What counts

Decree 39/2016 sorts workplace accidents into three classes. The class decides who investigates.

Serious technical incidents that make work unsafe are declared and reported too, even when nobody is hurt (Law Article 34).

  • Fatal: the worker dies at the scene, on the way to or during emergency care, during treatment, or from the injury coming back. A court declaration of death for a missing worker also counts.
  • Serious: the worker has at least one injury on the list in Annex II of Decree 39/2016.
  • Minor: any other workplace accident.

Who reports, and to whom

Reporting starts with the worker. Under Article 34 of the OSH Law, the injured person or anyone who knows tells the direct supervisor and the employer at once. This applies to a near miss too, when an accident is about to happen.

For a death, or serious injury to two or more workers, the employer declares at once to the provincial labour authority where the accident happened. For a death, the employer also tells the police at the same time.

Workers without a labour contract follow a different path. The family, or whoever finds the victim, tells the commune People's Committee. The commune then reports a death or two or more serious injuries to the police and the provincial labour authority.

Check the contact locally

Decree 39/2016 names the labour inspectorate of the old provincial labour department. Since 1 March 2025 the Ministry of Home Affairs runs labour and OSH, and provincial Departments of Home Affairs (Sở Nội vụ) hold the local role. District governments no longer exist. Confirm the current phone number and email with your province before you need them.

How fast, and on which form

Declare by the fastest means. Decree 39/2016 Article 10 lists in person, phone, fax, telegram or email. Do not wait for a written form before you call.

The content of the declaration follows the form in Annex III of Decree 39/2016. It is short.

  • Name, address, phone, fax and email of the workplace, and its parent body if any.
  • Time and place of the accident.
  • A short account of what happened and the result.
  • For each victim: full name, year of birth, sex, occupation, and whether they died or were seriously or slightly hurt.
  • Name, position and signature of the person declaring.

The investigation team

For a minor injury, or a serious injury to one worker, the employer sets up a grassroots investigation team at once (Law Article 35, Decree 39 Article 11). The employer or an authorised representative leads it. Members include a union representative, the OSH officer and the medical officer.

The team collects evidence, takes statements from the victim and witnesses, and writes its findings in the official minutes. It then holds a meeting to announce them. Within 3 working days of that meeting, it sends the minutes to the victim or family and to the provincial labour inspectorate.

For a death, or serious injury to two or more workers, a provincial investigation team investigates. Your job is to hand over documents, objects and equipment when the team asks (Decree 39 Article 18).

Keep the scene, and the records

Keep the scene of a fatal or serious accident as it is. If you must disturb it to save someone or stop more harm, draw a sketch, write a record, and take photos or video. Clear the scene only after the investigation steps are done and the provincial team or the police agree in writing (Decree 39 Article 18).

Build a file for each victim (Decree 39 Article 16). It holds the scene sketch and photos, statements, the investigation minutes and medical certificates. Keep it for 15 years after a fatal accident. For other accidents, keep it until the worker retires.

Six-monthly and annual reports

Every employer keeps accident statistics and reports them every six months and every year (Law Article 36). Decree 39 Article 24 sets the dates: before 5 July for the first half, and before 10 January for the full year. Use the form in Annex XII. Send it to the provincial labour authority where your head office sits, in person, by fax, post or email.

Penalties

Article 12 of the OSH Law bans hiding an accident or reporting it falsely. Decree 283/2026, in force since 10 September 2026, sets the fines. The figures below are for individuals. An organisation pays double (Article 7).

  • Not investigating an accident you are responsible for, or not declaring, declaring late or declaring falsely: VND 20 to 25 million (Article 32).
  • Not handing documents or objects to a provincial investigation team: VND 20 to 25 million (Article 32).
  • No accident statistics, or periodic reports late, incomplete or wrong: VND 5 to 10 million (Article 31).
  • A worker who fails to report a risk of an accident in time: VND 0.5 to 1 million (Article 31).

The first hour

Keep this on the site emergency sheet.

  • Stop the work and make the area safe.
  • Give first aid and get the victim to emergency care. The employer pays first-aid and treatment costs up front (Law Article 38).
  • Leave the scene as it is. If you must move things, sketch and photograph first.
  • Decide the class: fatal, serious or minor, and how many people are hurt.
  • Fatal or two or more serious: the employer calls the provincial labour authority now. For a death, call the police too.
  • Minor or one serious injury: appoint the grassroots investigation team today.
  • Write down witness names. Tell the union representative and all workers what happened.

Sources

  1. Law on Occupational Safety and Health No. 84/2015/QH13 (Vietnamese), Official Gazette of Vietnam (Công báo).
  2. Decree 39/2016/NĐ-CP detailing the OSH Law (Vietnamese), Official Gazette of Vietnam (Công báo).
  3. Decree 283/2026/NĐ-CP on administrative fines in labour and social insurance (Vietnamese), Government of Vietnam.
  4. 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.