An employee has performed well for three years, when suddenly a tip-off claims his university diploma is fake. HR is torn: dismiss immediately and risk breaking the law, or keep him and risk the precedent. This situation is more common than many businesses think — and the correct handling has three layers: verification, employment handling, and criminal liability.
Contents
- 1. Step 1 — Verify, don't jump to conclusions
- 2. Step 2 — Handle the employment relationship
- 3. Step 3 — Criminal liability: don't forget
- 4. Prevention starts at recruitment
- 5. Quick Q&A
- When to work with counsel
- References
1. Step 1 — Verify, don't jump to conclusions
A tip-off, even from a credible source, is still only suspicion. The correct verification process:
- Contact the issuing institution named on the diploma: do the name, graduation year and diploma serial match the original register? Send a formal written request and keep the reply email.
- Compare the original: ask the employee to present the original diploma and ID for comparison.
- Check information portals of the Ministry of Education (if the diploma type is in the system).
Every step must be documented in writing. A "fake diploma" conclusion must rest on confirmation from the issuing institution or a competent authority — never on rumours or "it looks fake".
2. Step 2 — Handle the employment relationship
There are two legal routes, depending on the file:
Route 1: Discipline — but dismissal is not always available. Credential fraud at recruitment seriously violates the good-faith principle in concluding labor contracts (Article 15(1) of the 2019 Labor Code). However, understand this correctly: disciplinary dismissal applies only in the four cases listed in Article 125 (theft, embezzlement, gambling, intentional injury, drug use at the workplace; disclosure of business/technological secrets; re-offending after extended wage-raise or demotion discipline; unauthorised absence for the statutory number of days) — diploma fraud is not among them, and internal rules cannot create additional dismissal grounds. The notion that "putting it in the internal rules makes dismissal lawful" is wrong and risks an unlawful-dismissal ruling. On the disciplinary route, the employer may only apply disciplinary forms within the limits the law permits, and must follow due process: collect evidence proving the diploma is fake (written confirmation from the institution), hold a disciplinary hearing with the employee and the representative organisation participating (right to self-defence, to invite counsel), prepare hearing minutes, and have the decision signed by the competent authority within the disciplinary time limit.
Route 2: Petitioning the court to declare the contract void. Fraud at conclusion breaches the good-faith principle in Article 15(1), giving the employer grounds to petition the People's Court to declare the labor contract wholly void under Article 49(1)(b). The key point: only the court may declare voidness (Article 51) — the contract does not become void automatically upon discovery of fraud, and the court will consider whether the fraud was decisive to the conclusion (e.g. whether the diploma was a mandatory recruitment condition for the position). When the contract is declared void due to the employee's fault, rights are settled under the law on void contracts — the employer does not bear the obligations of an unlawful unilateral termination.
The key point: neither route allows an instant "verbal dismissal", nor may the employer unilaterally treat the contract as void. Skipping disciplinary procedure — or declaring voidness without the court — is a sure path to losing the lawsuit — ironically, in defence of the fraudster.
What if the employee is competent but the diploma is fake? Actual competence does not erase the fraud. Keeping a fake-diploma holder sets a dangerous precedent: tomorrow the whole company may submit fake diplomas. Handling one case firmly is how you protect the organisation's culture of honesty.
3. Step 3 — Criminal liability: don't forget
Using a fake diploma is not just an internal matter. Under Article 341 of the 2015 Penal Code, forging seals and documents of agencies or organisations — and using such forged documents — may trigger criminal liability. A discovering employer has the right (and in some cases should) report to the police.
Criminal handling is independent of employment handling: dismissal is available only in the four cases listed in Article 125, while the other lawful routes from Section 2 remain open (petitioning the court to declare the contract void under Articles 49/51, mutual termination, or termination during probation under Article 27) — and the employee may still face criminal prosecution. In practice, many businesses only handle it internally without reporting — a management decision, but counsel's view on the risks is advisable (e.g. this person used the fake diploma to sign financial vouchers or contracts — far larger legal consequences). Especially for positions like chief accountant, cashier, or authorised contract signatories: signatures of unqualified persons can trigger disputes over document validity, and the business will struggle to prove it "didn't know" if it discovered the fraud but didn't follow through.
4. Prevention starts at recruitment
Cheapest is still blocking it at the gate:
- [ ] Verify diplomas at recruitment, especially for management, finance and technical positions — don't wait for suspicion.
- [ ] State clearly in internal rules: credential and experience fraud is a disciplinary violation (with disciplinary forms within the limits the law permits) — note that internal rules cannot create additional dismissal grounds beyond the four cases in Article 125; also set out the verification procedure and lawful termination routes.
- [ ] Contract clauses: the employee warrants the authenticity of their file, with the consequences of fraud handled under the law (court-declared voidness under Articles 49/51, mutual termination) — note that a contract cannot create additional unilateral-termination grounds beyond the closed list in Articles 35/36 of the 2019 Labor Code.
- [ ] Positions requiring practice certificates (chief accountant, in-house counsel, doctors…): check certificates with the licensing authority, not just photocopies.
5. Quick Q&A
Q: Can I dismiss an employee immediately upon discovering a fake diploma?
A: No — not without due process, and note: diploma fraud is not among the four statutory dismissal grounds in Article 125 of the 2019 Labor Code (a closed list), so internal rules cannot create an additional dismissal ground. The employer must verify the diploma, prepare minutes, give the employee a chance to explain, and choose a lawful route: petitioning the court to declare the contract void (Articles 49, 51), mutual termination, or termination during probation (Article 27). A hasty dismissal on a wrong legal basis can be declared unlawful.
Q: Can using a fake diploma trigger criminal liability?
A: Yes, potentially. Forging or using forged seals and documents of agencies or organisations may trigger criminal liability under Article 341 of the 2015 Penal Code. A discovering employer may report to the police; criminal handling is independent of internal labor discipline.
Q: What if the employee is competent but the diploma is fake?
A: Actual competence does not erase fraud at contract conclusion. Diploma fraud breaches the good-faith principle in Article 15(1), giving grounds to petition the People's Court to declare the labor contract wholly void under Article 49(1)(b) — but only the court may declare voidness (Article 51); it is not automatic. Note that disciplinary dismissal applies only in the four cases listed in Article 125 — diploma fraud is not among them. Employers should still act per regulations — keeping a dishonest person sets a dangerous precedent.
Q: How to verify a diploma properly?
A: Contact the issuing educational institution directly for authentication; check diploma information portals (if available); ask the employee to present the original for comparison. Keep written records and emails of every verification step as evidence.
Q: How to prevent hiring fake-diploma holders?
A: Verify diplomas at the recruitment stage (don't wait for suspicion); stipulate in internal rules/contracts that credential fraud is a serious disciplinary violation; for positions requiring practice certificates (accounting, law, medicine…), check certificates with the licensing authority.
When to work with counsel
Engage counsel as soon as there is grounded suspicion: designing an evidence-tight verification process, choosing among lawful routes (petitioning the court to declare the contract void under Articles 49/51, mutual termination, termination during probation), drafting a disciplinary decision within the statutory limits, and assessing whether to file a criminal report. A dismissal on a wrong legal basis in a fake-diploma case is "losing from a winning position" — costly and embarrassing. FLAT Law Firm advises on disciplinary handling and labor disputes — contact our hotline at 0988424851.
References
- 2019 Labor Code of Vietnam, Articles 15, 49, 125 (effective 01/01/2021).
- 2015 Penal Code of Vietnam, Article 341 (effective 01/01/2018).
- Content cross-checked via thuvienphapluat.vn and luatvietnam.vn at the time of writing (28/9/2026).
