Labour law handbook for logistics companies in Vietnam — contracts, driving hours, social insurance and sanctions

Labour law handbook for logistics companies in Vietnam

Logistics is a distinctively labour-intensive industry: long-haul drivers, shift-based warehouse staff, heavy manual handlers — all raising employment-law requirements that ordinary trading companies rarely face. From the driving-hour limits amended with effect from 01/07/2026, social insurance obligations under the new Social Insurance Law, to occupational safety in warehouses and liability for road accidents — a single weak link can expose the company to administrative sanctions or protracted labour disputes. This handbook systematises the full employment-law framework logistics companies must follow, updated to September 2026.

Contents

• 1. Industry overview and legal framework
• 2. Conditions for employing labour in logistics
• 3. Labour contracts for specific worker groups
• 4. Working time and rest — the new driving-hour rules from 01/07/2026
• 5. Wages, overtime and night work
• 6. Social, health and unemployment insurance
• 7. Occupational safety and hygiene in transport and warehousing
• 8. Labour discipline and contract termination
• 9. Industry-specific legal risks and sanctions
• 10. Periodic compliance checklist
• 11. Notable legal changes
• 12. Electronic labour contracts, personal data and internal compliance
• 13. Dealing with labour inspections and employee complaints
• 14. FAQs
• Related articles in this industry handbook
• Need in-depth advice for the logistics industry?
• Language versions
• References

1. Industry overview and legal framework

Logistics companies in Vietnam are simultaneously governed by several layers of law:

• General labour law: the Labour Code 2019 (No. 45/2019/QH14, effective 01/01/2021) — labour contracts, working time, wages, discipline, termination and labour dispute resolution.
• Road traffic law: the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024 (No. 36/2024/QH15, effective 01/01/2025) — notably the driving-time rules in Article 64, amended by Law No. 118/2025/QH15 (effective 01/07/2026).
• Social insurance law: the Social Insurance Law 2024 (No. 41/2024/QH15, effective 01/07/2025), guided by Decree 158/2025/ND-CP.
• Sector-specific logistics law: Decree 163/2017/ND-CP on logistics services business (effective 20/02/2018, still in force) — classifying logistics services (transport, warehousing, forwarding, distribution…).
• Administrative sanctions: Decree 168/2024/ND-CP (applicable from 01/01/2025) for road traffic; sanctioning decrees on labour and social insurance.

Relevant authorities: Departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (under the new local-government model), social insurance agencies, traffic police, transport inspectorates and occupational safety regulators.

2. Conditions for employing labour in logistics

Commercial transport drivers must meet road-traffic law conditions: an appropriate driving licence, adequate health, and in many cases professional transport training. Companies may not assign vehicles to unqualified persons — both a legal duty and a liability shield in case of accidents.

Warehouse and manual-handling staff: heavy, hazardous or dangerous work requires periodic health checks, personal protective equipment and occupational safety training. Employing minors or female workers in prohibited jobs is a serious violation.

The company's transport business conditions: to carry goods, a company must satisfy road-vehicle transport business conditions (transport business licence, vehicle badges, journey monitoring devices…). Detailed rules may have been amended — verify the instrument in force at the time of implementation (see section 11).

3. Labour contracts for specific worker groups

3.1 Drivers

Driver contracts need more detail than standard contracts:

• Job description: routes, vehicle types, responsibility for vehicle and cargo, duty to comply with driving-time rules.
• Contract term: fixed-term or indefinite-term under the Labour Code 2019 (seasonal contracts no longer exist as a category).
• Probation: up to 60 days for work requiring professional expertise (common for long-haul drivers), with probation salary at least 85% of the official salary.
• Vocational training: where the company funds training (higher licence classes, professional certificates), a training contract may commit the worker to post-training service with reimbursement of training costs for unlawful unilateral termination.

3.2 Warehouse, handling and forwarding staff

For heavy, hazardous or dangerous work: record it in the contract, apply in-kind allowances (where listed), periodic health checks, and potentially reduced working time as prescribed.

3.3 Driver "piecework contracts" — a fragile boundary

Many companies sign "piecework" or "collaborator" contracts with drivers to avoid social insurance and labour benefits. The risk: authorities determine employment relationships by substance — wage work under the company's management, direction and supervision at company-designated workplaces — not by the contract's title. If reclassified as employment without social insurance contributions, the company faces back-payment, sanctions and liability for work accidents. Use service/piecework contracts only where the work is genuinely independent (driver owns the vehicle, takes jobs freely, no detailed direction).

4. Working time and rest — the new driving-hour rules from 01/07/2026

This is the most important 2026 legal update for logistics.

Before 01/07/2026 (Article 64, Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024): commercial-vehicle drivers limited to 10 hours per day and 48 hours per week; continuous driving capped at 4 hours.

