Next Generation Partners

Rising Stars

Firms To Watch: Labour and employment

ASL Law Firm’s labour group is led by Pham Duy Khuong and supports local and international clients on a range of matters, from drafting employment contracts to handling labour-related disputes.

Labour and employment in Vietnam

Baker McKenzie

Thuy Hang Nguyen heads the employment and labour group at Baker McKenzie, which handles the entire spectrum of matters, including terminations, restructurings, restrictive covenants, investigations, and union matters. The team also expertly handles health and safety mandates, hiring and recruitment matters, and pension law issues. Additionally, the firm has been involved in assisting the government of Vietnam in drafting new labour law legislation, as well as recently advising on covid-related issues, such as remote working and migration problems. The team is home to special counsel Van Trung Khuat and Tri Trung Pham; Khuat specialises in employment-related dispute resolution matters, and Pham has a strong practice advising foreign-invested companies with offices in Vietnam on their employment issues. Associate Xuan Hung Pham is another key contact in the group.

Practice head(s):

Thuy Hang Nguyen


Other key lawyers:

Van Trung Khuat; Tri Trung Pham; Xuan Hung Pham


Testimonials

‘The Baker team is extremely supportive and they also have deep knowledge and expertise, not only in legal advisory work, but also in market practice.’

‘Their consultancy is simple and easy to understand for complex and sophisticated matters. They have strong in-depth knowledge, and they meet due dates with efficient quality in application.’

‘Tri Trung Pham is very enthusiastic. He has in-depth labour knowledge and delivers effective and applicable results. ’

Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers

Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers’ practice advises clients on both contentious and non-contentious labour and employment matters. Its workload includes restructurings, redundancies, lay-offs and terminations, in addition to work permits. Vu Thi Que and Chau Huy Quang jointly lead the practice; Vu is fluent in Mandarin and is well-placed to advise Chinese companies on employment matters. Senior associate Le Quynh Nhi sits in the firms M&A department and has considerable employment law experience, advising clients on contract drafting and internal investigations. Logan Leung is another key member of the team, who was promoted to deputy managing partner in June 2022.

Practice head(s):

Vu Thi Que; Chau Huy Quang


Other key lawyers:

Le Quynh Nhi; Logan Leung


Key clients

Richemont Asia Pacific


Aviat Networks


Wills Towers Watson


True Commerce


Vestiaire Collective


Work highlights


  • Advised Aviat Networks on termination of employment under a labour outsourcing contract.
  • Advised Wills Towers Watson on several employment issues, including on employment contracts, visa/work permits for foreign employees, reviewing internal labour rules, and reviewing collective bargain agreements.
  • Advised True Commerce on employment issues in relation to the act of monitoring and collecting information and activities of employees.

Tilleke & Gibbins

Tilleke & Gibbins’ ‘young and dynamic’ team supports clients on both contentious and non-contentious advisory matters, especially to those in the life sciences sector. Practice head Kien Trung Trinh is a key name to note in this area, as is counsel Sarah Galeski, who has a broad ranging practice, including drafting labour contracts and handling employment issues in relation to global asset and share transactions. Galeski is praised as ‘professional, personable, and highly capable at delivering valuable advice’.

Practice head(s):

Kien Trung Trinh


Other key lawyers:

Sarah Galeski


Testimonials

‘Sarah Galeski’s command of labour and employment law is impressive.’

‘Highly responsive, practical insights, and solution-oriented.’

‘Sarah Galeski is certainly an excellent adviser. She is knowledgeable and friendly, makes time for her clients and proposes practical business solutions.’

‘They give good advice and are very responsive to queries.’

‘Sarah Galeski is a great lawyer, and her advice is timely and commercial.’

‘T&G is a young and dynamic team that is growing.’

‘Sarah Galeski is an outstanding lawyer. She’s professional, personable, and highly capable at delivering valuable advice.’

Key clients

Chemonics International


FMC Corporation


International Council of Swedish Industry


Invisalign


Lenovo


Merck, Sharp & Dohme


MIMS Pte. Ltd.


Teva Pharmaceutical


United Nations International School


Work highlights


  • Advising Lenovo on all matters related to labour and employment.
  • Assisted a NYSE-listed chemical manufacturer with investigating a whistle-blower hotline report alleging an employee being wrongfully disciplined and dismissed, as well as the company improperly exporting low-quality goods.
  • Advised a European pharmaceutical company on steps for handling redundancy due to a restructuring of the company’s Vietnam operations.

