Labour law · Vietnam
Probation periods in Vietnam
A probation period in Vietnam is one trial per job, capped by role at 180, 60, 30 or 6 days, and paid at no less than 85% of the job's full salary. No probation is allowed on a contract shorter than one month. This guide sets out each rule, its Labour Code source, and how an employer of record applies them.
US$149
per employee per month, flat, for Vietnamese nationals. No setup or hidden fees.
Get a quoteThis is general information, not legal advice. Every rule below is drawn from Vietnam's Labour Code 2019 and stated as of October 2026; the law can change, so confirm the current position before you rely on it.
How does probation work in Vietnam?
In Vietnam, probation (a trial period) is governed by the Labour Code 2019, Articles 24 to 27. The parties may agree to one trial per job, capped by role as set out below.1 During the trial, pay must be at least 85% of the full job salary,1 and no probation is allowed on a contract shorter than one month.1 It is one part of Vietnam's wider hiring rules — see our guide to Vietnam's labour law and employment contracts. The pre-hire step that precedes the trial — verifying identity, references and qualifications — is covered in pre-employment background checks in Vietnam.
What is the maximum probation period in Vietnam?
The maximum is set by role, not by employer preference: the Labour Code gives four ceilings, and the agreed trial may not exceed the one that matches the job.1
| Type of role | Maximum probation |
|---|---|
| Enterprise managers (as defined by the Enterprise Law) | 180 days |
| Roles needing a college/university degree or higher | 60 days |
| Roles needing an intermediate or vocational qualification, technicians and skilled workers | 30 days |
| All other jobs | 6 working days |
Maximums under Labour Code 2019, Art. 25; a shorter trial is allowed. 1
The 60-day ceiling covers most professional staff — software engineers, accountants, marketers and other degree-level roles; see this in practice when you hire developers in Vietnam through an EOR. A trial longer than the cap is unenforceable, and over-running it is a common, avoidable mistake.
Can you put probation on a short contract?
No. Probation is not permitted for a labour contract with a term of under one month,1 so the employee starts on full contract terms from day one. If you need a brief, defined period, use a genuine short fixed-term contract rather than grafting a probation onto it — probation attaches to the hire, not to a sub-month arrangement.2
How much must probation pay be in Vietnam?
Probation pay must be at least 85% of the wage for the job being trialled.1 The 85% is a floor, not a target: many employers pay the full rate during probation, and nothing stops them. The percentage is calculated on the job's own full salary, so a lower-paid role cannot be pushed below the regional minimum wage, which applies to every employee as a separate floor.
Pay is only part of the cost: once a labour contract is in place, statutory employer contributions of roughly 23.5% of gross salary for Vietnamese nationals — about 21.5% in social, health and unemployment insurance plus a 2% trade-union fee — sit on top of wages, as of October 2026.3 For the full breakdown, see our guide to Vietnam payroll and employer costs.
One trial per job — and how probation ends
The Labour Code allows only one trial per job, so you cannot re-probate the same employee or stack back-to-back trials to extend the period.1 At the end of the trial the employer must notify the employee of the result: if it is satisfactory, the employment contract continues (or must be concluded where the trial ran on a separate probationary contract); if not, the engagement ends.1
During the trial itself, the law is unusually flexible: either party may cancel without prior notice and without compensation.1 That flexibility disappears once probation is passed — from then on, ending the relationship follows the ordinary statutory grounds, notice and severance rules, a more demanding regime covered in our guide to terminating employees in Vietnam. Record the result in writing; the assessment criteria usually live in the company's internal labour regulations.
How does probation fit the two contract types?
Vietnamese law recognises only two kinds of employment contract: indefinite-term and fixed-term, the latter capped at 36 months.2 Probation can be agreed either as a clause inside that contract or under a separate probationary contract — provided the length respects the role-based caps above. A fixed-term contract can be renewed only once before a continuation must become indefinite-term, and if the employee keeps working 30 days past expiry with no new contract signed, it converts to indefinite-term automatically.2
Because the two are linked, the cleaner approach is to agree the trial inside the employment contract, so a satisfactory result lets employment continue with no gap — and removes any argument that the worker was engaged as something other than a genuine employee, a risk explored in our comparison of an EOR versus using contractors in Vietnam.
