Compliance Check: Vietnam: New electronic labour contract framework

Vietnam has introduced a new framework for electronic labour contracts under Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP (Decree 337) and Circular No. 08/2026/TT-BNV (Circular 08). Decree 337 took effect on 1 January 2026 and Circular 08 took effect on 1 July 2026. This edition of Compliance Check examines the principal requirements for employers that use, or intend to use, electronic labour contracts in Vietnam.

Scope

The use of electronic labour contracts remains voluntary. Employers may continue to conclude labour contracts in paper form. However, where an employer elects to use electronic labour contracts, the contracts must be concluded and managed in accordance with Decree 337 and Circular 08.

The new framework involves more than applying an electronic signature to a labour contract. The employer and employee must use an eligible electronic contract service provider to authenticate the contract and transmit it to the Electronic Labour Contract Platform operated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Platform) for the issue of an identification code. Employers and employees may access the Platform to use the functions available to them, generally through organisational and personal electronic identification accounts respectively.

Key compliance requirements

At a high level, employers using electronic labour contracts are required to:

• ensure that both the employer and employee use digital signatures and timestamping services when entering into the contract;
• engage an electronic contract service provider that satisfies the applicable requirements;
• ensure that the service provider authenticates the contract and submits it to the Platform;
• manage subsequent documents relating to the contract within the Platform framework; and
• comply with applicable requirements concerning data, personal data protection, cybersecurity and record retention.
• comply with applicable requirements concerning data, personal data protection, cybersecurity and record retention.

An electronic labour contract generally takes effect when the last party signs it electronically, with timestamps attached to the parties’ digital signatures and authentication of the data message by the service provider, unless the parties agree otherwise. The subsequent issue of an identification code by the Platform does not change the contract’s validity, contents or effective date.

Identification Codes

Circular 08 provides that each electronic labour contract satisfying the prescribed requirements will be assigned a unique identification code. The Platform will generally issue the code within 24 hours after receiving the required information. If the requirements are not satisfied, the Platform may refuse to issue a code and provide the reason for its refusal to the service provider.

The identification code is granted once and remains unchanged if the contract is subsequently amended, supplemented, suspended or terminated. Contract appendices and notices concerning suspension or termination are linked to the identification code assigned to the original contract.

Employers should therefore ensure that their HR processes do not treat later contract documents as standalone electronic records. Amendments, appendices and relevant notices should be administered by reference to the original contract and its identification code.

Existing electronic contracts

Electronic labour contracts concluded before 1 July 2026 may require additional steps before they can be submitted to the Platform. The electronic contract service provider must assist with supplementing the required digital signatures, timestamps and authentication before submission for an identification code.

Employers that were already using electronic labour contracts before 1 July 2026 should therefore identify those contracts and confirm with their service provider whether they satisfy the new requirements. Employers should not assume that contracts executed through an existing electronic-signature platform are automatically compliant with the new framework.

Converting paper contracts

Existing paper labour contracts may be converted into electronic form. However, simply scanning and uploading a paper contract will not be sufficient.

The parties to the paper contract must be authenticated in accordance with the applicable electronic identification requirements. The converted contract must also be digitally signed by the employer’s authorised representative to certify its accuracy and completeness against the original, and must be submitted to the Platform for an identification code.

Circular 08 also requires the conversion process to record prescribed information, including the system used for the conversion, the person or organisation undertaking it, the time of completion, relevant file details and confirmation that the electronic version has been checked against the original.

This is particularly relevant where an employer wishes to deal electronically with a subsequent amendment, suspension or termination of a paper contract. The underlying paper contract must first be converted into an electronic labour contract in accordance with the prescribed requirements. Alternatively, the parties may continue to document the amendment, suspension or termination in paper form.

Data retention and protection

Electronic labour contracts, appendices and related electronic documents must be retained on the Platform for 10 years from the termination date of the relevant labour contract. Where an employee enters into consecutive labour contracts, the retention period runs from the termination of the final contract.

The management and use of data on the Platform must comply with applicable laws concerning data, personal data protection, cybersecurity and information security. Employers should consider these obligations when selecting a service provider, deciding which employees may access the Platform and establishing internal processes for retrieving, using and sharing contract information.

Key takeaways

Electronic labour contracts remain optional in Vietnam, and employers may continue to use paper contracts. Employers should not, however, assume that their existing electronic-signature arrangements comply with Decree 337 and Circular 08, which introduce additional authentication, service-provider and Platform requirements.

Before adopting electronic labour contracts, employers should:

• confirm that their electronic contract service provider meets the applicable requirements and can authenticate contracts and transmit the prescribed data to the Platform;
• put the required electronic identification, digital-signature and timestamping arrangements in place;
• establish a process for providing information to the service provider and monitoring whether identification codes are granted or refused;
• ensure that subsequent amendments, supplements and notices are linked to the identification code assigned to the original contract;
• review electronic contracts concluded before 1 July 2026 to determine whether further steps are required before Platform submission;
• implement a compliant process for converting paper contracts, where the parties wish to deal with subsequent documents electronically; and
• review access controls, personal data safeguards and record-retention arrangements, noting that contracts and related documents must be retained on the Platform for 10 years from termination of the relevant labour contract.

Employers should therefore conduct a gap analysis before implementation, focusing on the suitability of their service provider, the management of identification codes and related contract documents, and whether existing electronic contracts require remediation.