Pursuant to a decree that went into effect last month, foreign organizations in Vietnam may no longer directly recruit Vietnamese employees. Foreign organizations include representative offices of foreign companies, non-governmental organizations and non-profit organizations.

Representative offices must now utilize government employment service centers to recruit local employees. The representative offices must submit a written request with the service center detailing certain information including the number of openings, job requirements, and recruitment schedule. If the service center does not respond in 15 days, the representative office may conduct its recruitment directly.

The decree also includes several new reporting requirements for representative offices regarding its recruitment and hiring of Vietnamese employees.