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| Electronic labor contracts must be delivered to both employees and employers as data messages through appropriate electronic means as agreed upon by involved parties__Photo: vietnamplus.vn |
The Government has recently issued a decree facilitating the use of electronic labor contracts as substitutes for paper contracts in human resource management and in the settlement of administrative procedures related to labor contracts.
Effective on January 1, Decree 337/2025/ND-CP defines electronic labor contract as a labor contract concluded and established in the form of a data message, which has the same legal validity as the paper contract.
Worthy of note, electronic labor contracts must be delivered to both employees and employers as data messages through appropriate electronic means as agreed upon by involved parties.
The decree introduces the eContract system, an information system serving electronic transactions in the conclusion and performance of electronic labor contracts. This system is connected to the National Electronic Labor Contract Platform, enabling employees and employers to create, digitally sign, store, retrieve and manage electronic labor contracts. The system also has functions for reporting on labor employment and for the certification of electronic labor contracts in accordance with law.
To enter into contracts via the eContract system, employers and employees must meet certain conditions.
Specifically, employers and employees who are individuals must possess a personal identification paper, e.g., citizen identity card, identity card, electronic identity, certificate of identity, or a level-2 electronic identification account. A foreigner is required to have a valid passport, a valid entry visa, or a document proving eligibility for entry visa exemption.
Meanwhile, employers that are enterprises, agencies, organizations, cooperatives, or business households must possess an establishment decision or a decision defining their functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure; or an enterprise registration certificate, investment registration certificate or household business registration certificate; and personal identification papers of their legal representatives.
An electronic labor contract must be created, digitally signed, and affixed with time stamps together the digital signatures of the contracting parties. Also, it must authenticate the identity of the contract signatories and certify the data message of the eContract service provider, ensuring satisfaction of the law-specified conditions.
An electronic labor contract becomes effective from the time the last contracting party gives a digital signature, with time stamps attached to the digital signatures of the contracting parties and certifying the data message of the eContract service provider, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
From July 1, 2026, the deadline for the National Electronic Labor Contract Platform to be put into official operation, the conclusion and performance of electronic labor contracts must be carried out in accordance with the decree.- (VLLF)
