Decree No. 173/2025/NĐ-CP On Contracts for the Performance of Civil Servant Duties

DECREE

On contracts to perform tasks of civil servants.

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law on February 18, 2025;

Pursuant to the Civil Servants Law on June 24, 2025;

Pursuant to the Labor Code on November 20, 2019;

Pursuant to the Civil Code on November 24, 2015;

||| Based on the proposal of the Minister of Home Affairs;

The Government issues this Decree on contracts to perform tasks of civil servants.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree stipulates labor contracts and service contracts for performing one or more tasks of civil servants in Party agencies, Vietnam Fatherland Front agencies, State agencies, political-social organizations at central level, provincial level, and communal level.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, political-social organizations at central level, provincial level, and communal level.

2. Agencies, organizations, units, and individuals entering into labor contracts and service contracts.

3. Diplomatic representative agencies, consular representative agencies, representative agencies at international organizations, and other agencies of Vietnam abroad implementing labor contracts and service contracts to perform one or more tasks within their management scope as prescribed by laws on agencies of Vietnam abroad and this Decree.

4. The Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Public Security decide on the application of provisions of this Decree to enter into labor contracts and service contracts to perform one or more tasks within their management scope.

Article 3. Principles of Implementation

1. Ensuring the goal of attracting high-quality human resources with extensive experience and intellect to enhance the quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and efficacy of state administrative activities; ensuring full and timely implementation according to functions and tasks of agencies, organizations, and units; efficiency and economy; preventing corruption and waste.

2. Signing contracts flexibly based on projects, tasks, or annual work programs based on existing human resources and the ability to meet task requirements of agencies, organizations, and units.

3. Ensuring compliance with the Party's guidelines, state laws, not contravening international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, not affecting the functions, tasks, and normal operations of agencies, organizations, and units; adhering to regulations on protecting state secrets.

4. Signing contracts to perform one or more tasks of leadership and management positions that do not fully implement all responsibilities, duties, and powers of leadership and management positions; the contract signatory does not need to meet the standards and conditions of corresponding leadership and management positions.

5. Funding for signing contracts is guaranteed from the state budget, outside the salary fund and the administrative cost quota of organizations, agencies, and units.

Article 4. Tasks performed through signing contracts

1. Tasks performing one or more tasks of leadership and management positions with strategic, urgent, and non-routine nature:

a) Organizing the development of policies, policy planning, strategies, programs, scientific projects, economic, technological, innovation, digital industry, infrastructure development, national digital transformation, institutional reform;

b) Organizing the implementation or supervision of pilot programs on technology, breakthrough policies; new technology trial models, public-private partnerships in scientific and technological research and application, and institutional reform;

c) Implementing national, ministerial, and local tasks on law enforcement, large data system development, artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology, biotechnology, new materials, new energy, and other strategic industries;

d) Other contents as decided by the head of the competent managing agency, ensuring compliance with the principles set forth in Article 3 and consistent with Clause 2 of Article 7 of this Decree.

2. Tasks performing one or more specialized and professional tasks with unique, deep, high-level requirements, or seasonal and non-routine nature, including:

a) Implementing digital transformation in agencies, organizations, and units; building large data systems, data analysis systems, predictive models, artificial intelligence in public administration, socio-economic management, administrative reform, digital government, digital economy, digital society serving state management activities;

b) Developing, operating, and supervising national digital platforms, information management systems, specialized databases in administrative, education, health, natural resources-environment, smart city sectors;

c) Implementing tasks under institutional reform programs, enhancing policy-making capacity, innovation policies, policy trials, system testing, information security serving state management activities;

d) Other contents as decided by the authorized person signing the contract as stipulated in Article 8 of this Decree, ensuring compliance with the principles set forth in Article 3 and consistent with Clause 2 of Article 7 of this Decree.

3. Professional tasks or support services that current human resources cannot meet, serving internal needs for agency, organization, and unit activities as decided by the head of the agency using civil servants based on work plan requirements.

Article 5. Parties to enter into contracts

1. For tasks specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Decree:

a) Managers, business administrators, outstanding entrepreneurs in fields suitable for the tasks;

b) Lawyers, experts, leading scientists in fields suitable for the tasks.

2. For tasks specified in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree:

a) Parties specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Individuals with experience and expertise in specific tasks similar in nature, who have previously implemented such tasks directly;

c) Individuals meeting the qualifications and conditions required for the specialized and vocational position, with relevant experience.

