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Can employers with mild disabilities work at night?

  • Perform: Le Thao (Translator: Linh Chi)
  • 25/08/2022

Question: My company employs several employees who are persons with mild disabilities. These employees want to work at night to increase their income. According to the current law, is it possible to use employees who are persons with mild disabilities to work at night? Looking forward to your advice, many thanks!

The Law Department ACDC advise:

Under Article 160 of the 2019 Labor Code, prohibiting acts when employing employees with disabilities are as follows:

1. ​Employing employees with mild disabilities who have a reduction in their working ability of 51% or higher, employees with serious disabilities or employees with extremely severe disabilities to perform overtime work or night work, except in cases where the worker agrees.

2. ​Employing employees with disabilities to perform heavy, hazardous or harmful work included in the list issued by the Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs without the worker’s agreement after being provided with sufficient information about the work by the employer.

Thus, the current law prohibits employers from using employees with mild disabilities with a working capacity decrease of 51% or more, severe disabilities or extremely severe disabilities to work at night. However, if the employee who is a person with disabilities consents to work at night, the employer is allowed to use the person with disabilities (regardless of whether the person with a disability is severe, especially severe or mild) to work at night.

Therefore, in your company’s case, if persons with mild disabilities have a need to work at night, that is, they agree to work at night, the company can use these employees to work at night.