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.

Official public holiday schedule for 2023

*Indicates the likely holiday based on convention, however, it is yet to be confirmed.

Note: When a public holiday falls on a weekend, the day on which it is observed is at the discretion of the prime minister.

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 condition 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 law are not applicable for independent contractor. 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 periodper 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.