Workplace safety compliance checklist: Vietnam

Site: ______________________ Date: ____________ Checked by: ______________________

01People and roles

OSH person or department in place for your sector and headcount. In construction, mining, chemicals and other listed sectors this means a part-time person under 50 workers and a full-time person from 50. Law Art. 72; Decree 39 Art. 36
Medical person or unit arranged, or a contract with a qualified clinic. Law Art. 73
At least one part-time safety officer (an toàn, vệ sinh viên) in every production team, elected by the team. Law Art. 74
OSH council set up if you have 300 or more workers in a listed high-risk sector, or 1,000 or more in other sectors. Decree 39 Art. 38

02Plans and risk assessment

Annual OSH plan written after consulting the grassroots union, and updated for new work during the year. Law Art. 76
Risks assessed before work starts, regularly during work and when needed, and workers shown how to assess their own tasks. Law Art. 77
Emergency response plan covers evacuation, first aid, stopping the incident, equipment, response team and drills. Law Art. 78
Plan for regular and unannounced self-inspections in place and followed. Law Art. 80
OSH rules and procedures issued for the workplace. Law Art. 7; Decree 283 Art. 32

03Training and health

Workers in jobs with strict OSH requirements trained and given a safety card before they start. Law Art. 14
Managers, OSH staff, medical staff and safety officers refreshed at least every two years, at half the first course hours. Decree 44 Art. 21
All other workers (group 4) retrained at least once a year. Decree 44 Art. 21
Workers back after six months or more away retrained before they restart. Decree 44 Art. 21
Health checks at least once a year, and every six months for heavy, hazardous or dangerous work and for disabled, minor and older workers. Law Art. 21
Health checks done before placement and before a move to more hazardous work. Law Art. 21

04Equipment with strict safety requirements

Each machine on the strict-requirements list inspected by a licensed body before first use and at set intervals. Law Art. 31
Equipment declared to the provincial Department of Home Affairs within 30 days of putting it into use. Law Art. 30; Decree 283 Art. 35
Technical safety records kept for each machine, with regular checks and maintenance logged. Law Art. 30

05Accident reporting

Workers know to tell the supervisor and employer at once about an accident or a risk of one. Law Art. 34
Named person declares a death, or serious injury to two or more workers, at once to the provincial labour authority, and a death to the police. Law Art. 34; Decree 39 Art. 10
Grassroots investigation team appointed at once for a minor injury or one serious injury. Law Art. 35; Decree 39 Art. 11
Accident files kept 15 years for fatal accidents and until retirement for others. Decree 39 Art. 18
Six-monthly and annual accident reports sent before 5 July and 10 January. Law Art. 36; Decree 39 Art. 24

06Workers' rights

Workers told they may refuse or leave work that clearly threatens their life or health, keep full pay, and must tell their direct manager at once. Law Art. 6
No one is made to keep working, or go back, while a serious risk remains. Law Art. 7
PPE provided, and workers use and look after it. Law Art. 6, 7

Legal requirement

The Law on Occupational Safety and Health No. 84/2015/QH13 requires employers to train workers, provide PPE and health checks, appoint OSH staff and a safety officer network, assess risks, keep an emergency plan, and declare, investigate and report accidents (Articles 7, 14, 21, 34 to 36, 72 to 78). Decrees 39/2016 and 44/2016 set staffing, training and reporting detail. Decree 283/2026 sets the fines, doubled for organisations. The 2015 Law still applies while the 2026 amending bill awaits the National Assembly.

Sources and further reading

Law on Occupational Safety and Health No. 84/2015/QH13 (Vietnamese), Official Gazette of Vietnam (Công báo).
Decree 39/2016/NĐ-CP detailing the OSH Law (Vietnamese), Official Gazette of Vietnam (Công báo).
Consolidated Decree 44/2016/NĐ-CP on equipment inspection, OSH training and environment monitoring, 2279/VBHN-BLĐTBXH (Vietnamese), Official Gazette of Vietnam (Công báo).
Decree 283/2026/NĐ-CP on administrative fines in labour and social insurance (Vietnamese), Government of Vietnam.
Ministry of Home Affairs takes over state management of labour and OSH (Decree 25/2025), Government of Vietnam.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Laws and codes of practice change; always check the current official text and your site's own procedures.

Workplace safety compliance checklist: Vietnam

01People and roles

02Plans and risk assessment

03Training and health

04Equipment with strict safety requirements

05Accident reporting

06Workers' rights

Sources and further reading

Related reading

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Shipyard safety: an overview for supervisors

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