Circular No. 20/2023/TT-BCT stipulates working hours and rest periods for workers engaged in special natured tasks in the offshore oil exploration and exploitation sector.

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON WORKING HOURS AND REST PERIODS FOR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN SPECIAL NATURED WORKS IN THE OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION SECTOR AT SEA

Pursuant to the Petroleum Law No. 12/2022/QH15 adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 15th session on November 14, 2022;

Pursuant to the Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 14th session on November 20, 2019;

Pursuant to Decree No. 145/2020/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2020 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Labor Code regarding working conditions and labor relations;

Pursuant to Decree No. 96/2022/NĐ-CP dated November 29, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Based on the consensus opinion of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs;

The phrase "or examination" is abolished pursuant to Clause 6, Article 8 of Circular No. 15/2025/TT-BVHTTDL dated November 25, 2025, of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism amending and supplementing certain articles of Circulars prescribing job codes, qualification standards, and salary grades for civil servants in the heritage culture, library, grassroots cultural activities, sports, fine arts, art performance, film, and cultural propaganda sectors, which takes effect from January 15, 2026.

The Minister of Industry and Trade issues this Circular regulating working hours and rest periods for employees engaged in special natured works in the oil and gas exploration and exploitation sector at sea.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates working hours and rest periods for employees engaged in special natured works in the oil and gas exploration and exploitation sector at sea.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Scope of application:

a. Employers are enterprises, organizations, or individuals who hire or utilize labor in the oil and gas exploration and exploitation sector at sea;

b. Employees working in the oil and gas exploration and exploitation sector at sea at offshore oil and gas facilities.

2. This Circular does not apply to employees holding seafarer positions.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Offshore oil and gas facilities are independent structures or a combination of structures or a production technology chain within the following facilities: drilling platforms, production platforms, processing and distribution platforms, auxiliary platforms, water injection platforms, service vessels, storage tanks, floating storage units, pipeline systems, and related machinery and equipment structures manufactured, constructed, buried, and installed either permanently or temporarily in Vietnam's territorial waters.

2. A work shift is a continuous period of work time from when an employee arrives at until they leave the offshore oil and gas facility, excluding travel time.

3. A work shift is a period of work time from when an employee starts their duty until they hand over their duties to another person, including working hours and break times.

Chapter II

WORKING HOURS AND REST PERIODS

Section 1. Working Hours

Article 4. Working Hours for Regularly Employed Employees

Regularly employed employees at offshore oil and gas facilities work in shifts and work shifts as follows:

a. Work shifts shall not exceed 12 hours in one day;

b. Work shifts shall be a maximum of 28 days.

Article 5. Working Hours for Non-Regularly Employed Employees

1. Standard Working Hours

The total standard working hours in one year for non-regularly employed employees are calculated as follows:

Where: SGLVN: Number of standard working hours in a year

SNN: Number of days in a year

SNHN: Annual leave days of employees according to the Labor Code

In cases where employees have not worked for a full 12 months in a year, the number of days in a year (SNN) and annual leave days (SNHN) are calculated proportionally based on the working time from the date the employee started working for the employer in that year.

Example 1: Mr. A has been continuously working for Oil Company X since 2007 to 2023.

The additional annual leave days corresponding to 16 years of work is 3 days.

According to the Labor Code, Mr. A's annual leave days in 2023 are: SNHN = 12 + 3 = 15 days

Total number of days in 2023: SNN = 365 days

Therefore, Mr. A's standard working hours in 2023 will be:

Example 2: Mr. B started working for Oil Company Y on April 1, 2023.

According to the Labor Code and Clause 4 of Article 66 of Decree 145/2020/NĐ-CP of the Government, Mr. B's annual leave days at Oil Company Y in 2023 are:

The remaining total number of days in 2023 is: SNN = 275 days

Therefore, Mr. B's standard working hours in 2023 will be:

2. Non-regularly employed employees at offshore oil and gas facilities work in shifts and work shifts as follows:

a. Work shifts shall not exceed 12 hours in one day;

b. Work shifts shall be a maximum of 45 days.

