Register the internal labor regulations of the enterprise – To avoid being asked to edit multiple times

Internal Labor Regulations ("ILRs") are not only a set of rules governing the behavior of employees in enterprises, but also an important legal foundation to ensure order, discipline and fairness in labor relations. Through practical experience in drafting and registering ILR, we will give some notes to help enterprises complete and register ILR effectively, avoiding the situation of documents being returned or requesting repeated edits.

Headquarters of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City (now The Department of Home Affairs). Source: Thanh Niên News

The Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 ("Labor Code 2019") and Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Labor Code on labor conditions and labor relations ("Decree 145") have specifically guided the content and procedures for ILR registration for enterprises to refer to. However, in fact, many enterprises when submitting ILR registration dossiers often receive requests for amendments and supplements because they have not fully met the conditions on content and image as prescribed by law and requirements of competent State agencies.  especially in the context of changing administrative boundaries, streamlining the State administrative apparatus and applying the model of 02-level local government across the country over the past time.

Businesses ignore many mandatory requirements

The main contents of the ILR are the key factors to ensure the legality and enforceability of this document at the enterprise. According to regulations[1], ILRs must be built on the basis of not contrary to labor laws and relevant laws. At the same time, enterprises need to ensure that ILRs fully express the "main contents"[2] such as: working hours, rest time; order at the workplace; occupational safety and hygiene; prevention and control of sexual harassment at the workplace; If one of these contents is missing, the ILR registration dossier will be requested by the labor management agency to supplement and adjust.

In addition, when drafting ILRs, enterprises must limit the use of terms with "open" and multi-meaning expressions, causing difficulties and inconsistencies in understanding ILRs. For example, businesses use the phrase "including but not limited to", "etc", or the sign "..." especially in the provisions stipulating the responsibilities of employees. Although this wording gives businesses more flexibility in anticipating situations that may arise, the competent authority, in the spirit of prioritizing employee protection, often requires the elimination or correction of these vague regulations. Therefore, enterprises should stipulate in the direction of specifically and clearly listing acts or obligations, in order to ensure transparency, avoid disputes and facilitate the process of registering ILRs.

Another point that enterprises should also note is the drafting of the ILR's implementation clause. When registering an ILR, many enterprises are returned by the competent authority for amendment or supplementation due to the lack of an enforcement clause or the presentation of this clause that is not separate from other contents in the ILR. Therefore, it is very necessary to pay attention to the addition of a separate clause and regulations on the organization of the implementation of the ILR to ensure the completeness of the document.

 The terms of implementation of the ILR have been approved by the Department of Home Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City

In addition, enterprises should also note the regulation "The ILR takes effect after 15 days from the date the competent State agency specified in Article 119 of this Code receives a complete dossier of registration of internal labor regulations."[3] In practice, depending on the time and the person handling the dossier, the enterprise may be required to specifically record the effective time and conditions of the ILR in accordance with the contents specified in this Article, or be required to determine the effective date by a specific timeline determined by the enterprise itself.

However, we believe that enterprises should consider recording the effective time and conditions of the ILR in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code, because this is an option with a clear legal basis.

Grassroots trade unions play an important role in registering labor regulations

For enterprises with grassroots trade unions, enterprises must consult the trade union on ILRs before promulgating them to ensure compliance with the requirements of labor law. The consultation must be made in writing, which may be expressed in the form of a minutes of the consultation meeting, clearly stating the time and place of the meeting, participants, contents to be discussed, agreed opinions and must be signed  stamped with the seal of both business representatives and trade unions.

In this case, in addition to being signed and stamped by the legal representative of the enterprise, the ILR should be supplemented  with the signature and seal of the trade union representative because practice shows that the registration authority may make additional requests,  in order to ensure the authenticity that  the ILR has been consulted and agreed with the trade union in accordance with regulations before promulgation.

Notice Form on Registration of ILR

Methods of submission of registration dossiers and implementing agencies

Regarding the deadline for submitting dossiers, according to current regulations, enterprises must register ILRs within 10 days from the date of issuance.[4] Therefore, enterprises need to pay attention to record the date of issuance in the ILR not exceeding 10 days before the time of submission of the registration dossier.

Regarding the agency competent to process the dossier, currently, the implementation of labor registration belongs to the Department of Home Affairs where the enterprise registers its business. However, in the context of changing administrative boundaries, streamlining the State apparatus and applying the model of 02-level local government, the competence to receive and settle ILR registration dossiers in some localities can be adjusted, decentralized or delegated to other agencies. For example, according to the guidance in Official Letter 1351/SNV-LDTLBHXH dated July 31, 2025 of the Department of Home Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City on the receipt of ILRs, collective labor agreements of enterprises in the city, ILR registration dossiers of state-owned enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises, etc  and agencies, organizations and non-business units under the management of the Central Government and the City are still handled by the Department of Home Affairs. However, enterprises in export processing zones, industrial parks, and high-tech parks will need to submit ILRs registration dossiers at the Management Board of Export Processing and Industrial Zones and the Management Board of Hi-Tech Parks. If it does not fall into the above two cases, the enterprise shall submit a dossier to the Culture and Social Division of the People's Committee of Con Dao commune, ward or special zone. Thus, enterprises should find out the unit responsible for handling the procedures for registering ILRs for their enterprises before submitting them, avoiding the case of being returned when submitting the dossier to the wrong agency.

Implementation practice shows that online submission of documents is currently encouraged to save time, cost and convenience in tracking the progress of dossier processing. To do so, enterprises access the National Public Service Portal, correctly select the implementing agency and proceed to log in. The login account can be the identity account of the business or the identity account of the authorized individual. The results of processing the ILR registration dossier will also be returned to the enterprise electronically through the system.

The procedure for registering an ILR is an administrative procedure that is not too complicated. However, practice shows that this procedure requires enterprises to prepare and carefully study relevant regulations to ensure the full implementation of the requirements and conditions set by the law. The more thoroughly prepared, the more comprehensive the content of the ILR at the enterprise, reflecting the right culture and business identity that the enterprise wishes to aim for.