3. Contracts for services with legal entities or individuals performing tasks specified in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree shall be executed according to the decision of competent authorities.

4. The party entering into a contract to perform the duties of a civil servant not included in the establishment strength of the agency, organization, or unit.

Article 6. Form of Contract, Type of Contract, and Duration of Execution

1. Tasks specified in Article 4 of this Decree shall be concluded in writing; if concluded through electronic means in the form of data messages in accordance with the law on electronic transactions, it shall have the same effect as a written contract.

2. Types of contracts to be concluded for each type of work as follows:

a) For tasks specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Decree: Enter into service contracts with individuals specified in Clause 1, Article 5 of this Decree;

b) For tasks specified in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree: Enter into labor contracts with individuals specified in Clause 2, Article 5 of this Decree;

c) For tasks specified in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree: Enter into service contracts to perform administrative tasks or tasks unrelated to state management where current human resources cannot meet the requirements;

Based on the nature of the work and the characteristics of the agency, organization, or unit, the competent authority decides to conclude service contracts with legal entities or individuals to perform the work;

d) Service contracts shall be governed by the provisions of civil law; labor contracts shall be governed by the provisions of labor law.

3. Determination of the duration of contract execution shall be carried out as follows:

a) The duration of contract execution must be based on the task, including: the nature of the task (ad hoc, annual plan, long-term or short-term); human resource needs; financial conditions for implementing the task; ability to meet the requirements of the task;

b) The duration of service contracts shall be determined according to the work and implemented in accordance with the provisions of civil law, clearly stated in the contract. The duration of the contract shall be decided by the authorized person signing the contract, ensuring compliance with the principles set forth in Article 3 of this Decree;

c) The duration of labor contracts shall not exceed twenty-four months;

d) Indefinite-term contracts shall not be concluded for cases specified in Article 5 of this Decree.

4. The model of the contract to be signed shall be implemented in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Article 7. Cases where contracts shall not be concluded

1. Contracts shall not be concluded with the following subjects:

a) Persons who are currently civil servants, public officials, employees, or working in the armed forces, or persons engaged in confidential work;

b) Persons who are currently prohibited from practicing their profession, under criminal investigation, or serving a sentence pursuant to a decision of an authorized authority;

c) Spouses, biological parents, adoptive parents, biological children, adopted children, full siblings, maternal and paternal aunts, uncles, cousins, full siblings-in-law, or spouses of full siblings of the person authorized to conclude the contract.

2. Contracts shall not be concluded for the performance of the following types of work:

a) State management tasks that are continuous and regular in nature;

b) Tasks that do not fall within the functions, duties, and powers of the agency, organization, or unit;

c) Tasks where the performance of the contract may lead to conflicts of interest, affecting the objectivity, transparency, and integrity in official activities;

d) Tasks that affect national defense, national security, internal political security, anti-terrorism, counterintelligence, protection of state secrets, and other important confidential tasks. In cases where it is truly necessary to conclude a contract to perform such tasks, the opinion of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense must be sought before organizing the signing of the contract.

Article 8. Authority to conclude contracts

1. For concluding contracts to perform tasks specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree: The head of the civil service management agency decides to conclude the contract or delegates the authority to conclude the contract to the head of the agency using civil servants assigned personnel quotas, operating funds, having seals and separate accounts.

2. For concluding contracts to perform tasks specified in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree: The head of the agency using civil servants assigned personnel quotas, operating funds, having seals and separate accounts decides to conclude the contract after reporting and obtaining approval of the policy from the head of the civil service management agency.

Chapter II
CONCLUSION OF SERVICE CONTRACTS AND LABOR CONTRACTS

Article 9. Standards and Conditions of the Parties to the Contract

1. For agencies, organizations, and units concluding contracts:

a) Have urgent or critical needs to fulfill tasks or require high-quality human resources to perform work for a specific period;

b) Have the authority to conclude contracts in accordance with this Decree and relevant laws.

2. For individuals eligible to conclude contracts:

a) Possess appropriate expertise for the contracted work; have a clear background, good morals; be in good health to work; be passionate about the job; have practical skills and experience; meet the conditions to sign the contract and participate in the work of agencies, organizations, and units as stipulated by law;

b) Not be under criminal investigation or serving a suspended sentence, probation, or compulsory education at the commune level; not be placed in a compulsory educational facility or a compulsory drug rehabilitation facility; not be lacking in administrative capacity, not be prohibited from practicing their profession or engaging in work related to the contracted work;

c) Meet other standards and conditions as prescribed by specialized laws and by the competent authority signing the contract (if applicable).

