REGULATIONS ON THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR RESOLVING LABOR DISPUTES
Labor disputes are a common type of dispute, arising from conflicts between employees and employers in labor relations. To ensure the effective resolution of labor disputes, compliance with the statute of limitations for filing labor dispute claims is a critical factor. In this article, TNTP will analyze important issues regarding the statute of limitations for resolving labor disputes under the laws.
1. What is the statute of limitations for requesting the settlement of labor disputes
The statute of limitations for requesting the settlement of labor disputes is the period of time prescribed by law for parties in labor relations to request competent agencies, organizations, or individuals to resolve labor disputes. When the statute of limitations expires, the right to request a competent agency, organization, or individual to settle labor disputes will no longer be valid.
Therefore, understanding and complying with the statute of limitations not only ensures the timely resolution of labor disputes but also helps avoid potential legal risks.
2. Common types of labor disputes and the statute of limitations for resolution
The Labor Code 2019 stipulates the statute of limitations for resolving labor disputes depending on each labor dispute, specifically as follows:
a. Individual labor disputes
Individual labor disputes are disputes arising between employees and employers, between employees and enterprises or organizations sending employees to work overseas under contracts, or between outsourced employees and outsourced employers.
For individual labor disputes, before requesting the Labor Arbitration Council or the Court to settle, these disputes must be resolved through mediation procedures, except for some labor disputes that are not required to go through mediation procedures as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 188 of the Labor Code 2019. Typically, the statute of limitations for resolving labor disputes is calculated from the date the disputing party discovers the act that the disputing party believes their legitimate rights or interests are violated.
– The statute of limitations for requesting a labor mediator to settle a dispute is 06 months;
– The statute of limitations for requesting the Labor Arbitration Council to settle disputes is 09 months;
– The statute of limitations for requesting the Court to settle disputes is 01 year.
b. Collective labor disputes over rights or interests
A collective labor dispute over rights or interests is a dispute between one or several employee representative organizations and the employer, or between one or several organizations of the employer.
– Collective labor disputes over rights often arise in cases of: discrepancies in interpretation and implementation of the collective bargaining agreement, internal labor regulations and other lawful agreements; discrepancies in interpretation and implementation of labor laws; or acts of discrimination by employers against employees.
– Collective labor disputes over interests typically arise in situations such as: disputes arising during the process of collective bargaining; when a party refuses to to participate in the collective bargaining or the collective bargaining is not held within the time limit prescribed by law.
Similar to the settlement of individual labor disputes, the settlement of collective labor disputes over rights or interests is also carried out through labor mediators and Labor Arbitration Council. However, collective labor disputes over rights can also be resolved in the People’s Court.
The statute of limitations for initiating resolution of collective labor disputes begins on the date the disputing party discovers the act in which the disputing party believes that their legitimate rights and interests are violated. Accordingly, the statute of limitations for each case of collective labor dispute settlement on rights and interests is as follows:
– The statute of limitations for requesting a labor mediator to mediate to settle a dispute is 06 months;
– The statute of limitations for requesting the Labor Arbitration Council to settle disputes is 09 months;
– The statute of limitations for requesting the Court to settle disputes is 01 year.
3. Notes on the statute of limitations in case of force majeure
In case the requesting party can prove that due to a force majeure event, objective obstacle, or other reasons that lead to the inability to make a request on time as prescribed, the duration of such events, obstacles, or reasons will not be counted toward the statute of limitations for resolving the dispute. This provision allows the parties additional time to complete the necessary procedures for submitting their dispute resolution request.
Above is the article “Regulations on the statute of limitations for resolving labor disputes”, hopefully through this article, TNTP will give readers an overview of the legal provisions for the statute of limitations for requesting labor dispute resolution.
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TNTP & Associates International Law Firm
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