written internal labour regulations, or have them but have never registered them, only to discover when a dispute arises that their disciplinary decisions carry no legal weight. This article sets out the mandatory thresholds, the principal content and the registration procedure for internal labour regulations that an enterprise must follow.
When an enterprise is required to have internal labour regulations
Under the 2019 Labour Code, an enterprise employing 10 or more employees must have written internal labour regulations — an enterprise should check this threshold against the current implementing guidance before applying it, as this figure is often adjusted through subsequent amendments to the law.
For an enterprise below this threshold, the law does not require written internal labour regulations to be issued, but the enterprise must still agree the content on labour discipline and material liability directly within the employment contract. In practice, TLA recommends that an enterprise build written internal labour regulations even before it reaches the mandatory threshold, since this is a basic human resources management tool that brings clarity to conduct, working hours and discipline from the small-scale stage onward, avoiding the need to draft them in a rush once the enterprise expands its headcount.
Principal content of the regulations
Internal labour regulations must not contravene the law or social ethics, and must include the following principal content:
- Working hours and rest breaks: daily and weekly working hours, shifts, breaks during working hours, and weekly rest days.
- Order at the workplace: scope of work, work areas, and compliance with the employer's lawful operational directions.
- Occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace.
- Prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace, and the order and procedure for handling acts of sexual harassment at the workplace.
- Protection of the enterprise's assets, business secrets, technological secrets and intellectual property.
- Cases in which an employee may be temporarily transferred to work other than that agreed in the employment contract.
- Acts that breach labour discipline, forms of disciplinary action, and material liability.
- The person with authority to handle labour discipline.
Before issuing or amending internal labour regulations, an enterprise must consult the employee representative organisation at the workplace (if any). This is a mandatory procedural step, not a mere formality — a registration dossier lacking a document evidencing this consultation may be rejected or sent back by the labour authority for supplementation.
Registration procedure with the labour authority
An enterprise required to have written internal labour regulations must register them with the specialised home affairs agency under the provincial People's Committee where the enterprise is registered for business (formerly the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; since the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was merged into the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2025, this authority has shifted to the specialised home affairs agency under Decision 628/QD-BNV). Within the statutory period from the date the internal labour regulations are issued, the enterprise must submit a registration dossier comprising, at a minimum: a written request for registration of the internal labour regulations, the internal labour regulations themselves, the written comments of the employee representative organisation at the workplace (if any), and any other enterprise documents containing provisions on labour discipline and material liability (if any).
Where an enterprise has multiple units, branches or production and business establishments employing labour in different locations, it must send the registered internal labour regulations to the specialised home affairs agency where each production or business establishment is located, for monitoring and management purposes. Where the internal labour regulations contain provisions that violate the law, the receiving authority has the right to require the enterprise to amend, supplement and re-register them; the regulations only take effect once validly registered.
Effectiveness of the regulations
Internal labour regulations take effect 15 days after the specialised home affairs agency under the provincial People's Committee receives a complete and valid registration dossier. For an enterprise not yet required to register (below the mandatory headcount threshold), the effective date of the regulations is determined by the enterprise itself within the regulations, but the enterprise must still ensure it has consulted the employee representative organisation and that the regulations do not contravene the law.
An enterprise should retain the copy of the regulations confirmed as registered by the labour authority, together with the dossier receipt slip, as an important legal document — this is the first piece of evidence to produce when the labour inspectorate carries out an inspection or when a labour dispute concerning discipline arises.
Risk of disciplinary action without valid internal labour regulations
Internal labour regulations are a prerequisite for carrying out labour discipline in the correct order and procedure. If an enterprise is required to register but has not done so, or has registered regulations whose provisions on breaches and disciplinary forms are unclear, a disciplinary decision (including dismissal) issued on the basis of those regulations risks being declared unlawful by a court if the employee files a lawsuit.
The consequences of a disciplinary decision being declared unlawful are usually far more serious than the cost of drafting and registering the regulations in the first place: the enterprise may have to reinstate the employee, pay salary and benefits for the period the employee was not working, and pay further compensation as required by law, not to mention litigation costs and the damage to internal governance credibility. An enterprise should review its internal labour regulations periodically, particularly when its working arrangements change (remote work, shift work, overtime) or when it needs to add breaches that arise in practice but are not yet listed in the current regulations.
Frequently asked questions
Does a newly established enterprise with fewer than 10 employees need written internal labour regulations? It is not mandatory, but the enterprise must still agree the content on labour discipline and material liability within the employment contract; TLA recommends building the regulations early to standardise human resources management.
Are unregistered internal labour regulations effective? For an enterprise required to register, the regulations only take effect once the labour authority confirms it has received a complete and valid dossier; without registration, there is no adequate legal basis for disciplinary action.
Is it mandatory to consult employees before issuing the regulations? Yes, an enterprise must consult the employee representative organisation at the workplace (if any) before issuing or amending its internal labour regulations.
What is the risk of taking disciplinary action without valid internal labour regulations? The disciplinary decision risks being declared unlawful by a court, forcing the enterprise to reinstate the employee and pay compensation as required by law.
Book a consultation with TLA Consulting to build and register valid internal labour regulations for your enterprise.
