Vietnam labor safety training: what employers must provide

Vietnam labor safety training is a legal duty for every employer, and the rules sort staff into six groups with different minimum hours. This guide explains who needs training, how long it must last, when it must be repeated and what paperwork is worth keeping.

The rules come from the Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene (Law 84/2015/QH13) and from Decree 44/2016/ND-CP, which fills in the detail on training. Both were in force on 12 February 2025. Decree 140/2018/ND-CP changed parts of Decree 44, including the group definitions and the Group 5 hours below, so check the current text before you rely on a figure.

Sources: Law No. 84/2015/QH13 on Occupational Safety and Health, Article 14 (English translation on luatvietnam.vn); Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP, Articles 17 to 21, and Decree No. 140/2018/ND-CP, Article 1, Clauses 5 and 6 (English translations on luatvietnam.vn).

The six groups that need training

Decree 44 does not treat all staff the same. Article 17, as amended in 2018, splits people into six groups, and each group gets its own course.

• Group 1: managers in charge of safety, such as heads of business units, production and technical leads, and foremen. Deputies who are assigned safety duties are included.
• Group 2: people who work on safety, either full time or part time, and people who directly watch safety at a workplace.
• Group 3: employees who do jobs on the Ministry of Labor list of work with strict safety requirements.
• Group 4: everyone else, including apprentices and interns.
• Group 5: people who provide healthcare services.
• Group 6: the safety and health network staff named in Article 74 of the Law.

Most firms will find that nearly all staff fall into Group 4, while supervisors fall into Group 1 and machine or high-risk operators fall into Group 3. Check the ministry list to see which jobs count as strict-requirement work.

Source: Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP, Article 17, as amended by Decree No. 140/2018/ND-CP; Law No. 84/2015/QH13, Article 14.

Minimum hours for the first course

Article 19 of Decree 44, as amended, sets a floor for the first training course. These are minimums, and the hours include testing.

• Groups 1 and 4: at least 16 hours.
• Group 2: at least 48 hours, covering theory, practice and testing.
• Group 3: at least 24 hours.
• Group 5: at least 16 hours. Decree 44 first set 56 hours, and Decree 140/2018 cut it to 16.
• Group 6: at least 4 hours, on top of the safety training they already take.

An employer can run a longer course. It cannot run a shorter one. The content should also fit the real work, so a welding shop and an office should not use the same slides.

Source: Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP, Article 19, Clause 4 as amended by Decree No. 140/2018/ND-CP, Article 1, Clause 6.

Who delivers the training

The Law gives different routes for different groups. Managers, safety staff and health workers (Groups 1, 2 and 5) take occupational safety training and can receive a certificate from a training institution after passing an exam. Employers must organize training for staff in strict-requirement jobs and give them a safety card before they start those jobs.

For all other staff, including apprentices, interns and employees on probation (and those not covered by the groups above), the employer runs the training itself and is responsible for its quality. That training must come before the person is recruited or assigned to the job. An employer can also combine safety training with fire prevention training if that suits the site.

Source: Law No. 84/2015/QH13, Article 14, Clauses 1 to 5.

Refresher training and special cases

One course is not enough. Article 21 of Decree 44 sets three repeat triggers.

• Every two years: people with a training certificate or safety card must take a review course within two years of its start date. It lasts at least 50 percent of the first course.
• Every year: Group 4 employees need periodic training at least once a year, also at 50 percent of the first course.
• Change of job, equipment or technology: train the person before the new assignment. If they were trained on that content less than 12 months earlier, the repeated parts can be skipped.

Someone who returns after more than six months away, or whose site stopped operating for that long, must be trained on the same content as the first course. The retraining time is 50 percent of the first course hours.

Source: Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP, Article 21, Clauses 1 to 3.

Records an employer should keep

The Law and Decree 44 require the training itself and the certificates and safety cards. Neither text, as read for this guide, lists a single form that every employer must file. A careful employer can still build a simple file, which is our practical suggestion and not a legal rule.

• A list of every employee, with the group each person belongs to.
• The date, hours, trainer and topics of each course.
• Copies of certificates and safety cards, with start dates, so the two-year review date is easy to see.
• Test results and sign-in sheets.
• A calendar of annual Group 4 refreshers, job changes and returns from long leave.

If an inspector asks how a worker was trained, a clean file answers the question fast. For how these training duties apply to your own sector, check with the local Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs or a Vietnamese lawyer who handles workplace safety.

Source: Law No. 84/2015/QH13, Article 14; Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP, Article 21. The record list is the editors' suggestion.

A quick start for a new employer

Start by sorting your staff into the six groups. Then book the longest courses first, because Group 2 needs 48 hours. Run your own Group 4 sessions before each new hire starts work, and diary the yearly and two-year refreshers.

Source: Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP, Articles 17, 19 and 21.