HOW TO PROTECT RIGHTS OF THE EMPLOYEE IN THE CASE OF TERMINATION OF LABOR CONTRACT WHILE ON SICK LEAVE?

Judgment 02/2022/KDTM-PT is a landmark legal case decided by the People's Court of Ben Cat Town in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. This significant judgment pertains to a dispute between Mr. V, an employee, and Company J, his employer. The case revolves around the unilateral termination of a labor contract while the employee was on sick leave and provides crucial insights into the legal rights and protections available to workers in such situations.

14/09/2023

HOW TO PROTECT RIGHTS OF THE EMPLOYEE IN THE CASE OF TERMINATION OF LABOR CONTRACT WHILE ON SICK LEAVE?

Judgment 02/2022/KDTM-PT of the People's Court of Ben Cat Town - Binh Duong Province between Mr. V (the employee) suing Company J (the employer) is a reference method for employees to protect their legal rights and interests when unilaterally terminating the labor contract while on sick leave as proved by the hospital. In this Award, the Court made this following notable finding:

Under Article 126 of the 2012 Labor Code, the employer (Company J) has the right to apply the disciplinary measure of dismissal if the employee (Mr. V) voluntarily absents from work for more than 5 consecutive days in a month without a valid reason. According to point e, Clause 1 of Article 36 of the 2019 Labor Code, if the employee voluntarily absents from work for 05 consecutive days or more without a valid reason, the employer has the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract. As the Award described, Mr. V's absence from work from May 24, 2020, to May 01, 2020, and continued leave until May 13, 2020, was for a valid reason as there were medical instructions from the hospital through the Discharge Certificate and a Follow-up Appointment Letter provided by the hospital. Therefore, when an employee is sick and has documentation from the hospital, they will not be considered absent without a valid reason.

The defendant also presented several other reasons to justify their Decision of terminate the labor contract, but the court did not recognize any of them. Therefore, Company J must compensate for damages in accordance with labor laws and regulations.

In conclusion, it can be acknowledged that when employees are faced with an illness necessitating hospital treatment and are unable to promptly inform their employer, documents such as the hospital discharge certificate and related medical care records from the hospital will be considered as valid evidence to substantiate the justified reason for taking sick leave without permission.

See the Court Award here

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For more information, please contact:

Hoang Pham (James) / Managing Partner at: hoang.pham@vselawyers.com