Decree No. 96/1998/ND-CP on Leave Regulations for Civil Servants

Article 1. Civil servants referred to in this Decree are Vietnamese citizens within the establishment and receiving salaries from the State budget, including:

1. Those persons specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Article 1 of the Civil Servants Ordinance;

2. Civil servants seconded to work at economic organizations and social-professional organizations which have been assigned establishment quotas by competent authorities;

3. Civil servants working in professions related to state secrets upon termination shall comply with the provisions of Article 18 of the Civil Servants Ordinance.

1. Civil servants shall be entitled to termination benefits in the following cases:

a) Due to organizational restructuring and reduction in establishment quota pursuant to the decision of the competent authority;

b) Voluntary resignation approved by the competent authority.

2. Civil servants who terminate their service without meeting the conditions for monthly retirement benefits as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 145 of the Labor Code shall be entitled to a one-time allowance and other benefits as provided in Articles 3 and 4 of this Decree.

Article 3. Civil servants who terminate their service due to organizational restructuring and reduction in establishment quota pursuant to the decision of the competent authority shall be entitled to the following termination benefits:

1. A lump sum payment equivalent to three months' salary and allowances (if applicable) to assist in finding new employment. If they fail to find new employment, they will receive an additional month's salary and allowances (if applicable) for each year of service, but not less than two months' salary and allowances (if applicable);

2. Assistance from local authorities in registering residence and creating favorable conditions for living and doing business when returning to their lawful place of residence;

3. Entitlement to social assistance, social insurance benefits, and other benefits as prescribed by law.

Article 4. Civil servants who voluntarily resign as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 2 of this Decree and approved by the competent authority shall be entitled to termination benefits and a lump sum payment equivalent to half a month's salary and allowances (if applicable) for each year of service, and shall also enjoy the rights specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 3 of this Decree.

Article 5. The period of service for calculating termination benefits for civil servants as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 2 of this Decree is as follows:

1. The total period of service since the date of the decision on recruitment;

2. The period during which civil servants worked in state-owned enterprises and armed forces if they did not receive termination benefits shall be counted as service time;

3. In addition, the following periods shall also be counted as service time for civil servants:

a) The period during which civil servants were temporarily recruited under establishment quotas and enrolled in social insurance, subsequently being officially recruited by the organization;

b) The period during which civil servants were sent for training and development by the employing organization;

c) The period during which civil servants were on leave as prescribed in Articles 73, 74, 75, and 78 of the Labor Code;

d) The period during which civil servants were on leave for childbirth as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 144 and Clause 1 of Article 117 of the Labor Code;

đ) The period during which civil servants were on leave for illness with a medical certificate and received social insurance benefits;

e) The period during which civil servants were disciplined or criminally prosecuted but were later cleared of wrongdoing by the competent authority as prescribed in Article 45 of the Civil Servants Ordinance;

g) The period during which civil servants were suspended from duty as prescribed in Article 41 of the Civil Servants Ordinance.

Article 6. The funding for termination benefits is as follows:

1. For organizational restructuring and reduction in establishment quota pursuant to the decision of the competent authority, it shall be funded by the State budget;

2. For other cases of termination, they shall be funded by ministries, sectors, and localities from administrative and public service budgets allocated by the Government;

3. Civil servants who have worked in state-owned enterprises shall be entitled to termination benefits paid by the enterprise during their tenure there. The funds shall be transferred by the current employer to the former employer for payment. If the former employer has been dissolved or genuinely faces financial difficulties, the State budget shall fund the payment.

1. Civil servants terminated by disciplinary action shall not be entitled to termination benefits and other rights.

2. Civil servants who quit their jobs without authorization, in addition to being subject to disciplinary action leading to termination, shall not be entitled to termination benefits and other rights, and must compensate the employing organization for training and development costs (if any) according to the following principles:

a) Compensation will only be calculated for courses organized by the organization or for which the organization sent employees for training and development abroad or domestically lasting three months or longer;

b) When determining the compensation amount, consideration must be given to the employee's length of service and contributions to decide whether to compensate partially or fully;

c) The organization must establish a Compensation Review Board to examine and recommend the competent authority managing civil servants to make a decision.

3. The composition of the Compensation Review Board includes:

The head of the organization or a deputy authorized by the head to serve as Chair of the Board.

A representative of the labor union at the same level;

The person responsible for civil servant training and development in the organization;

The person responsible for the finance and accounting department of the organization;

The person responsible for the unit directly employing the individual required to compensate.

4. The Compensation Council shall convene to examine compensation according to the following procedure: The Chairperson announces the participating members and appoints a secretary; representatives from the training and development department report on the compensation system and amount; the Council listens to explanations from the person required to provide compensation; the Council discusses and votes secretly on the compensation amount. The results are recorded in a document submitted to the competent authority for decision. The Council dissolves itself upon completion of its tasks.

5. In cases where the person required to compensate for training and development costs does not strictly comply with the decision, the authority or organization has the right to request the court to resolve the matter.

Article 8. During the period when civil servants are under disciplinary review or criminal prosecution, the managing or using organization shall not allow such civil servants to resign.

Article 9. Authorities and organizations shall not permit civil servants to resign as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree in the following circumstances:

1. Civil servants who are on annual leave, personal leave, or other types of leave approved by the head of the organization.

2. Civil servants who are ill, injured, or suffering from occupational diseases and are undergoing treatment at hospitals as decided by medical personnel.

3. Female civil servants who are pregnant, on maternity leave, or caring for children under 12 months old, except in cases where the individual voluntarily requests resignation.

Article 10. Organizations and individuals failing to implement or improperly implementing the provisions of this Decree shall be subject to disciplinary action or criminal responsibility as prescribed by law, and must compensate for any material losses incurred.

Article 11. Civil servants who resign and consider it inappropriate may appeal to the competent authority in accordance with the law on appeals and complaints.

Upon receiving an appeal from a civil servant, authorities and organizations must respond to the appellant within the time frame prescribed by law.

Civil servants disciplined with compulsory resignation have the right to appeal to the competent authority or initiate administrative litigation before the court in accordance with the law.

1. This Decree shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

2. This Decree replaces the provisions on resignation systems in the following documents:

Decree No. 24/CP of the Council of Ministers dated November 8, 1962 on the issuance of regulations on recruitment and resignation of state workers and officials;

Decree No. 109/HĐBT of the Council of Ministers dated April 12, 1991 on the restructuring of administrative and public service staffing;

Decision No. 111/HĐBT of the Council of Ministers dated April 12, 1991 on certain policies in the restructuring of staffing;

Decision No. 76/HĐBT of the Council of Ministers dated March 9, 1992 on policies and measures to accelerate the restructuring of administrative and public service staffing.

Article 13. The Minister, Head of the Government Organizational Structure - Civil Servant Department is responsible for guiding the implementation of this Decree.

Article 14. The Minister, Head of Ministries equivalent to ministries, agencies under the Government, Chairman of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities, and heads of related agencies and organizations are responsible for implementing this Decree./.