3. Employers must agree in writing or reach consensus with employees about work shifts and work schedules before assigning non-regularly employed employees to work at offshore oil and gas facilities.

4. During the time off from working at offshore oil and gas facilities, non-regularly employed employees are entitled to compensatory rest according to Clause 4 of Article 8 or perform land-based work according to the law on labor.

5. The total normal working hours in a year for non-regularly employed employees shall not exceed the standard working hours in one year as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 6. Overtime Work

1. The time worked outside the regular shift or session as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular for employees working on a regular basis shall be counted as overtime work. The time worked outside the regular shift or session as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 5 or the time worked exceeding the standard number of hours in a year as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 5 of this Circular for employees working on an irregular basis shall be counted as overtime work.

2. The total number of working hours in a shift and the number of overtime hours of an employee shall not exceed 14 hours/day; the number of overtime hours of an employee shall not exceed 300 hours/year.

3. The organization of overtime work must have the consent of the employee and comply with the provisions of Article 59 and Article 62 of Decree No. 145/2020/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2020 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Labor Code regarding labor conditions and labor relations.

Article 7. Overtime Work in Special Cases

1. The organization of overtime work in special cases must comply with the provisions of Article 108 of the Labor Code.

2. The employer must be responsible for arranging compensatory rest for the employee corresponding to the overtime hours during the break between sessions.

In case it is impossible to arrange compensatory rest for the employee, the employer must pay wages and overtime benefits to the employee in accordance with the law.

Section 2. Rest Time

Article 8. Rest Time

1. After each shift, the employee must be arranged continuous rest for at least 10 hours before starting a new shift.

2. The employer has the responsibility to arrange rest breaks during working hours, which are included in the working hours, with a total minimum rest time of 60 minutes and ensuring at least 30 consecutive minutes of rest, and at least 45 consecutive minutes of rest for night work.

3. In addition to the rest time between shifts, after each session, employees working on a regular basis must be arranged continuous rest for a number of days equal to the number of working days in the previous session.

4. Employees working on an irregular basis must be arranged rest suitable to the situation of work, according to the following ratio:

a. Working on offshore oil and gas projects on working days of the week: 1 day of work on the sea compensates half a day of work.

b. Working on offshore oil and gas projects on weekly rest days: 1 day of work on the sea compensates 1 day of work.

c. Working on offshore oil and gas projects on holidays and Tet: 1 day of work on the sea compensates 2 days of work.

Article 9. Annual Leave

Employees are entitled to annual leave, in addition to the rest time between sessions in accordance with the provisions of Article 113 and Article 114 of the Labor Code. In case it is impossible to arrange annual leave for employees, the employer must negotiate with the employee about taking annual leave during the rest periods between sessions.

Article 10. Public Holidays; Personal Leave; Unpaid Leave

1. Employees are entitled to be arranged public holidays, personal leave, and unpaid leave in accordance with the provisions of Article 112 and Article 115 of the Labor Code.

2. In case a public holiday coincides with a session, the employee shall be paid overtime wages in accordance with the law.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 11. Responsibilities of the Employer

1. The employer shall be responsible for specifically stipulating working shifts and working sessions of employees in the Labor Regulations and notifying employees before they start work in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Annually, before January 15, report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the implementation of this Circular and submit ad hoc reports when required by competent authorities.

Article 12. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from December 25, 2023.

This Circular replaces Circular No. 24/2015/TT-BCT dated July 31, 2015, issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade, which regulates working hours and rest periods for workers engaged in special jobs in oil and gas exploration and exploitation at sea.

2. The Cadre and Civil Servant Department shall be responsible for supervising and inspecting the implementation of the provisions of this Circular.

3. In case of difficulties during implementation, organizations and individuals are requested to reflect such issues to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration and resolution within their authority./.