Consequences of Work Agreement Made in Foreign Language Only

PERTANYAAN

Do employment contracts have to be made in two languages? What is the legal basis? For example, what are the consequences if I work for a foreign company as a contract employee, but the contract is only made in English, not in Indonesian? Is the contract then void?

INTISARI JAWABAN

The obligation to use the Indonesian language in a work agreement is explicitly stipulated in Article 81 number 13 Perppu 2/2022 (Job Creation) which amended Article 57 section (1) Manpower Law for Fixed Time Employment Agreement.

If it is only in a foreign language, the work agreement can result in null and void. For this reason, you should ask the company to make a work agreement in Indonesian. What is the legal basis?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Konsekuensi Perjanjian Kerja yang Dibuat Hanya dalam Bahasa Asing written by Dian Dwi Jayanti, S.H., and published on Wednesday, 5 July 2023.

This article is an update of the article entitled If a Work Agreement is Made in Foreign Language Only, written by Dimas Hutomo, S.H., and published on Friday, 5 July 2019.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Written Work Agreement

To answer your question, obviously, we can refer to the Manpower Law, by first discussing what is meant by employment contracts or working contracts.

The Manpower Law does not recognize the term employment contract. What is used is a work agreement, which is an agreement made between a worker/laborer and an entrepreneur or an employer that specifies work requirements, rights, and obligations of the parties.[1]

A work agreement is the basis for a working relationship between an employer and a worker/laborer[2] which can be made in writing or orally on the basis of:[3]

1. agreement of the parties;
2. capability or competence to take legal actions;
3. availability/existence of the job which the parties have agreed about;
4. notion that the job which the parties have agreed about is not against public order, morality, and what is prescribed in the prevailing laws and regulations.

Since the focus is on the use of language, we will discuss work agreements made in writing. A written work agreement must contain at least:[4]

1. name, address, and line of business;
2. name, sex, age, and address of the worker/laborer;
3. occupation or the type of job;
4. place, where the job is to be carried out;
5. amount of wages and how the wages shall be paid;
6. job requirements stating the rights and obligations of both the entrepreneur and the worker/laborer;
7. date the work agreement starts to take effect and the period during which it is effective;
8. place and the date where the work agreement is made; and
9. signatures of the parties involved in the work agreement.

The provisions in a work agreement as mentioned under letter e and letter f above, are concerned must not be against the company regulations, the collective labor agreement, and prevailing laws and regulations.[5]

Work agreements are made for a Fixed Time Employment Agreement or for an Indefinite Time Employment Agreement based on a period of time or the completion of work specified in the work agreement.[6] The agreement is made in at least 2 copies, which have the same legal force, and the worker/laborer and employer each receive 1 work agreement.[7] Work agreements cannot be revoked and/or amended, except by agreement of the parties.[8]

The Use of Indonesian Language in Written Work Agreement

The obligation to use the Indonesian language in a work agreement is explicitly regulated in Article 81 number 13 Perppu 2/2022 (Job Creation) which amended Article 57 section (1) Manpower Law which reads:

A Fixed Time Employment Agreement is made in writing and must use Indonesian language and Latin letters.

In addition, in general, the obligation to use the Indonesian language is also regulated in Article 31 Law 24/2009 which states:

1. Indonesian Language must be used in a memorandum of understanding or agreement involving state agencies, government institutions of the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesian private agencies, or individual Indonesian citizens.
2. The memorandum of understanding or agreement as referred to in paragraph (1) which involves a foreign party shall also be written in the national language of the foreign party and/or in English.

The level of Indonesian language in a Fixed Time Employment Agreement becomes decisive when there are differences in interpretation. This is regulated in Article 81 number 13 Perppu 2/2022 which amended Article 57 section (2) Manpower Law which reads:

In the event that a fixed time employment agreement is made in Indonesian and a foreign language, if there are differences in interpretation between the two, the fixed time employment agreement made in Indonesian shall prevail.

Consequences If Fixed Time Employment Agreement is Only Made in Foreign Language

According to our research, the Manpower Law does not mention the legal consequences of not following the obligation to make work agreements in Indonesian.

Then, if it is not regulated in the Manpower Law, does it mean it is allowed? The answer is that your work agreement becomes null and void.

