Looking for new opportunities
Mr. Phan Minh Thanh - head of the kitchen department of a Japanese restaurant in Yen Hoa ward (Cau Giay, Hanoi) decided to change jobs right after Lunar New Year 2025.
Mr. Thanh has been with the restaurant for 4 years, from the position of kitchen staff, he became the head of the department thanks to his hard work, constant learning and self-improvement. “I started as an employee, with a salary of 8 million VND/month, including food and accommodation. Currently, my salary is 25 million VND/month, plus benefits for the management position. I have agreed with the restaurant owner to work until the 28th of December (December 27, 2024). After that, the two sides will pay the salary and Tet bonus,” said Mr. Thanh.
Regarding the reason for changing jobs right after Tet, Mr. Thanh said he wanted to give himself a new opportunity. Mr. Thanh is from Yen Thanh district (Nghe An). In 2016, after graduating from high school, he studied Japanese and went to Japan as an international student. While working part-time at a restaurant in Tokyo, Mr. Thanh realized the potential of the culinary profession, and he himself was interested in this profession. After returning to Vietnam, Mr. Thanh applied to work as a kitchen assistant at a Japanese restaurant, constantly improving his Japanese and participating in managing a forum dedicated to people who purchase ingredients and cook at Japanese restaurants.
“Not married yet, I want to give myself more opportunities and push my limits. I was recruited as a sous chef at a high-end Japanese restaurant. The probationary salary is 30 million VND/month,” said Mr. Thanh.
Without the "dream" salary like Mr. Thanh, Ms. Ta Thi Thom (from Yen Mo district, Ninh Binh) is working for a garment material processing factory in Trieu Khuc craft village, Tan Trieu commune (Thanh Tri district, Hanoi).
Ms. Thom’s daily job is to wind silk thread onto a bobbin (a plastic or iron thread reel). “I and 3 workers sat in a room full of silk thread, the dust was flying in my eyes, wearing a mask still made my nose sting. Although the salary of 8 million VND/month is not low, for health reasons, I decided to quit after receiving my salary and Tet bonus,” Ms. Thom said.
According to Ms. Thom, when discussing with her boss about quitting her job, she was offered a salary increase to 9 million VND/month but she was determined to quit. “A close friend and I decided to quit our jobs after Tet. We will both go back to our hometowns to celebrate Tet, return to Hanoi on January 10 and open a breakfast shop in front of an elementary school in Da Sy ward (Ha Dong, Hanoi),” Ms. Thom said.
Note when changing jobs
Mr. Vu Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of Hanoi Employment Service Center said that in recent years, after Tet holiday, the labor market often has improved when the demand for human resources increases. Many businesses increase recruitment from the beginning of the year to proactively have human resources for production.
According to Mr. Thanh, right after the Lunar New Year 2024, the satellite job fair connecting 9 northern provinces had nearly 50,000 job positions in all fields and industries. Thus, job opportunities for workers are very open. It is expected that after the Lunar New Year 2025, the job fairs will also be quite active.
“The labor market has shown positive signs of recovery. However, workers who decide to change jobs should be very careful and proactive in planning to ensure they have a job to fall back on without affecting their income,” said Mr. Thanh.
According to YouMe Law Firm, if changing jobs is legal, employees need to pay attention to the amounts of money they can receive:
Unpaid wages: Upon termination of the employment contract, the employee shall be paid in full all amounts due to him/her, including wages for the days worked that have not been paid.
Severance pay: If you have worked regularly for the company for 12 months or more, you will be paid severance pay when you leave.
Unused annual leave: At the time of leaving work without taking or using up all annual leave days, the employee will be paid salary for the untaken days.
Unemployment benefits: Unemployment benefits applications must be submitted to the employment service center within 3 months from the date of contract termination for the social insurance agency to pay benefits.
