ELECTRONIC LABOUR CONTRACTS CONVERTED FROM PAPER-BASED LABOUR CONTRACTS UNDER DECREE NO. 337/2025/ND-CP

          On that basis, Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP stipulates that the conversion of a labour contract concluded in paper form into an electronic labour contract must satisfy the conditions prescribed in Clause 1 Article 12 of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2023, and concurrently comply with the specific requirements set out therein. According to the Decree, a paper-based labour contract may only be converted into an electronic labour contract when all necessary legal conditions are fully satisfied, in order to establish the legal validity and enforceability of the contract after conversion and to ensure the lawful rights and interests of the parties to the labour relationship, specifically as follows:

“1. A data message converted from a paper document must satisfy all of the following requirements:
a) The information contained in the data message is ensured to be integral as compared with the paper document;
b) The information contained in the data message is accessible and usable for reference;
c) There is a specific mark indicating that it has been converted from a paper document into a data message, together with information of the agency, organization or individual performing the conversion;
d) Where the paper document is a licence, certificate, credential, confirmation document or other approval document issued by a competent agency or organization, the conversion must satisfy the requirements prescribed at Points a, b and c of this Clause and must bear the digital signature of the agency or organization performing the conversion, unless otherwise provided by law. The information system serving the conversion must have the function of converting paper documents into data messages.”

          In addition to the above conditions, an electronic labour contract converted from a paper-based labour contract must also satisfy the following requirements:

“a) The parties concluding the labour contract in paper form must be authenticated in accordance with the law on electronic identification and authentication.
b) The converted electronic labour contract must be digitally signed by a competent person of the employer to certify its accuracy and completeness compared with the original and to assume legal responsibility for the converted content. The electronic labour contract after conversion must be assigned an ID.”

          Accordingly, a labour contract concluded in paper form, when converted into electronic form, must fully comply with the requirements applicable to a data message under the law on electronic transactions. First and foremost, the integrity of information constitutes a core condition, whereby the content of the electronic labour contract must fully and accurately reflect, without any alteration, the content recorded in the paper-based labour contract, including provisions on the contracting parties, their rights and obligations, wages, contract term, and other agreed terms. Any modification, supplementation, or distortion of the contract content during the conversion process may affect the legal validity of the electronic labour contract.

          In addition, the data message after conversion must ensure accessibility and usability for reference, meaning that the parties to the labour relationship, as well as competent agencies and organizations, are able to easily access, retrieve, and use the content of the electronic labour contract when necessary, particularly in cases of labour disputes or where proof of the parties’ rights and obligations is required. This requirement aims to ensure transparency and the evidentiary value of electronic labour contracts in practice.

          Furthermore, the law imposes additional specific conditions on converted electronic labour contracts to ensure the authenticity of the contracting parties and the legal responsibility of the employer in the electronic environment. Accordingly, the parties concluding the paper-based labour contract must be authenticated in accordance with the law on electronic identification and authentication. This means that the parties to the labour relationship must be clearly and accurately identified when the contract is converted into electronic form, thereby limiting the risk of identity fraud or disputes relating to the identity of the contracting parties.

          In particular, the converted electronic labour contract must bear the digital signature of a competent person of the employer, to certify the accuracy and completeness of the contract content compared with the original paper-based version and to establish the employer’s legal responsibility for the converted content. The competent person may be understood as the legal representative of the enterprise or a person lawfully authorized in accordance with the law and the employer’s internal regulations. Where the electronic labour contract is not digitally signed by a competent person or where the digital signature is invalid, the contract may not be recognized as legally valid and may encounter difficulties in being used as evidence in the settlement of labour disputes.

          To ensure effective management, retrieval, and cross-checking of contracts within electronic information systems, each electronic labour contract after conversion must be assigned a unique ID. This ID serves as a unique identifier, distinguishing the converted electronic labour contract from other contracts, and at the same time supporting competent authorities in inspection, examination, and resolution of disputes arising from labour relations.

          Thus, it can be seen that the mechanism for converting labour contracts from paper form into electronic form under Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP goes beyond mere digitization of contract content. Instead, it establishes a comprehensive and stringent legal framework governing information integrity, accessibility, authentication of parties, digital signatures, and the employer’s responsibility. These regulations not only ensure the legal validity and enforceability of electronic labour contracts after conversion but also contribute to protecting the lawful rights and interests of employees and employers in the context of labour relations increasingly conducted in the digital environment.