A Guide to Public Holiday's and Leaves in Vietnam

Public holidays in Vietnam are administered by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam (MOLISA).  

Contributing Advisor

Tran Nguyen

Manager, Human Resources

The Vietnamese New Year, Tet is the most important holiday, observed in honor of religious freedom and the country’s political independence.

2026 Vietnam holiday calendar for the private sector

Private sector employers may determine their Tet and National Day holiday schedules based on operational requirements, provided that employee entitlements are fully upheld and the chosen schedule is communicated at least 30 days in advance. For the 2026 Lunar New Year (Tet), businesses may select one of the following holiday arrangements:

• One day off at the end of the lunar year and four days at the start of the new year;
• Two days off at the end of the lunar year and three days at the beginning of the new year; or,
• Three days off at the end of the lunar year and two days at the beginning of the new year.

In accordance with the Labor Code, when a public holiday coincides with a weekly rest day, employees are entitled to a substitute day off on the following working day. Based on this provision, the government’s three proposed options can be organized as outlined in the corresponding schedule.

For National Day, employers are required to grant a holiday on September 2, along with one additional day either immediately before or after, depending on business needs. The government encourages private enterprises to align their holiday schedules with those of the public sector or to offer more favorable arrangements to employees.

2026 Vietnam holiday schedule for public workers and government offices

Following a review of the proposal submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) under Official Dispatch No. 12556/BNV-CVL dated December 24, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra approved the New Year holiday arrangement for 2026. Under this plan, civil servants and public employees will observe New Year’s Day on Thursday, January 1, and Friday, January 2, 2026, with a compensatory working day scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2026. The Ministry noted that this workday adjustment maintains the total annual working time while promoting a continuous holiday period that supports domestic tourism, consumer spending, and broader economic activity.

As a result, public sector employees will enjoy four consecutive days off from Thursday, January 1 to Sunday, January 4, 2026, combining two holiday days with the regular weekend. In addition, the Prime Minister has already approved the 2026 public holiday schedule for the Lunar New Year (Tet) and National Day, granting civil servants and public employees nine days off for Tet and five days off for National Day in 2026.

2026 holiday calendar for the Vietnam's public sector

Paid annual leave in Vietnam

Vietnam’s Labor Code provides employees who have worked with an employer for over 12 months to be entitled to fully paid annual leave as follows:

• Employees working in normal conditions will be entitled to 12 days of leave.
• Employees who are underage, disabled, work under arduous, toxic, and hazardous conditions, and who work under harsh living conditions will be entitled to 14 days of leave.
• Employees who are subject to extremely heavy, hazardous, or dangerous conditions will be entitled to 16 days of leave.
• Employees who have not yet worked for 12 months in one year for a single employer are entitled to have paid annual leave in line with the number of their working months, pro rata.
• Employees who work with an employer for more than 5 years, will be entitled to one extra day of annual leave.
• Employees who have their annual leave pending after resigning from an organization will be paid by the employer for the unused leave days.

Leave policy for independent contractors

Statutory employment rights under the Vietnam's law are not applicable to independent contractors. This means independent contractors are not entitled to statutory leave like annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave and unpaid leave, statutory insurance, severance, or job loss allowance upon termination of employment.

Maternity leave and adoption 

Female employees in Vietnam receive 6 months' leave.

If a female employee has more than one child, they are entitled to an extra 30 days for each additional child. After giving birth or adopting a child under four months old, female employees will receive a lump-sum allowance equivalent to 2 months' common minimum salary i.e., the lowest salary issued by the Government in each period per child. A female employee who has a child less than twelve months old is entitled to sixty minutes per working day to take care of their baby.

Employees are also granted leave in case of a miscarriage or termination of pregnancy. The amount of leave granted is dependent on the length of the pregnancy. The labor code allows for 20 working days off for one to three months of pregnancy, 40 working days off for three to six months, and 50 days for a pregnancy over six months.

Paternity Leave

Fathers paying social insurance may take paternity leave in the first 30 days from the day the baby is born. They are entitled to paid leave of 5 days for a normal delivery and 7 for a surgical delivery. For twin births, the leave allowance increases to 10-14 days.

Further, the male employee is entitled to a lump sum of US$128 (VND 2,980,000) per child, equivalent to double the basic salary.