How does EOR Vietnam set compliant probation terms?
When you hire through an employer of record, the EOR is the legal employer, so the probationary term sits inside the labour contract it signs — not in any agreement with you; if you are new to the model, start with what an EOR in Vietnam is. EOR Vietnam drafts each probation to the correct role-based cap, sets the wage at or above the 85% floor, and never applies a trial to a contract under one month.
Our service fee is a flat US$149 per employee per month for Vietnamese nationals — the same regardless of salary, seniority, role, location or headcount, and the same during probation as after it, as of October 2026. Foreign hires who need a work permit are quoted separately. There are no setup, onboarding, offboarding, contract or payslip fees, and no hidden fees. A security deposit equal to two months of the employee's employment cost — gross salary plus the statutory employer contributions — is held for the engagement and returned at the end, less any unpaid amounts. Everything else is passed through at cost.
EOR Vietnam is a dedicated employer of record in Vietnam, and this probation guide is one of our Vietnam employer guides. For how that fee sits alongside wages and on-costs, see what an EOR in Vietnam actually costs, and for leave, bonuses and insurance during and after the trial, see employee benefits in Vietnam. Our sequence on every hire:
Classify the role
We map the job to the right probation ceiling — 180, 60, 30 or 6 days — so the trial length is lawful.
Draft the contract
The probation clause and wage (at least 85% of the full rate) go into the labour contract we sign as the legal employer.
Assess and confirm
At the end of the trial we record the result in writing and, if satisfactory, continue the contract with no gap.
Questions people ask
How long can probation last in Vietnam?
It depends on the role. The Labour Code caps probation at 180 days for enterprise managers, 60 days for roles needing a university degree, 30 days for roles needing a vocational qualification, and 6 working days for all other jobs. Only one trial per job is permitted, and a shorter trial is always allowed.
How much must probation pay be in Vietnam?
At least 85% of the full wage for the job being trialled, under Article 26 of the Labour Code. Many employers pay the full rate during probation, which is allowed. The 85% is a floor on the job's own salary and does not override the regional minimum wage, which applies to every employee regardless of probation status.
Can you have probation on a short contract in Vietnam?
No. Probation cannot be applied to a labour contract with a term of under one month. For such short engagements the employee begins on full contract terms immediately. If you need a brief, defined period, use a genuine short fixed-term contract rather than attaching a trial period that the law does not permit.
Can an employer extend probation in Vietnam?
No. The Labour Code allows only one trial per job, so an employer cannot extend a probation beyond the role-based cap or run consecutive trials for the role. If the trial is satisfactory, employment continues; if not, it ends. During the trial, either party may cancel without notice or compensation, but that flexibility stops once probation is passed.
What happens at the end of probation in Vietnam?
The employer must notify the employee of the probation result. If the trial is satisfactory, the labour contract continues — or a labour contract must be concluded where the trial ran under a separate probationary contract; if it is not satisfactory, the engagement ends (Labour Code 2019, Art. 27).
Sources
- Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14 — probation: the under-one-month exclusion (Art. 24), the role-based maximum durations (Art. 25), the 85% wage floor (Art. 26), and ending the trial, including cancellation without notice or compensation (Art. 27). Accessed 3 October 2026.
- Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14 — Art. 20 on the two contract types (indefinite-term and fixed-term, capped at 36 months), single renewal, and the 30-day conversion to indefinite-term. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- Social Insurance Law No. 41/2024/QH15 and Trade Union Law No. 50/2024/QH15 (Art. 29.1) — the employer statutory on-cost of roughly 23.5% of gross for Vietnamese nationals: about 21.5% in social, health and unemployment insurance, plus a 2% trade-union fee on the social-insurance salary fund. As of October 2026. Accessed 3 October 2026.