For Employees, technical barriers and digital skills are significant challenges. This difficulty is clearly seen in manual laborers, elderly laborers, or laborers living in rural areas, as accessing and using digital signatures, eContract, and electronic authentication remain relatively complex to them. Additionally, the cost of maintaining a digital signature along with timestamp services, while not generally insignificant for enterprises, may still become a burden for Employees, particularly where labor contracts have short terms or unstable income. These limitations underscore the need for appropriate support measures to safeguard employees’ lawful rights and interests when entering into Electronic Labor Contracts. Similarly, Employers are also required to incur additional amounts for maintaining digital signatures, timestamp services, and eContract usage.

Data security is one of the noteworthy challenges when implementing Electronic Labor Contracts. Unlike paper-based labor contracts, which are usually accessed, managed, and stored within the narrow scope of the personnel department or certain authorized individuals, Electronic Labor Contracts are created, signed, and stored through electronic systems and eContract. This increases the number of parties with potential access to information, including service providers, technical departments, system administrators, or related third parties. The expansion of access poses a risk of leakage, infringement, or unauthorized exploitation of data, especially the Employees’ personal and sensitive information. Under the requirement to ensure legal compliance and data safety, enterprises are forced to invest in the development and maintenance of electronic labor contract storage systems, as well as to establish strict management procedures, access controls, and information security measures. These requirements entail significant costs and operational burdens, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Conversely, Employees, who are often in a weaker position in the labor relationship, may have limited control over their personal data on electronic systems. This risk is particularly pronounced in the absence of transparent and effective mechanisms for monitoring data use or requesting data protection, as is currently the case.

One practical obstacle posing considerable challenge for both Employees and Employers is the recognition of the legal validity of Electronic Labor Contracts by State authorities. Practice shows that, in many cases, State authorities such as tax authorities, social insurance, police authorities, and credit institutions still prioritize or require the submission or presentation of paper records when handling administrative procedures, especially where verification against original documents is necessary. Notably, in the event of labor disputes, extracting, presenting, and using Electronic Labor Contract data as evidence may also encounter obstacles during the Court’s review and recognition of its legal validity. Lack of consistency and synchronization in recognizing the legal validity of Electronic Labor Contracts has discouraged many enterprises from investing in the necessary technological systems. Such reluctance is driven by concerns over legal risks and uncertainty as to whether the costs incurred may not be commensurate with the benefits obtained, despite the fact that electronic contracts and documents are an inevitable feature of digital transformation.

From the aforementioned shortcomings, it can be seen that the practical implementation of Electronic Labor Contracts requires synchronized improvement in terms of legal framework, technical infrastructure, and organizational execution. The State and enterprises should adopt appropriate measures to enhance digital skills and support related costs for Employees, especially vulnerable labor groups. From the Employers’ perspective, investment in technological systems, security protocols, and data management infrastructure should be undertaken prudently and in line with the scale and operational conditions of each enterprise. This approach helps ensure an appropriate balance between the benefits of digital transformation and the ability to comply with legal requirements when implementing Electronic Labor Contracts. Mechanisms to protect the personal data of Employees during the implementation of Electronic Labor Contracts should also be researched, further improved, and issued in a timely manner. Finally, State authorities should strengthen coordination, inter-linkage, and consistency in recognizing the legal validity of Electronic Labor Contracts, thereby minimizing legal risks for parties in the labor relationship.