ATS Law Firm

ATS Law Firm’s client roster includes foreign and domestic companies in both the public and private sector; it advises on a range of matters, from contact reviewing to labour contract disputes. Founder and managing partner Vu Thi Thu Ha leads the practice, and Trong Hong Nhan and Nguyen Thi Ha are also active in this arena. Vu Thi Cam Trang joined the team in early 2022 having spent over 20 years as an in-house lawyer at various corporations.

Practice head(s):

Vu Thi Thu Ha


Other key lawyers:

Trong Hong Nhan; Nguyen Thi Ha; Vu Thi Cam Trang


Key clients

OPL Logistics Joint JSC


International Executive Service Corps


Turner Vietnam Company Limited


Daiichi Jitsugyo Co Ltd.


Frasers Law Company

Managing partner Mark Fraser co-leads the labour and employment team at Frasers Law Company alongside Justin Gisz. The practice is active across a broad range of work, from employment-related disputes and terminations to labour contracts and restructurings, in addition to providing day-to-day advice on general operations. The team counts domestic companies among its key roster of clients, in addition to overseas businesses looking to invest in Vietnam.

Practice head(s):

Mark Fraser; Justin Gisz


Testimonials

‘Their lawyers have a lot of experience in this sector, especially on all issues related to work permits for foreign workers in Ho Chi Minh City.’

‘Frasers Law understand the intricacies of Vietnamese law and how this applies to foreign companies investing in Vietnam. They also understand what many foreign companies require and provide solutions to ensure compatibility with Vietnam law and foreign corporate needs with employees.’

‘They provide excellent advice on the treatment of expatriate employees and also how to navigate the local requirements with domestic employees. They proactively analyse foreign company requirements and provide sound advice on how to structure business activities relevant to the local labour and employment laws.’

‘The team is incredibly knowledgeable, helpful and cooperative.’

‘Mark Fraser has provided excellent advice and service for many years.’

‘Mark Fraser oversees activities with key clients and ensures he is always available to discuss any matter Frasers have been engaged for. Mark closely supervises the output of his team, ensuring that the best outcomes are devised and then communicated to the client.’

‘Mark Frasers’ understanding of international corporate requirements, combined with 20 years of experience in Vietnam, ensures that matters are dealt with quickly, efficiently and cost effectively. Parties understand the issue at hand and the solution in what can otherwise be a difficult and unclear operating environment.’

Key clients

S4Capital


Goodnotes in Hong Kong


Fluid Power & Control


PTT Public Company LTD


Associated British Foods


Hanes


Nielsen Consumer


New Zealand Trade and Enterprise


Logitech


Coalesce Management Consulting


Houlihan Lokey EMEA


Work highlights


  • Acted for S4Capital in relation to its implementation of a global group, ESOP, to be participated in by its employees worldwide including those in Vietnam.
  • Acted for PTT Public Company in relation to the employment law aspects of its proposed acquisition of 49% of the share capital of the project company operating Hai Linh LNG Terminal Project.
  • Advised Logitech in relation to its policies and procedures for ensuring vaccination compliance among its employees in Vietnam.

LE & TRAN

Labour law is a key area of expertise for LE & TRAN, and the team ‘provides an extraordinary service’ to clients in the shipping, construction, insurance and banking sectors, among others, on both contentious and non-contentious mandates. As well as assisting clients with daily employment issues, terminations and breaches of confidentiality, an increasing area of focus for the group is sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Founder of the firm Stephen Le Hoang Chuong heads the practice and is praised as a ‘strong and capable lawyer, with excellent knowledge in respect to labour litigation’.

Practice head(s):

Stephen Le Hoang Chuong


Other key lawyers:

Hannah Huynh Thi My Hanh


Testimonials

‘Le & Tran has all the key criteria for employment matters, with the right balance of strategies, cost efficiency, compliance and ethics; especially when it comes to employment disputes including litigation, mediation, arbitration, and pre-litigation consultation.’

‘The team is very effectively responsive and they have exceptional problem-solving and managing skills.’

‘Le & Tran team provides an extraordinary service. Le & Tran is also unique in that accepts employee-side labour work, and has a small but strong team which moves matters along quickly.’

‘The team is responsive and draws upon their experiences with guidance from principles.’

‘The leading lawer of Le & Tran team, Mr. Stephen, with his experience in labour law consulting service, provided detailed advice and helped draft necessary documents to ensure no mistakes were incurred.’

‘Stephen Le is a great lawyer, is completely fluent in English, and also understands the context of western business people. He takes a commercial and practical approach to legal maters, and communicates very clearly.’

‘Stephen Le is a strong and capable lawyer, with excellent knowledge in respect to labour litigation’.

‘Stephen Le, Le & Tran Founder, has been very responsive to inquiries and has provided pro-bono advice without concern for charging.’

