Article 295 of the Penal Code defines the “crime of violating regulations on labour safety, labour hygiene, and safety in crowded places” — the central criminal offence for prosecuting labour-safety violations that cause harm. The first point to grasp: Article 295 was NOT amended by Law 86/2025/QH15; the applicable text is Penal Code 100/2015/QH13 as amended by Clause 97, Article 1 of Law 12/2017/QH14 (currently consolidated in Document 135/VBHN-VPQH).
Four mandatory elements of the offence
Criminal prosecution under Article 295 requires all four elements concurrently:
- (a) A violated labour-safety regulation: regulations on labour safety, labour hygiene and safety in crowded places — primarily from the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene 84/2015/QH13 (still in force; the work-accident/occupational-disease insurance regime was amended by the Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15, effective 1/7/2025), the 2019 Labour Code and guiding technical standards and safety procedures;
- (b) Harm reaching the statutory threshold (see the frames below);
- (c) Causation between the violating conduct and the harm;
- (d) Fault: in practice mainly negligence (Article 11 of the Penal Code) — the violator need not have intended the consequence.
Penalty frames of Article 295
Clause 1 — basic frame (fine of VND 20–100 million / non-custodial reform of up to 03 years / imprisonment of 01–05 years)
Applies when violating labour-safety/labour-hygiene/crowded-place-safety regulations causes harm to others reaching one of these thresholds:
- Causing the death of 01 person;
- Causing injury to 01 person with a bodily-injury rate of 61% or more;
- Causing injury to 02 or more persons with a combined rate of 61–121%;
- Causing property damage of VND 100–under 500 million.
Clause 2 — aggravated frame (imprisonment of 03–07 years)
- Causing the death of 02 persons;
- Causing injury to 02 or more persons with a combined rate of 122–200%;
- Property damage of VND 500 million–under 1.5 billion;
- A standalone aggravating element: the offender is a “person responsible for labour safety, labour hygiene, or safety in crowded places” — i.e. directors, workshop managers, safety officers, anyone assigned labour-safety responsibility. Notably: such a person falls into the 03–07-year frame even when the harm is only at Clause 1 level.
Clause 3 — particularly serious frame (imprisonment of 06–12 years)
- Causing the death of 03 or more persons;
- Causing injury to 03 or more persons with a combined rate of 201% or more;
- Property damage of VND 1.5 billion or more.
Clause 4 — prosecution even without actual harm
Violating labour-safety/labour-hygiene/crowded-place-safety regulations where there is a real possibility of leading to the consequences of Clause 3 if not promptly prevented → non-custodial reform of up to 02 years or imprisonment of 03 months–02 years, even though no actual harm has occurred. This is a key legal point: the law does not wait for someone to die before criminal handling begins.
Supplementary penalties
Fine of VND 10–50 million, prohibition from holding positions, practising a profession or doing certain jobs for 01–05 years.
Legal entities do NOT bear criminal liability for Article 295
Article 295 is not among the 33 crimes for which commercial legal entities bear criminal liability under Article 76 of the Penal Code — only individuals are prosecuted. This is an important distinction from Article 235 (causing environmental pollution), where legal entities do bear criminal liability. In labour-safety cases, criminal liability falls on specific individuals: managers, persons assigned safety responsibility, direct violators.
Distinguishing Article 295 from Article 128
A person who violates labour-safety regulations but is not under a labour-safety duty and causes death does not constitute Article 295 — such a case is assessed under Article 128 (involuntary manslaughter). Article 295 is the specialised offence for violations of safety regulations; where no specific labour-safety regulation was violated, an unintentional killing is assessed under Article 128.
The boundary with administrative sanctions: Decree 283/2026/ND-CP
When a labour-safety violation does not meet all elements of the crime (harm below the threshold, causation unproven…), it is administratively sanctioned under Decree 283/2026/ND-CP (issued 15/7/2026, effective 10/9/2026, replacing Decree 12/2022/ND-CP which has expired). For conduct from 10/9/2026 onwards, Decree 283/2026 must be cited — not Decree 12/2022.
Conclusion
Article 295 is the central criminal instrument for handling labour-safety violations, with penalty frames rising by harm level and the “person responsible for labour safety” element pushing the frame higher from the start. The provision keeps its 2017 penalty levels (untouched by Law 86/2025), prosecutes only individuals, and even permits prosecution when serious consequences remain only a “real possibility”.
Note: This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every specific case must be assessed on its file, evidence and the law in force at the time of writing (14/10/2026). For assistance, please contact FLAT Law Firm.
For reference only, not legal advice. Content quality-checked by the AI Legal Council; not yet reviewed by a human lawyer.
