Many companies still use labour contract templates drafted when Labour Code 2019 first took effect, and the legal landscape around those templates has since shifted in at least four places: the 2025 personal data protection framework, the new decree on work permits for foreign employees, amendments by Law 124/2025 to parts of the Code, and post-pandemic flexible working practice. An outdated template is not a mere formality problem: clauses that contradict the law can be void in part, triggering back-payments and disputes exactly when the employer needs to terminate or discipline. This article identifies what businesses must update in their 2026 template review. The review points below are ordered by the risk an outdated clause creates in practice.
1. Applicable legal framework
The foundation is Labour Code 45/2019/QH14, still in force and amended by Law 124/2025/QH15, whose Article 43 amends Clause 3 of Article 61 with effect from 1 January 2026. Labour contracts come in two types: indefinite-term and fixed-term of up to 36 months, with mandatory content on the job, workplace, term, salary, working hours, insurance and other statutory items. Electronic contracting carries the same legal value as paper under the Labour Code and electronic transactions law. New layers touching templates directly include the Personal Data Protection Law 91/2025/QH15 and Decree 356/2025/ND-CP for HR data, and Decree 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign employees replacing Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.
2. Contract types, probation and mandatory content to review
Start with contract type and the renewal chain: a fixed-term contract may be renewed only once, after which a continuing employee must move to an indefinite-term contract, subject to statutory exceptions. Many templates still state 48-month terms or unlimited automatic renewal, directly contradicting the 36-month maximum in Labour Code 2019. Probation periods must also follow the ceilings for each job group, and no probation applies to contracts of under one month.
Mandatory content should be checked item by item: job and workplace, contract term, salary level and payment method, salary review mechanism, working hours and rest, protective equipment, social and health insurance, and training. A template that states the workplace vaguely will cause trouble when the employer needs to relocate staff or shift them to remote work. Each item deserves its own clear clause rather than being compressed into one long paragraph, as many older templates still do.
3. Electronic contracts, flexible work and the workplace clause
A labour contract concluded electronically as a data message has the same legal value as a written contract, provided the contracting system ensures party identification, integrity and retrievable storage for later disputes. Employers adopting e-signature must update the process: verify the employee’s identity, store an accessible long-term copy and ensure the employee receives the full contract. Signing on a platform that fails these conditions risks the contract’s validity being challenged at the very moment the employer most needs to rely on it.
Remote and flexible work is not a separate contract type under the Labour Code; it is a way of organising performance that must be recorded in the contract or an annex: flexible workplace, how working time is recorded, tools and work expenses, information security and home-work safety. Older templates naming only the company’s head office as the workplace do not cover these situations. Employers should add a clause allowing flexible arrangements to be agreed by annex or by an internal policy incorporated into the contract by reference.
4. Personal data clauses, foreign employees and the update process
HR files contain personal data and sensitive data such as health information and bank accounts. Under Law 91/2025/QH15 and Decree 356/2025/ND-CP, templates should add content on the purposes of HR data processing, sharing with processors such as payroll or insurance providers, retention periods and employees’ rights over their own data. A one-line blanket data consent buried in an old template no longer matches the transparency expected under the new framework.
For foreign employees, the contract must align with the work permit or the confirmation of permit exemption under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP as to position, title and duration; a contract exceeding the permit’s scope is a direct compliance risk. The template update should follow four steps: benchmark against current instruments, revise the template and annexes, re-sign or amend contracts of existing staff through the proper amendment procedure, and train HR to apply the new template consistently. Revising paper templates without touching live contracts leaves two parallel clause systems inside one company.
5. Frequently asked questions
What types of labour contract currently exist?
Labour Code 45/2019/QH14 provides only two types: indefinite-term contracts and fixed-term contracts of up to 36 months. A fixed-term contract may be renewed only once; if the employee keeps working after expiry, an indefinite-term contract must be signed, subject to statutory exceptions. Any template still showing terms longer than 36 months or unlimited renewal must be corrected in this review round.
What content is mandatory in a labour contract?
The contract must carry the statutory items such as job and workplace, term, salary and payment method, salary progression, working hours and rest, protective equipment, social and health insurance, and training content. Missing or vague items make clauses hard to enforce on relocation, discipline or termination. Employers should reconcile their current template against the Labour Code list item by item rather than relying on legacy drafting.
Are electronically concluded labour contracts legally valid?
A labour contract concluded electronically as a data message has the same legal value as a written contract under the Labour Code and electronic transactions law, provided party identification, integrity and retrievable storage are ensured. The employer must also make sure the employee receives and can keep a complete copy. A signing platform failing these technical conditions creates validity risk when a dispute arises.
How should labour contract templates be reviewed and updated?
Follow four steps: benchmark the template against the current Labour Code and the new layers on personal data under Law 91/2025 and work permits under Decree 219/2025; revise the template and its annexes; amend or re-sign contracts of existing staff through the proper contract-amendment procedure; and brief HR to apply the new template consistently.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council