1. Can I sue without a labor contract?

In labor relations, parties often sign labor contracts to ensure their rights and interests. However, there are many cases where employers and employees do not sign a written labor contract. Many people ask: Can I sue without a labor contract? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand the legal provisions on labor contracts and the employee's right to sue. Current law also has specific regulations on cases where employees do not have the right to sue. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 2 of Resolution 04/2017/NQ-HDTP guiding the provisions of Clauses 1 and 3, Article 192 of the Civil Procedure Code 92/2015/QH13 on returning lawsuits and the right to file lawsuits. To sue the case issued by the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court, in the following cases, the employee will not have the right to sue, specifically as follows:

– The employee is not one of the subjects specified in Articles 186 and 187 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code;

– The employee's lawsuit request does not need to be proven and evidence is not collected, which is enough to form a basis for concluding that no employee's legal rights are violated or need to be protected.

In addition, current law also has specific regulations on the form of labor contracts. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 14 of the 2019 Labor Code, there are regulations on the form of labor contracts, specifically as follows:

– The labor contract must be concluded in writing and will be made in two copies, the employee will keep one copy and the employer will keep one copy, unless otherwise prescribed by law. In the case of a labor contract concluded electronically in the form of a data message in accordance with the law on electronic transactions, that contract will have the same value as the signed labor contract. signed in writing;

– Both parties can enter into a verbal contract in cases where the contract has a term of less than 01 month according to the provisions of law.

Thus, it can be said that if the job the employee does is only a job with a term of less than 03 months, the labor contract can be concluded verbally without being required to make it in writing. However, a verbal contract will create many practical risks for the signing parties. The risk that arises here is that when the work agreed upon in the contract is completed, the employer does not pay the full amount to the employee and flees. At that time, a dispute surrounding the labor contract occurred. To protect their rights, the employee will have to initiate a lawsuit against the employer with the competent state agency, which is the district people's court where the employer resides, and Having a labor contract or not having a labor contract is not a condition to determine whether an employee has the right to sue or not. Having a labor contract is only evidence to prove that a labor relationship has occurred between the parties and the labor contract is evidence with strong legal value before a competent state agency regarding employment. Your legal rights are violated. If there is no written contract, the parties can present evidence to prove that the two parties had an agreement on labor use but then one party violated the original agreement.

So it can be said, there is still no labor contracthave the right toinitiate a lawsuit according to the provisions of law.

2. What evidence is needed to prepare when filing a lawsuit without a labor contract?

In fact, it can be seen that if the disputing parties do not have a labor contract, it is very difficult for competent state agencies to resolve it according to the provisions of law, because disputes without labor contracts Operations mainly rely on the trust of the parties, so when a dispute occurs, it is difficult to prove the content of the previously agreed transaction between the parties in order to request the court to resolve the dispute appropriately. . Therefore, when initiating a dispute in case there is no contract, the competent state agency can only rely on the circumstances surrounding that labor relationship, based on the facts that the parties do not have to prove in accordance with the provisions of Article 92 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code such as details and events, documents and texts that the parties acknowledge and have no objections, or The details and events are known to everyone and are also recognized by competent state agencies to resolve disputes. For that reason, the plaintiff should prepare a few valuable documents and evidence to prove that his or her rights have been violated based on the provisions of Article 95 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code to The court can rely on that basis to protect its rights, those documents can be:

– Letters exchanged between the two parties, minutes of agreement;

– It is possible to record the transaction by audio or video recording;

– Testimony of witnesses;

– Documents proving damages when the other party violates the contract.

3. Order and procedures for initiating a labor dispute lawsuit when there is no contract:

The order and procedures for suing a labor dispute without a contract will have to go through the following basic stages:

Step 1:The plaintiff will prepare all types of papers and documents to prove that his or her rights have been violated. The petition in this case must meet the legal requirements in terms of form and content based on the provisions of Article 189 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code. After fully preparing the documents according to regulations, prescribed by law, the application will be submitted to the competent state agency. The authority to resolve labor disputes when there is no contract belongs to the court.

Step 2: The competent People's Court will receive the application and process it according to the provisions of law. The plaintiff can file the petition directly at the court or submit it through the postal service. Within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the petition, the competent state agency will assign a judge to consider the petition. Within a period of 05 working days, the judge reviewing the petition will have to make one of the following decisions: Request for amendment and supplementation in case the petition is incomplete, proceed with the acceptance procedure according to the following procedures: Ordinary procedure or summary procedure, transfer the petition to the competent court and notify the plaintiff, return the petition if the matter does not fall under the court's jurisdiction.

Step 3: Notice of advance payment of court fees to the plaintiff and the plaintiff will have the obligation to pay advance court fees to the competent state agency according to the provisions of law. For the defendant and those with related interests, within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the notice, they must submit to the court their written opinions on the plaintiff's request and Attached documentary evidence. In case an extension is necessary, the defendant and the person with related interests must send a request for extension to the competent court, clearly stating the legitimate reason, and the extension period will not last longer than 15 days.

Step 4: Pursuant to the provisions of Article 203 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the time limit for trial preparation for civil cases on transactions and contracts is 04 months from the date of acceptance. For complicated cases, an extension can be granted, however it will not exceed 02 months. During trial preparation, the court will conduct mediation activities so that the parties can agree on the resolution of the case. If they disagree with the first instance verdict, those with interests related to the case can appeal to resolve it according to appellate procedures.

Legal documents used in the article:

– Labor Code 2019;

– Civil Procedure Code 2015;

– Resolution 04/2017/NQ-HDTP guiding the provisions of Clauses 1 and 3, Article 192 of the Civil Procedure Code 92/2015/QH13 on returning lawsuits and the right to re-file lawsuits by the Trial Council. judgment issued by the Supreme People's Court.