Working Hours and Overtime in Vietnam

In Vietnam, your company must comply with working hour and overtime laws – including daily limits, overtime thresholds, and rest requirements – to stay compliant and build a strong employee experience.

From now through 2026, enforcement is expected to focus increasingly on transparent scheduling, accurate timekeeping, and proper overtime compensation, especially in labor-intensive and export-oriented sectors. Employers should review internal regulations, collective agreements, and payroll systems to ensure that normal hours, overtime, night work, and rest periods are clearly defined, consistently applied, and fully documented in case of inspection or dispute.

• Standard Working Hours
• Overtime Thresholds
• Overtime Pay Rates
• Daily And Weekly Rest Requirements
• Night Work Restrictions
• Penalties For Non-Compliance

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Vietnam?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 4 hours per day and 20 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 or older is allowed to work 48 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 30 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Vietnam

Under Vietnamese labor law, the standard working time for adult employees is capped at 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, regardless of whether you organize work on a daily or weekly basis. You may arrange shorter daily hours over 6 days – for example, 8 hours per day over 6 days or 9–10 hours on some days and fewer on others – as long as the average does not exceed 48 hours per week and daily limits are respected. Many employers voluntarily adopt a 40–44 hour workweek to remain competitive and support employee wellbeing, but this is a contractual choice rather than a statutory requirement.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Continuous-Process Manufacturing And Power Generation
• Seasonal Agriculture, Forestry, And Aquaculture
• Textiles, Garments, And Export-Oriented Production
• Transportation, Ports, And Logistics Operations
• Healthcare, Hospitality, And 24/7 Service Providers

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Vietnam does not use an “exempt vs non-exempt” framework in the same way as some other jurisdictions, but the law does recognize employees in managerial or executive positions whose working time is less strictly controlled. For senior managers, heads of units, and certain trusted positions, you may agree in writing that their working hours are not tracked in the same way as rank-and-file staff. However, you must still ensure that workloads are reasonable, that health and safety obligations are met, and that any agreed salary is high enough to reflect the expectation of longer or irregular hours. Even for managers, you should avoid systematic excessive hours and document expectations clearly in employment contracts and internal regulations.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Vietnam

Statutory full-time work in Vietnam is generally understood as 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week for adult employees. You may set a shorter full-time schedule in your internal policies or collective labor agreement, but you cannot exceed the statutory ceiling without triggering overtime rules. Part-time employees work fewer hours than the standard full-time schedule, and their entitlements – such as leave and social insurance – are typically prorated based on actual working time. When designing work schedules, ensure that you distinguish clearly between normal hours and overtime, and that any flexible or shift-based arrangements still comply with the 48-hour weekly limit and applicable rest-period requirements.

Overtime Regulations In Vietnam

What Counts As Overtime In Vietnam?

In Vietnam, overtime is any working time that exceeds the normal hours agreed in the employment contract, provided those normal hours do not exceed the statutory limit of 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. Once an employee works beyond those normal hours at your written request and with the employee’s consent, the additional time is treated as overtime and must be compensated at enhanced rates. Overtime can occur on regular working days, weekly rest days, public holidays, or paid leave days, and each category has its own minimum pay multiplier. You must keep accurate records of overtime hours and the reasons for requiring them, and you should avoid using overtime as a permanent substitute for adequate staffing.

Maximum Overtime In Vietnam

Vietnamese law sets strict caps on overtime to protect employee health and safety. In general, overtime may not exceed 50 percent of the normal daily working hours, and total working time – normal hours plus overtime – must not exceed 12 hours in any one day. On a weekly basis, overtime is usually limited so that total overtime does not exceed 40 hours per month and 200 hours per year, although certain sectors and roles may be permitted to reach up to 300 hours per year under specific legal conditions. You must obtain the employee’s consent for overtime, consult with employee representatives where required, and ensure that overtime is used only when genuinely necessary, such as during peak production periods or urgent operational needs.

Overtime Payout Rates In Vietnam

Overtime in Vietnam must be paid at premium rates calculated on the employee’s actual hourly wage for the relevant job. For overtime worked on a normal working day, the minimum rate is 150 percent of the normal hourly wage. For overtime performed on a weekly rest day, the minimum rate rises to 200 percent, and for overtime on public holidays or paid leave days, the minimum rate is 300 percent, not including the salary for the holiday itself. Night work and overtime at night attract additional surcharges on top of these multipliers. You may agree to provide time off in lieu for overtime, but the time off must be equivalent in value to the overtime premium the employee would otherwise have received, and the arrangement should be clearly documented and accepted by the employee.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Vietnam

Employees in Vietnam typically work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and the law links rest periods and breaks directly to these standard working hours by requiring minimum meal breaks during longer shifts, daily rest between working days, and weekly rest days so that employees can recover from the physical and mental demands of work. As an employer, you must build these rest entitlements into your scheduling practices and ensure that any overtime or shift work does not erode the minimum rest periods guaranteed by law.

• Meal Break Requirements
• Daily Rest
• Weekly Rest
• Minors
• Employer Duties