What Are The Public Holidays in Vietnam in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Vietnam (2026)

Vietnam’s Labor Code sets out a nationwide list of public holidays that all employers must observe. Below is an overview of the official public holidays in 2026 so you can plan staffing, leave, and payroll for your Vietnam‑based team.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, Vietnamese labor law requires employers to provide paid leave on statutory public holidays. Employees are entitled to their full salary for these days off, calculated according to the employment contract. This entitlement applies to full‑time and part‑time employees alike, provided they are working under a labor contract governed by Vietnam’s Labor Code.

Public holidays listed in the Labor Code are national – they apply across all provinces and cities. Some regions and ethnic groups may have additional traditional observances, but these are not automatically statutory paid holidays unless your company chooses to recognize them in internal policies or collective agreements.

If a public holiday falls on an employee’s weekly rest day (typically Sunday), the law provides that the employee is given a compensatory day off on the next working day. Many employers also offer additional days off around Tet to align with government guidance, but the minimum statutory entitlement is the number of days set out in the Labor Code.

Employees who are required to work on a public holiday must receive premium pay on top of their normal salary. The law generally requires at least 300% of the contractual salary for hours worked on a public holiday, excluding the employee’s regular daily wage, and higher rates may apply for night work or overtime during a holiday.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failing to provide paid public holidays in Vietnam can expose your company to administrative sanctions. Labor inspectors under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and local labor authorities are empowered to investigate complaints, conduct inspections, and impose fines.

Penalties typically include monetary fines scaled to the number of affected employees and the seriousness of the violation, along with orders to pay back wages, premium pay for holiday work, and any unpaid social insurance contributions tied to those amounts. In more serious or repeated cases, authorities may also impose additional corrective measures, such as requiring the employer to revise internal regulations or, in extreme situations, temporarily suspending certain business activities until compliance is restored.

Common mistakes include treating public holidays as unpaid leave, misclassifying holiday work as regular overtime, failing to grant compensatory days off when holidays fall on weekly rest days, and not documenting employees’ consent and time records properly. Keeping clear payroll records, time sheets, and written policies is essential if you need to demonstrate compliance during an inspection.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In Vietnam, work performed on public holidays is treated separately from standard overtime. Any hours worked on a public holiday must be paid at a premium rate – generally at least 300% of the contractual salary for those hours, not including the employee’s regular daily wage. If the work also qualifies as overtime (for example, exceeding normal daily or weekly working hours), the premium holiday rate still applies and may be higher when combined with night‑work rules.

Holidays do not reduce the statutory limits on overtime hours, so you still need to track total overtime carefully across the month and year. However, because holiday work is more expensive, many employers in Vietnam plan ahead to minimize staffing on public holidays, use rotating shifts, or offer time‑off‑in‑lieu arrangements where permitted and agreed with employees. Whatever approach you take, make sure the terms are clearly documented in employment contracts or internal regulations and that employees’ consent to overtime is properly recorded.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Navigating Vietnam’s mix of national holidays, Tet scheduling, and premium pay rules can be challenging if you are hiring remotely or managing a distributed team. Playroll helps you stay compliant by building Vietnam’s Labor Code requirements directly into your employment and payroll workflows.

When you hire through Playroll, your Vietnam‑based employees receive locally compliant contracts that reflect statutory public holidays, paid leave entitlements, and the correct treatment of holiday work. Our platform automatically applies the right holiday calendar, flags upcoming public holidays for your team, and supports accurate calculation of holiday premium pay so you do not have to interpret the rules on your own.

Playroll’s in‑country experts keep track of legal updates – including any changes to public holiday rules or guidance on Tet observance – and update your templates and processes behind the scenes. You get clear visibility into time off, payroll costs, and overtime, while your employees enjoy predictable, on‑time pay that respects local law.

If you are scaling a global team and want to remove the guesswork from Vietnam compliance, Playroll gives you a single, easy‑to‑use platform to manage hiring, contracts, leave, and payroll in line with local regulations.