The conclusion of electronic labour contracts (e-contract) has been and is being chosen by many businesses to apply because of the convenience it brings. However, the legal value of this form of the contract is only guaranteed when the company strictly complies with the regulations on electronic transactions and labour law. The following article analyzes the key legal matters for an electronic labour contract to become effective, especially in the context that from 01 July 2026, the Electronic Labour Contract Platform is officially put into operation. We hope that this article somehow will help companies avoid the potential risks.
The electronic labour contract is a labour contract that committed, established as data messages according to labour law and electronic transaction law. Vietnamese law provided that an electronic labour contract having equivalent legal validity as a paper-based labour contract if the conclusion and performance of the electronic labour contract comply with the provisions of laws on labour, electronic transactions, cybersecurity, data, personal data protection, archiving, and other relevant provisions of Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP.
In fact, some businesses have and are using the form of electronic labour contracts to establish labour relations with employees. The Government’s issuance of Decree 337/2025/ND-CP on electronic labour contracts at the present time has important significance in creating a full legal framework for this form of labour contract, ensuring that electronic contracts have the same legal value as paper contracts, while promoting digital conversion in the field of labour, it helps the signing, management and storage of contracts faster, more transparent and convenient. It also enhances the protection of the rights of employees and employers, reduces risks and also in line with current digitalization trends. However, to let electronic labour contracts to be recognized, there are a few points that parties need to note:
- Employees and employers have to use their digital signature to sign an electronic labour contract. Effective time of an electronic labour contract will be determined at the time when the last party signs the digital signature to the contract, or at the other time agreed upon by the parties.
- In addition of employee and employer, for electronic labour contracts to be created, signed, and stored, also requires the involvement of a third party – the eContract provider. Although not a party of the labour contract and not having any legal rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship, the eContract provider plays a crucial role – decisively determining the effectiveness of an electronic labour contract. Decree 337/2025/NĐ-CP specifies the technical, software infrastructure, network security, data, personal data protection, and data storage requirements that eContract providers must meet. Additionally, eContract providers must be licensed to provide the corresponding service in Vietnam (a prerequisite) – A business license for trusted services, with the permitted service being the provision of data message authentication services in accordance with Law on Electronic Transactions. There are a qualified few providers who can provide these regulations at the moment, including FPT.eContract, VNPT eContract, Viettel eContract, EFY-eContract, and MISA AMIS eContract, etc. Therefore, businesses need to consider carefully before deciding to use the relevant service from a qualified service provider.
- Although there is no direct regulation – it is understandable that to ensuring an electronic labour contract is recognized by Vietnamese law, this electronic labour contract must be affixed with the corresponding ID. To obtain an ID for each electronic labour contract, within 24 hours from the time it is signed, the electronic labour contract must be submitted to the Ministry of the Interior’s Electronic Labour Contract platform. The sending of the signed electronic labour contract to the Ministry of the Interior (through the Electronic Labour Contract Platform managed by this Ministry) will be carried out by the eContract Provider. After the contract has been ID-attached, the eContract Provider must send the ID-attached electronic labour contract to both the employee and the employer through the suitable electronic means.
- Companies are permitted to switch back and forth between a written labour contract and an electronic labour contract, but must meet certain legal conditions such as verifying the identity of the parties in accordance with the regulations on electronic identification and ensuring that the electronic contract after the conversion is signed by the authority. At the same time, the content of the contract must be guaranteed to be accurate, complete compared to the original and be identified to serve management, retrieval; when all the conditions qualified, the transfer contract has the same legal value as the original.
- Any changes such as modification, addition, suspension or termination of an electronic labour contract shall be following the electronic contract signing procedure, unless the involved parties have agreed otherwise. If the contract is originally on paper but wants to be processed electronically, it is necessary to switch to an electronic contract first. In addition, relevant documents such as contract appendices or termination notices must be attached to the ID with the contract to ensure consistency, integrity, and traceability of the transaction history.
Legal regulation of electronic labour contracts opens the vision to the modernization of human resource management but comes with a more stringent compliance to comply with the law. Companies need to take a systematic approach, from technology selection, process development to in-house training, to both leverage digital advantages and establish a transparent, stable and legally compliant labour relationship. The establishment of appropriate internal processes, combined to make the right choice of technology service providers, will help businesses limit legal risks, ensure legal compliance and enhance safety in the management of labour relations.
