1. Regulations to protect the rights of female workers

Female employees may have their labor contracts temporarily suspended according to the provisions of Point d, Clause 1, Article 30 of the 2019 Labor Code.

According to Clause 3, Article 37 of the 2019 Labor Code, employers are not allowed to unilaterally terminate labor contracts with pregnant female employees; employees on maternity leave or raising children under 12 months old.

According to the provisions of Point d, Clause 4, Article 122 of the 2019 Labor Code, pregnant female employees; employees on maternity leave, or employees raising children under 12 months old will not be handled according to the provisions of this Point.

2. State policy towards female workers

According to the provisions of Article 135 of the 2019 Labor Code, the state's policy towards female workers is as follows:

1. Protect the gender equality rights of female and male workers, implement measures to ensure gender equality and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

2. Encourage employers to create conditions for female and male workers to have regular jobs, widely apply flexible working schedules, work without hours, and assign work at home.

3. Take measures to create jobs, improve working conditions, enhance professional qualifications, provide health care, and enhance the material and spiritual welfare of female workers to help them effectively develop their professional capacity and harmoniously combine working life and family life.

4. There is a tax reduction policy for employers who employ many female workers according to tax laws.

5. The State shall have plans and measures to organize nurseries and kindergartens in places with a large number of workers. Expand various types of training to facilitate female workers to have additional backup jobs and to suit the physical, physiological and maternal characteristics of women.

The responsibilities of employers are stipulated in Article 136 of the 2019 Labor Code, as follows:.

1. Ensure gender equality and measures to promote equality in recruitment, placement, job placement, training, working hours, rest time, wages and other regimes.

2. Consult female workers or their representatives when deciding on issues related to women's rights and interests.

3. Ensure there are adequate showers and toilets in the workplace.

4. Help and support the construction of nurseries, kindergartens or part of the cost of childcare and kindergarten for workers.

3. Maternity protection and maternity leave for female workers during pregnancy.

The Labor Code 2019 also stipulates the maternity protection regime and maternity leave for female workers during pregnancy, specifically outlined in Article 137 and Article 138 of this Code. Article 137 of the Labor Code states the following regarding maternity protection:

1. Employers may employ workers to work at night, work overtime, and travel for business in the following cases:

a. Pregnant from the seventh month or from the sixth month if working in mountainous areas, remote areas, border regions, or islands;

b. Caring for a child under 12 months old, unless the employee agrees otherwise.

2. Female workers engaged in heavy, hazardous, or particularly strenuous work that adversely affects reproductive health and child-rearing during pregnancy, and who have notified their employer in writing, are entitled to be transferred to lighter, safer work or to have their daily working hours reduced by one hour without a reduction in salary and benefits until the child is 12 months old..

3. Employers are not allowed to terminate or unilaterally end the labor contract of employees due to reasons such as marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, or caring for a child under 12 months old, except in cases where the employer is an individual who has died, been declared legally incapacitated by the court, gone missing, or has died, or where the employer is not an individual and has ceased operations or has been notified by the business registration authority under the provincial People's Committee that there is no legal representative or authorized person to perform the rights and obligations of the legal representative. In cases where the employee's contract expires during the period of employment for a pregnant woman or for someone caring for a child under 12 months old, priority should be given to signing a new labor contract.

4. Female workers are entitled to a 30-minute break during their menstrual period and a 60-minute break while nursing a child under 12 months old during working hours. During these breaks, they will still receive their full salary according to the employment contract.

The regulations on maternity leave are specified in clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Article 139 of the Labor Code 2019, as follows:

1. Female workers are entitled to maternity leave of 6 months before and after giving birth; the period before birth cannot exceed 2 months.

 In the case of female workers giving birth to twins or more, starting from the second child, the mother is entitled to an additional month of leave for each child.

2. In the case of maternity leave, female workers are entitled to maternity benefits according to the regulations of the social insurance law.

3. After the maternity leave period specified in Clause 1 of this Article, if desired, female employees may take additional unpaid leave after reaching an agreement with the employer.

4. First of all, regarding the maternity leave as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, female employees may return to work after taking at least 4 months of leave, but they must give prior notice, obtain the employer's consent, and have confirmation from a competent medical facility that returning to work early will not harm the employee's health. In this case, in addition to the salary for the days worked paid by the employer, female employees will continue to receive maternity benefits as prescribed by social insurance law.

Through the above regulations, it is evident that the state is very concerned about the rights and interests of women when they participate in the labor market. The regulations regarding employers' use of female workers must ensure the best benefits for female employees and guarantee their entitlement to the preferential policies stipulated by law.

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