What is the punishment for mistreating workers?

Lawyer Nguyen Thi Hoai Anh, YouMe Law Company Limited replied:

Clause 2, Article 8 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulates prohibited acts in the field of labor as follows:

2. Mistreatment of workers and forced labor.

Clause 4, Article 11, Chapter II, Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the fields of labor, social insurance, and Vietnamese workers working abroad under contracts ( Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP) regulates violations of regulations on implementation of labor contracts as follows:

4. A fine from 50,000,000 VND to 75,000,000 VND shall be imposed on employers who commit one of the following acts:

a) Forced labor or mistreatment of workers but not to the extent of criminal prosecution;

b) Forcing employees to perform labor contracts to repay debts to employers.

Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP regulates fine levels, sanctioning authority and principles of application to repeated administrative violations as follows:

1. The fines prescribed for violations specified in Chapter II, Chapter III and Chapter IV of this Decree are fines for individuals, except for the cases specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 5 The 7th rule; Clauses 3, 4, 6 Article 13; Clause 2, Article 25; Clause 1, Article 26; Clauses 1, 5, 6, 7 Article 27; Clause 8, Article 39; Clause 5, Article 41; Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Article 42; Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Article 43; Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Article 45; Clause 3, Article 46 of this Decree. The fine for organizations is 2 times the fine for individuals.

Thus, employers who mistreat workers but do not reach the level of criminal prosecution can be fined from 50,000,000 VND to 75,000,000 VND for individuals, 100,000,000 VND for individuals, and 100,000,000 VND for individuals. up to 150,000,000 VND for organizations according to the regulations cited above.