From 01/07/2026 (Clause 15, Article 7 of Law No. 118/2025/QH15, effective 01/07/2026, amending Clause 1 of Article 64 — the Law amending 10 laws on security and order, adopted 10/12/2025): the 4-hour continuous-driving cap is retained; daily and weekly driving time now follows the Labour Code — i.e. the general working-time framework (8 hours/day, 48 hours/week; overtime rules).

Practical implications:

• Companies must manage driving time under two layers simultaneously: the 4-hour continuous cap (traffic law) and total working/overtime hours (Labour Code).
• Trip scheduling, shift rosters and relief-driver planning must be recalculated to comply with both layers.
• Journey monitoring device data is direct evidence for compliance checks — devices must operate continuously with complete data retention.

Rest: after each 4-hour continuous driving stint, drivers must stop to rest as prescribed; daily and weekly rest under the Labour Code must be ensured.

5. Wages, overtime and night work

• Minimum wage: the regional minimum wage set by the Government at the time of payment; contracts and salary scales may not go below it.
• Overtime: under the Labour Code 2019, overtime is capped at 40 hours/month and 200 hours/year (300 hours/year in certain prescribed cases). Overtime pay: at least 150% on normal days, 200% on weekly rest days, 300% on public holidays.
• Night work (22:00–06:00): an extra 30% of salary; night overtime adds 20% of the overtime wage.
• Logistics specifics: long-haul drivers routinely work nights and overtime — timesheets, journey logs and monitoring data must reconcile, avoiding "actual work but under-recorded hours" that later fuels overtime pay disputes.

6. Social, health and unemployment insurance

The Social Insurance Law 2024 (No. 41/2024/QH15, effective 01/07/2025) continues expanding compulsory coverage. The core principle is unchanged: employees under labour contracts of at least one month are compulsorily insured — including drivers, warehouse and handling staff.

Key watchpoints for logistics:

• Contribute on actual salary: the contribution base is the contractual salary plus salary allowances and other statutory supplements. Under-declaring to cut costs is a violation triggering back-payment and sanctions.
• Seasonal, rotating labour: drivers with discontinuous service, resignations and rehirings — manage insurance participation tightly to avoid being treated as evading contributions during "gaps".
• Work accidents and occupational disease: a driver injured in a road accident while on duty counts as a work accident where conditions are met — the employer must report, investigate and pay statutory benefits; work-accident and occupational-disease insurance is compulsory.

7. Occupational safety and hygiene in transport and warehousing

• Safety training: workers in jobs with strict safety requirements (commercial drivers, forklift operators, heavy handlers) must be trained and certified as prescribed before starting work and retrained periodically.
• Warehouses: aisles, electrical systems, fire protection, correct rack loading, forklift operating procedures — the usual inspection targets.
• Accident reporting and investigation: when accidents occur (duty-time road accidents, warehouse incidents), companies must report promptly, investigate and keep files — concealing work accidents draws heavy sanctions and may trigger criminal liability in serious cases.

8. Labour discipline and contract termination

• Internal labour regulations: companies with 10+ employees must issue written regulations registered with the competent authority. For logistics, regulations should clearly define sector-specific violations: driving-time breaches, drink-driving, cargo loss/damage, warehouse procedure violations.
• Disciplinary process: follow the procedure (minutes, hearing with the workers' representative organisation), observe limitation periods and statutory disciplinary forms. Dismissing a driver for on-duty drinking requires evidence (breathalyser results) and proper process.
• Unilateral termination: both sides have the right but must observe statutory grounds and notice periods under the Labour Code 2019. Unlawfully dismissing a driver means reinstatement plus compensation — often very costly for long-serving staff.
• Severance and retrenchment allowances: calculated on actual working time; a statutory employer obligation on lawful termination.

9. Industry-specific legal risks and sanctions

Note: the table states driving-time fines under Decree 168/2024/ND-CP (verified against the original text on 27/09/2026); other violations apply the Decree's corresponding sanction provisions — consult the specific provision when applying.

10. Periodic compliance checklist

Monthly:

• Reconcile headcount — labour contracts — social insurance participation (no omissions, duplicates or delays).
• Check journey monitoring data: no 4-hour continuous-driving breaches.
• Full, timely payroll including overtime and night-work pay.

Quarterly:

• Review internal labour regulations and warehouse safety procedures for continued fitness.
• Check driver licences and OSH training certificates' validity.
• Reconcile payroll funds and social insurance obligations.

Annually:

• Periodic health checks (especially heavy/hazardous work).
• Periodic OSH training; warehouse fire drills.
• Review all template labour contracts and salary scales against the latest rules.
• Report on labour utilisation as prescribed.