3. For organizations and units (legal entities) providing services:

a) Possess all legal qualifications, professional capabilities, staff, and necessary conditions according to the requirements of the agency, organization, or unit and the requirements of the contract;

b) Meet the standards and conditions of the field of operation;

c) Ensure the standards and conditions of workers as prescribed by specialized laws and agreed upon in the contract;

d) Other standards and conditions as agreed upon.

Article 10. Rights and obligations of the parties to the contract

1. For agencies, organizations, and units concluding contracts:

a) Develop a plan for signing the contract in accordance with the requirements, tasks, and available resources, including specifying the industry, field, object, content of work, product results, implementation time, funding sources, budget estimates, payment methods, and other necessary conditions (if any);

b) Decide on the content, requirements, and standards of output results of the contract and organize its implementation, supervision, and inspection;

c) Have the right to own, manage, exploit, and use the results and products created from the contract in accordance with the law and the agreed contents;

d) Have the right to request individuals or organizations that signed the contract to provide progress reports, explain the results of the work during the implementation process. Regularly monitor and evaluate the professional and technical performance, tasks of the person or organization that signed the contract;

đ) Publicize on the electronic portal or other means of mass communication of the agency, organization, unit (if any) the contracting party, the agreed work in the contract, the products, results according to the agreement, the contract implementation period, and other contents according to the decision of the authorized person signing the contract;

e) Ensure sufficient funding for the implementation of the contract from state budget sources or other lawful sources; implement budget estimates, payments, final settlements, and control expenditures in accordance with current laws;

g) Ensure that information and materials provided to individuals or organizations signing the contract for the purpose of serving the mission are kept confidential and used for the intended purpose;

h) Have the right to unilaterally terminate the contract if the performing party does not ensure quality, schedule, violates contractual obligations, or violates legal provisions;

i) Require the signing party to compensate for losses in case of breach of contractual obligations causing financial consequences, loss of products, assets, or leakage of confidential information and materials;

k) The head of the agency, organization, or unit is personally responsible for the implementation of the signing of the contract in accordance with this Decree and related regulations;

2. For individuals signing the contract:

a) Fully and timely perform all professional and technical tasks as agreed in the contract and any additional requirements of the signing agency, organization, or unit (if any); bear legal responsibility before the law and the agency, organization, or unit for the results achieved;

b) Only use information, materials, equipment of the agency, organization, or unit for assigned tasks; strictly prohibit misuse, disclosure, loss, copying, or illegal transfer of confidential materials, assets, or products;

c) Be guaranteed the conditions to perform the tasks (professional capacity, supporting human resources, necessary tools, means...) as stipulated in the contract and the requirements of the agency, organization, or unit;

d) Be paid wages, bonuses, remuneration, and lease fees corresponding to the results and products as agreed in the contract and in accordance with the law;

đ) Be guaranteed working conditions in accordance with the law, the regulations of the agency, organization, or unit, and the agreement in the contract; have access to professional materials and necessary information to serve the work as stipulated by the agency, organization, or unit;

e) The working time under the labor contract to perform certain professional and technical tasks specified in this Decree shall be considered as the basis for salary classification based on job position if recruited or accepted as civil servant or public official. The corresponding salary classification based on the recruited or accepted job position shall be implemented in accordance with the law;

g) Bear responsibility for compensating losses if violating contractual obligations causes financial losses, asset losses, product damage, or leaking confidential information and materials;

h) Comply with legal provisions on protecting state secrets, internal rules, regulations, and professional regulations of the agency, organization, or unit;

3. For service-providing organizations or units:

a) Organize the full implementation of the content, volume, quality, and schedule of work as agreed in the signed contract;

b) Bear responsibility for ensuring the legitimate rights of workers belonging to their organization or unit, comply with safety, security, and confidentiality regulations throughout the contract implementation process;

c) Commit to absolute confidentiality of information, materials, data, and products received or created during the contract implementation process, not to be misused or illegally transferred;

d) Bear responsibility for compensating losses for the signing agency, organization, or unit in case of failure to ensure quality, delay in schedule, violation of confidentiality obligations, or causing financial losses as stipulated in the contract.