This thought is in accordance with Eri Hertiawan's opinion delivered at the Hukumonline seminar "Pembatalan Kontrak Berbahasa Asing" on December 16, 2009. According to his conclusion, the violation of Article 31 section (1) Law 24/2009 can be used as a basis for the nullification (not cancellation) of an agreement.

In connection with this opinion, the nullity of a Fixed Time Employment Agreement that is only made in a foreign language can be linked to Article 1320 Civil Code which reads as follows:

For a valid agreement to occur, four conditions must be met;

1. agreement of those who bind themselves;
2. capacity to make an obligation;
3. a certain subject matter;
4. a cause that is not prohibited.

The nullification is based on Article 1335 Civil Code which reads:

An agreement without a cause, or made based on a false or forbidden cause, has no force.

Quoted from These are the 4 Conditions for a Valid Agreement and the Consequences If Not Fulfilled, a cause that is not prohibited is not further regulated in the Civil Code. However, a forbidden cause can be interpreted if it is prohibited by law, contrary to decency or public order. Furthermore, the condition of a cause that is not prohibited is an objective condition of an agreement. If it is not met, then the agreement is null and void.

Thus, if the work agreement is made only in a foreign language, it can result in null and void. For this reason, you should ask the company to make a work agreement in Indonesian.

In addition, according to manpower law expert and practitioner Umar Kasim, a Fixed Time Employment Agreement made in a foreign language only can be enforced by Article 57 section (2) Manpower Law. He is of the opinion that because the contract is not made in Indonesian and is not written in Latin letters, the Fixed Time Employment Agreement does not meet the terms and conditions of the Manpower Law. So that the treatment (fulfillment of rights) for workers through Fixed Time Employment Agreement, applies the same as workers through Indefinite Time Employment Agreement. Thus, the Fixed Time Employment Agreement automatically becomes an Indefinite Time Employment Agreement.

In the event that the company does not want to make a work agreement in Indonesian, then you can take legal action by filing a lawsuit through the Industrial Relations Court based on Article 5 Law 2/2004, of course, if you have first settled by conciliation or mediation but did not reach peace or agreement.

In our opinion, the lawsuit that you will file is a lawsuit for dispute of rights (in Bahasa Indonesia is known as gugatan perselisihan hak).[9] In addition, according to Juanda Pangaribuan, in the book Seluk Beluk Acara Hukum Pengadilan Hubungan Industrial (p. 233), if the workers' lawsuit is about rights disputes and layoffs, the plaintiff qualifies the employer's actions as actions that are contrary to the law or collective labor agreements (perjanjian kerja bersama). If the case is submitted to the District Court, the plaintiff qualifies his lawsuit as a tort (unlawful act) or default.

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These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Indonesian Civil Code;
2. Law Number 13 of 2003 on Manpower;
3. Regulation of the Government in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 on Job Creation which has been enacted into law under Law Number 6 of 2023;
4. Law Number 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relation Dispute Settlements;
5. Law Number 24 of 2009 on the Official Flag, Language, and Emblem, as well as the National Anthem.

Reference:

Juanda Pangaribuan. Seluk Beluk Hukum Acara Pengadilan Hubungan Industrial. Jakarta: MISI, 2017.

Notes:

1. Eri Hertiawan's opinion was delivered in the Hukumonline seminar "Pembatalan Kontrak Berbahasa Asing" on December 16, 2009 as quoted in the book Pembatalan Kontrak Berbahasa Asing, Hukumonline.com.
2. Umar Kasim’s opinion, a practitioner of Manpower Law obtained from an interview via telephone and WhatsApp, on July 4, 2019, at 20.40 Western Indonesian Time (zone).

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[1] Article 1 number 14 Law Number 13 of 2003 on Manpower (“Manpower Law”).

[2] Article 50 Manpower Law.

[3] Article 51 section (1) and Article 52 section (1) Manpower Law.

[4] Article 54 section (1) Manpower Law.

[5] Article 54 section (2) Manpower Law.

[6] Article 81 number 12 Regulation of the Government in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 on Job Creation which amended Article 56 section (1) Manpower Law.

[7] Article 54 section (3) Manpower Law.

[8] Article 55 Manpower Law.

[9] Article 1 number 2 Law Number 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relation Dispute Settlements.