11. Notable legal changes

• Law No. 118/2025/QH15 (effective 01/07/2026): amends driving-time rules in Article 64 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety — 4-hour continuous cap retained, daily/weekly time under the Labour Code. Transport companies must update trip schedules and monitoring.
• Social Insurance Law 2024 (effective 01/07/2025) and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP: review coverage, contribution bases and enrolment procedures for high-turnover workforces like logistics.
• Decree 81/2026/ND-CP (effective 15/05/2026) replaces railway sanction rules — multimodal logistics operators (road + rail) should update.
• Further guidance implementing Law No. 118/2025/QH15 may follow — monitor.

12. Electronic labour contracts, personal data and internal compliance

Logistics companies hiring drivers across provinces increasingly use electronic labour contracts. E-contracts are valid where they meet e-transaction requirements — reliable identification of the parties, integrity of the content and retrievability. Practical notes: use a compliant e-signature solution, deliver one copy to the employee in a durable readable format, and store the employer's copy with access logs. A scanned photo of a signed paper contract sent over chat is not an electronic contract and may fail evidentiary standards.

Personal data protection (Decree 13/2023/ND-CP) matters more in logistics than in most industries: GPS tracking, dashcam footage, driver identification documents and health records are all personal data. Companies must inform employees of the purposes of collection, obtain consent where required, limit retention periods and secure the data. Using tracking data for purposes beyond what was disclosed — for example, sharing driver location data with third parties — creates compliance exposure.

Internal labour regulations should be registered as prescribed and specifically address logistics realities: alcohol and substance prohibitions for drivers, rest-time compliance, procedures for reporting vehicle defects, and the handling of customer complaints against delivery staff. Regulations that exist only on paper, never communicated or enforced, carry little weight in disciplinary disputes — training records and signed acknowledgements close that gap.

13. Dealing with labour inspections and employee complaints

Labour inspections in logistics typically focus on a short list: written labour contracts for all employees, social insurance participation matching headcount, working-time and overtime records (including driving-time data), payroll documentation and registered internal labour regulations. Companies should keep these files inspection-ready at all times rather than assembling them after receiving an inspection notice — disorganised records invite deeper scrutiny and heavier findings.

When an employee files a complaint with the labour authorities, the first step is usually grassroots conciliation. Employers should respond in writing, attend conciliation sessions with proper authorisation and bring complete records — many complaints settle at this stage when the employer can demonstrate compliance. Ignoring conciliation summons or attending unprepared pushes the matter toward administrative sanctioning or litigation, both costlier.

A practical investment is an internal grievance channel: a clear procedure for drivers and warehouse staff to raise concerns about pay, working conditions or safety before they become external complaints. In a high-turnover industry, workers who feel heard complain less — and the company learns about problems while they are still cheap to fix.

14. FAQs

What is the maximum daily driving time for truck drivers from 01/07/2026? Law No. 118/2025/QH15 (effective 01/07/2026) amends Article 64 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety: the continuous-driving cap of 4 hours is retained, while daily and weekly driving time follows the Labour Code.

Must logistics companies pay social insurance for drivers? Yes, where drivers work under labour contracts of at least one month. The Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15 (effective 01/07/2025) continues to expand compulsory social insurance coverage.

Does hiring drivers under piecework contracts avoid social insurance obligations? Not automatically. Authorities determine employment relationships by substance (wage work under the company's management and direction), not by the contract's title.

How are driving-time violations sanctioned? Administrative sanctions in road traffic follow Decree 168/2024/ND-CP (applicable from 01/01/2025): drivers violating driving-time rules are fined VND 3,000,000–5,000,000 with 2 driving-licence points deducted (Point d, Clause 6 and Point a, Clause 10, Article 20 for passenger vehicles; Point b, Clause 5 and Point a, Clause 13, Article 21 for trucks); vehicle owners assigning vehicles for such violations are fined VND 4,000,000–6,000,000 (individuals) or VND 8,000,000–12,000,000 (organisations) under Point d, Clause 9 and Point a, Clause 21, Article 32.

Related articles in this industry handbook

• 2026 update: default interest in commercial contracts
• EPC and industrial construction contracts in Vietnam

Need in-depth advice for the logistics industry?

From reviewing template labour contracts and building safety procedures to handling labour disputes and driver road accidents, FLAT Law Firm helps logistics companies stay compliant and minimise risk. Call our hotline 0988424851.

Language versions

References

• Labour Code 2019 (No. 45/2019/QH14).
• Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024 (No. 36/2024/QH15); Law No. 118/2025/QH15.
• Social Insurance Law 2024 (No. 41/2024/QH15); Decree 158/2025/ND-CP.
• Decree 163/2017/ND-CP on logistics services business.
• Decree 168/2024/ND-CP on administrative sanctions in road traffic.