Currently, there are various methods for resolving labor disputes that employees utilize in practice, particularly addressing disputes through complaints and denunciations to the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, specifically the Chief Labor Inspectorwhich are becoming more and more popular.
The reason for employees to file complaints and denunciations with the Chief Labor Inspector is that labor complaints are resolved quickly, the resolution procedure is more efficient compared to other dispute resolution methods at other dispute resolution agencies such as courts and labor arbitrations, and it also brings "pressure" to enterprises, forcing them to satisfactorily resolve the rights of employees when there is a decision to resolve the labor complaint by the Chief Labor Inspector.
The following article focuses on the procedural steps for filing a complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector and the obstacles encountered when filing labor complaints with the Chief Labor Inspector.
How are Labor Complaints Filed with the Chief Labor Inspector?
Firstly, in order to file a labor complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector, the employee must first go through the initial labor complaint process at the managing enterprise. If the managing enterprise does not resolve or resolve the complaint unsatisfactorily, the employee is then entitled to file the next labor complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector.
In practice, there is a situation where some employees are consulted on human resources forums and are advised to file a labor complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector. However, upon receiving the complaint, the Chief Labor Inspector will request that the employee return to file a complaint with the managing enterprise. Only after receiving the complaint resolution result from the managing enterprise will the Chief Labor Inspector continue to resolve the employee's complaint.
How are Labor Complaints Resolved at the Managing Enterprise??
Người lao động có một khoảng 180 days equivalent to six (6) months) from the time they receive or become aware of the decision or action of the managing enterprise to exercise their right to file a complaint with the managing enterprise. Once a complaint is filed with the managing enterprise, the managing enterprise will have a period of seven (7) working days to accept the complaint and will have a period of 30–45 days thereafter to issue a complaint resolution decision for the employee ("Resolution Decision”).
Nevertheless, while some enterprises, upon receiving an employee's complaint, will promptly issue a Resolution Decision for the employee (regardless of whether the result is satisfactory or unsatisfactory to the employee), other enterprises will "ignore" the resolution of the employee's complaint and not issue any Resolution Decision for the employee.
As presented above, if the Resolution Decision is satisfactory to the employee, then filing a complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector will be unnecessary. Conversely, if the Resolution Decision is unsatisfactory or not resolved by the enterprise, the employee has the right to file a second complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector for resolution. Typically, the complaint resolution time at the Chief Labor Inspector's office will take approximately 45-60 days from the date the Chief Labor Inspector accepts the employee's complaint.
In order for the labor complaint file to be accepted by the Chief Labor Inspector, the complaint file must include documents proving that the enterprise has not resolved or resolved the complaint unsatisfactorily. That is, the employee needs to collect evidence to provide a basis for the Chief Labor Inspector to know that the employee has filed a complaint with the managing enterprise.
Although the resolution of complaints, whether at the managing enterprise or the Chief Labor Inspector's office, proceeds very quickly and is a venue where both parties present their viewpoints. In the case of resolution at the Chief Labor Inspector's office, the Chief Labor Inspector will have separate meetings with each party to grasp the situation, and then arrange for the employee and the managing enterprise to meet and present their complaint content and proposed resolutions to each other before the Chief Labor Inspector issues a complaint resolution decision for the employee.
The complaint resolution at the Chief Labor Inspector's office is also not as burdensome or high-pressure for both the employee and the managing enterprise as dispute resolution through courts or labor arbitration. In reality, everything can proceed smoothly and conclude quickly within approximately 2–4 months and will not drag on for at least six (6) months to several years as in courts or labor arbitration. Not to mention that dispute resolution in courts or labor arbitration sometimes requires going through labor mediator resolution as a prerequisite before the courts or labor arbitration accept the case.
Vướng Mắc Khi Khiếu Nại Lao Động Đến Chief Labor Inspector
Ngoài việc đã trình bày về một số khó khăn mà người lao động gặp phải ở trên, có một số người lao động làm việc tại chi nhánh, văn phòng đại diện, hoặc địa điểm kinh doanh của doanh nghiệp ở tỉnh hoặc thành phố khác cách xa so với tỉnh hoặc thành phố nơi trụ sở chính của doanh nghiệp đặt địa chỉ.
Thực tế có những người lao động làm việc tại chi nhánh doanh nghiệp ở Hà Nội, nhưng trụ sở chính ở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, cannot file a labor complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector at the branch, representative office, or business location where they work (i.e., Hanoi), but must file a complaint with the Chief Labor Inspector in Ho Chi Minh City where the enterprise has its head office.
To exercise this complaint right, the employee must personally or authorize another person to participate in working sessions, meetings, dialogues, etc., according to the second complaint procedure at the Ho Chi Minh City Chief Labor Inspector's office. In return, the labor complaint resolution result may not meet the employee's expectations because even if they win, they have already lost too much. In some cases, employees are completely disadvantaged in claiming their rights and interests when the managing enterprises are large and have the ability to influence the decisions of the Department of Labor Chief Inspector.
Therefore, in cases where employees work at branches, business locations, or representative offices and a dispute arises, they will often choose to forgo the second complaint right to the Chief Labor Inspector or switch to filing a lawsuit in the competent courts. This not only creates an irrationality in ensuring the maximum rights and interests of employees but also creates an opportunity for enterprises to evade their obligations to their employees.
Recommendations for Removing Obstacles
Empowering the Chief Labor Inspector at the location of the branch, representative office, or business location to resolve second complaints is an effective solution when information and administrative procedures are mostly digitized on the electronic pages of state agencies, allowing local Departments and Boards to easily grasp the situation of enterprises and employees. In complex cases, Chief Labor Inspectors from different localities can also coordinate to quickly resolve complaints for employees.
Maximizing the position of the Chief Labor Inspector in resolving labor complaints is essential to reduce the burden on courts and avoid wasting state resources. Therefore, in the long term, regulations related to the authority to resolve second complaints need to be amended and supplemented to allow the Chief Labor Inspector at the location where the enterprise's branch, business location, or representative office is registered as the office address to resolve second complaints so that employees have a basis to ensure the exercise of their complaint rights and also improve the efficiency of resolution compared to other dispute resolution methods.
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