Article 11. Termination of Contracts

1. Contracts shall be terminated in the following cases:

a) Upon expiration of the contract term without renewal or signing of a new contract by the parties;

b) Completion of tasks as stipulated in the contract (with a quality assessment report or product acceptance record);

c) By mutual agreement between the parties;

d) Unilaterally termination of the contract by one party in accordance with the provisions of the law;

đ) The individual who signed the contract no longer meets the conditions and standards as prescribed in Article 9 of this Decree;

e) The agency, organization, or unit being dissolved, merged, split, or reorganized such that there is no longer a need for human resources under the contract;

g) Due to changes in mechanisms, policies, or requirements that make it impossible to continue implementing the contract;

h) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. Rights and Obligations upon Termination of Contracts

a) The person signing the contract shall be responsible for ensuring that they do not disclose state secrets, work-related secrets, and other confidential information accessed during the performance of the task, even after the contract has been terminated;

b) Products, research results, innovations, technical solutions, professional materials, and other intellectual property created by the contracting party during the contract period belong to the ownership of the agency, organization, or unit that signed the contract, except where otherwise agreed in writing;

c) The agency, organization, or unit shall be responsible for protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the contracting party regarding scientific products, works, innovations, and technical solutions according to the laws on intellectual property, if these rights are established through agreements in the contract or relevant laws;

d) The parties shall be responsible for fully settling outstanding debts, finalizing financial accounts (if applicable), returning assets, files, and related documents as prescribed;

đ) In the case where one party unilaterally terminates the contract in violation of regulations, they must compensate for losses (if any) in accordance with the law and the agreement in the contract.

3. Procedures for Terminating Contracts

The termination of contracts must be documented in writing in accordance with the law, specifying the reasons for termination, the termination date, and the responsibilities of each party after the contract has been terminated.

Article 12. Procedure for Signing Contracts

After issuing a decision to allow the signing of a contract, the head of the agency using civil servants shall proceed with the following steps:

1. Announce the invitation to sign the contract in one of the following forms:

a) Posting on the agency's website or other mass media (if available);

b) Sending a direct invitation letter to sign the contract to selected individuals or organizations;

c) The announcement inviting the signing of the contract must include the following main contents:

Information about the task to be performed and the type of contract;

Conditions and standards for the contracting subject;

Time and place for signing the contract;

Deadline for submitting applications, contact information for guidance, inquiries, and receipt of applications (if applicable);

Other related contents as decided by the head of the agency using civil servants.

2. Compile a list of individuals and organizations that have registered (for the case specified in point a, Clause 1 of this Article).

3. Report to the competent authority to decide on signing the contract or decide within their authority. If multiple organizations or individuals meet the requirements, establish an Advisory Board to advise on selection before deciding to sign the contract. The composition and operation method of the Advisory Board are determined by the competent authority for signing the contract.

4. Proceed with signing the contract.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Implementation funds

1. The implementation funds for signing contracts shall be allocated from the state budget, not exceeding 10% of the total salary fund (including salaries and allowances) and bonuses of the agency specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree and included in the annual budget of the agency, organization, or unit.

2. The agency specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree may mobilize resources in accordance with the provisions of the law to supplement the implementation funds for signing contracts as stipulated in this Decree.

Article 14. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. Ministries, sectors, central agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities have the responsibility to:

a) Implement in accordance with the provisions of this Decree within the scope of their functions, tasks, and authorities assigned;

b) Direct the heads of agencies, organizations, and units under their management to propose one or more tasks of job positions that require signing contracts based on human resource needs, the number of contracts to be signed, and the target groups according to the provisions of this Decree; prepare the budget for implementation costs, submit for review and decision by the competent authority;

c) Report to the competent authority or issue, within their authority, other mechanisms and policies or mobilize other legitimate sources (if any) in accordance with the law to implement preferential policies for individuals signing contracts to perform civil servant tasks;

d) Regularly compile and report on contract signing activities as prescribed in this Decree to the Ministry of Home Affairs before December 15 each year for consolidation and reporting to the competent authority.

2. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for guiding the allocation of financial resources and the preparation, management, utilization, settlement of implementation funds, and other related financial matters concerning the signing of contracts as prescribed in this Decree.

3. The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for guiding, urging, monitoring, and inspecting the implementation of this Decree; regularly compiling and reporting the results of implementation to the Government and the Prime Minister before January 31 each year.

Article 15. Effective Date

This Decree takes effect from July 1, 2025.

Article 16. Responsibility for Implementation

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of provincial and centrally governed city People's Committees, and relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree.