Employees who delete old company data will be sentenced to 20 years in prison?

If there is an act of deleting data or destroying company property, will the employee be held responsible before the law? How should the company handle the situation in a "reasonable and equitable" way?

Shocked because former employee deleted data

A female manager of the communications department of a company specializing in functional foods in Go Vap District (HCMC) shared that when starting to work at the company, each employee will be given a personal account to post products and articles on various platforms. Not long ago, an employee in her group suddenly quit her job without giving a clear reason. What shocked her even more was that he deleted all the articles and documents he had written during his time working at the company.

“Everything was really beyond my imagination. When I discovered the data loss, I contacted you and forced you to have a dialogue to clarify, but you refused, just saying that you did it so you have the right to delete it. I think, even if you are not satisfied with the company, you should not act like that. That shows your attitude and level. If this spreads out, it will be difficult for you to find a good company in the future,” the manager said.

She also added that HR people and managers in the same field often have relationships with each other. No company would dare to accept an employee who “retaliates” against the old company by deleting important data because they are afraid that it will happen again with their company.

Deleting company data and documents can be subject to lawsuits.

“I think we should behave in a civilized manner. If there is anything we are not satisfied with, we should be honest with each other. No one benefits in these difficult situations. The company's data may be restored, but the employee's reputation and honor have been somewhat damaged,” she affirmed.

According to this manager, the company agreed to forgive the employee because they understood that it was just a temporary, impulsive action, but that does not mean that other companies will do the same. In case the damage to the company is too serious, they can sue and force the employee to compensate for the damage according to the regulations.

Do it out of emotion, be careful or you will pay a high price.

Sharing with Thanh Nien about this issue, lawyer Le Trung Phat (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) said that when working with a company, employees will go through a labor contract regulated by the 2019 Labor Code.

Accordingly, workers sell their labor (which can be manual or intellectual) to employers to receive corresponding wages.

Thus, everything that the employee is assigned by the employer (depending on the job position) that the employee can create an asset or product for the company so that the company can directly use and exploit it to serve the business activities of the enterprise itself or sell that product to earn money or other benefits.

That is to say, in this relationship, the employee's only asset is themselves (except in some cases, they are forced to have additional tools of labor). During the process of their work, all values ​​created belong to the employer (except copyright in the field of intellectual property).

Thus, when employees quit their jobs, they are required to hand over to the employer what does not belong to the employee (data, documents, assets that are tools provided by the employer, etc.). If they do not hand over or they take possession or destroy the company's documents and data, they have violated and affected the company's legitimate rights and interests.

According to the lawyer, when discovering that an employee has destroyed or appropriated data, the company has the right and can take the following legal measures:

One is to resolve the matter by negotiating with the employee to request compensation. In case the negotiation fails, they have the right to file a lawsuit in court to request compensation for damages.

Second, they can send a petition to the police to report the crime of appropriating, buying, selling, or destroying seals and documents of agencies and organizations; according to the provisions of Article 342 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended in 2017.

The question in this case is what punishment can an employee receive if he destroys or deletes company data?

Lawyer Le Trung Phat said that if investigated and prosecuted, the offender could face a fine of between VND5 million and VND50 million, non-custodial reform for up to two years, or imprisonment from three months to five years.

In addition, the offender is also banned from holding positions, practicing a profession or doing certain jobs from 1 to 5 years. Or he can be prosecuted for destroying or intentionally damaging property, according to Article 178 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended in 2017.

If prosecuted, the offender may face a fine of 10 to 50 million VND, non-custodial reform for up to 3 years, or imprisonment from 6 months to 20 years...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-lao-dong-xoa-du-lieu-cong-ty-cu-se-bi-phat-20-nam-tu-185240615001408556.htm