Key clients

Marvell Technology Group


Petronas


CXA Group Viet Nam Company


SunCity Group


Pou Chen Group


Work highlights


  • Advising a second athletic and casual footwear manufacturer on practical solutions on reducing human resource costs due to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Representing a Vietnamese subsidiary of Petronas in handling a labour dispute with its ex-high ranked staff in Vietnam at the judicial review stage at the High Court.
  • Advising Marvell Technology Group in all the labour matters and issues in the Vietnamese jurisdiction upon its $10bn acquisition deal.

Lexcomm Vietnam LLC

Lexcomm Vietnam LLC’s team is adept at advising local companies and international corporates on a wide range of labour matters, from representing clients in whistle-blowing investigations and other labour-related disputes, to handling terminations, restructurings and internal governance policies. Nguyen Hong Hai leads the practice group.

Practice head(s):

Nguyen Hong Hai


Key clients

EDP Renováveis S.A.


Cushman & Wakefield


Dragonfly Education Group


Uber Vietnam Limited and Uber B.V.


Harvey Nash


Ariston Thermo Group


Nissan Automotive Technology


Vietnam Australia International School


Sports Engineering and Recreation Asia Ltd


Coherent Service Vietnam Limited Liability Company


Work highlights


  • Advising Harvey Nash on a dispute with a senior employee in its Vietnam office, as well as assisting with employment issues relating to outsourcing services for the company.
  • Assisting Cushman and Wakefield in a range of employment issues about non-renewal of expatriate manager’s employment and related post-termination issues.
  • Assisting Sera in litigation against the former manager’s unreasonable claim for incentive and commission.

LNT & Partners

LNT & Partners has a strong focus on defending large domestic companies in employment-related litigation, as well as regional subsidiaries and large multinational conglomerates. A key area of focus for the group includes unfair dismissal procedures, as well as non-contentious matters, including terms and conditions of employment, executive remuneration and board reorganisations. The team is jointly led by Net Le and Nguyen Xuan Thuy.

Practice head(s):

Net Le; Nguyen Xuan Thuy


Work highlights


  • Advised a client on termination of the labour contract of a c-suite executive due to violations of internal policies.
  • Advised a client on all aspects of handling the termination of massive labour contracts for its restructuring.

VILAF

VILAF advises local and foreign companies on various matters: work permits, terminations, organisational restructurings, and employment-related disputes are all within the team’s capabilities. The practice is jointly led by managing partner Tung Ngo and Linh D. Nguyen, both of whom have expertise in dispute resolution matters. Quynh Pham is also a key team member, having acted for clients in the shipping, real estate and food and beverage sectors.

Practice head(s):

Tung Ngo; Linh D. Nguyen


Other key lawyers:

Quynh Pham; Ngoc Anh Bui; Hien Tran


Key clients

International Furniture Marketing


3A Nutrition


British Council


ANZ Bank


Novus International, Inc.


CPA Australia


Work highlights


  • Advising International Furniture Marketing on a labour dispute with an ex-chief representative.
  • Advised British Council on unilaterally terminating the contracts with its foreign employees.
  • Advised CPA Australia Ltd on various labour issues in Vietnam, including solutions to terminate labour contracts with its employees.

Vision & Associates

Vision & Associates’ practice advises clients on the full spectrum of employment law matters, such as representing clients in litigation, handling transactional mandates and providing support on advisory work. Specifically, the group has recently undertaken contract drafting, restructurings, and expatriation matters, as well as employee benefit cases. Le Tuan Anh and Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan jointly lead the team.

Practice head(s):

Le Tuan Anh; Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan


Testimonials

‘An experienced and helpful team providing high quality advice.’

‘They are responsible, practical and provide feasible solutions to solve cases.’

‘An experienced, helpful, active, smart and responsible.’

Key clients

ByteDance Inc


TikTok


Fichtner


Vestergaard Fransend


Obayashi


Toyota


Turkish Airlines


Chevron Lubricants


The Boston Consulting Group


JP Morgan


Air Liquide


ENI S.P.A


Padmac


Yamani Dynasty


Hulane Electronic


DSM Nutritional Products


Carl Zeiss


Borouge


Commscope


Huntsman


JOY INC.


Arm Ltd


Animals Asia Foundation


Cresco Data


Check Point


Work highlights


  • Advised LyondellBasellIndustries N.V. on labour matters.
  • Adivsed Arm on options around engaging the local individual via Vietnam-based labour outsourcing company; and directly executing a service contract with the local individual.
  • Assisted CommScope reviewing a new Flex@Work Policy and the agreement supplements existing employment agreements.