What is an Employer of Record (EoR)?

An Employer of Record (EoR) is a third-party organization that hires and pays employees on your behalf. It manages legal compliance, payroll, taxes, and benefits in the employee's country, so you can expand globally without setting up a local entity.

How does Slasify ensure payroll compliance?

Slasify follows local labor laws and tax regulations in each country. We manage payroll calculations, filings, and reporting to keep your global team compliant.

Can I hire employees in countries where my business has no legal entity?

Yes. With Slasify's EoR service, you can legally hire in over 150 countries without establishing a local company, while we handle contracts, onboarding, and compliance.

What services does Slasify offer?

We provide Employer of Record (EoR), global payroll, contractor management, and compliance solutions to build and manage international teams efficiently.

How long does onboarding take with Slasify?

Onboarding typically takes 2–4 weeks depending on the country and role requirements. We set up all legal and payroll processes before the start date.

In which countries does Slasify operate?

Slasify supports hiring and payroll in over 150 countries worldwide through a global partner network.

How does Slasify handle multi-currency payments?

We process payroll in local currencies and facilitate multi-currency payments so employees are paid accurately and on time.

Employment Insights

Vietnam Public Holiday Calendar 2026: Employer Guide & Tet Bonus

Mark Hong

Feb 2, 2026

Key Takeaways
Vietnam’s public holidays in 2026 consist of 11 paid holidays, of which Tết (Lunar New Year) is the major one that requires at least 5 paid holidays from the employers.
Employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to an additional 300% on top of their normal wage.
For a multi-national workforce, employers should monitor each country’s public holiday calendar, state variations, and premium pay rules, and plan rotation shifts early to avoid unnecessary costs and risks.
Slasify monitors Vietnam’s labour laws closely and streamlines hiring, payroll, and compliance by aligning with Vietnam’s public holidays in 2026.

1. Introduction

Public holidays in Vietnam are set at the national level under the 2019 Labour Code and apply across the country, so employers don’t need to manage province-by-province holiday lists. The real workforce planning challenge is in the details: correctly classifying day types, managing staffing around major holidays (especially Tết), and applying holiday pay premiums without mistakes, as small process gaps can quickly turn into avoidable cost and compliance risk.

This guide breaks down how Vietnam’s public holidays in 2026 can impact your HR strategy, best practices for workforce planning around Vietnam’s holiday calendar, payroll, and compliance, and how Slasify can be a trusted and reliable Employer of Record in Vietnam.

2. Official Public Holidays in Vietnam (2026)

Vietnam Public Calendar_holidays

Unlike markets where public holidays can vary by state or province, Vietnam’s public holidays for 2026 are set at the national level.

Public holiday (nationwide)	Date	Statutory paid days off
New Year’s Day	Jan 1 (Thur)	1 paid holiday
Lunar New Year (Tết)	Feb 16 (Mon) - Feb 20 (Fri)	5 paid holidays
Hung Kings’ Commemoration Day	April 26 (Sun)	1 paid holiday (Make-up holiday on April 27)
Reunification Day	April 30 (Thur)	1 paid holiday
Labour Day	May 1 (Fri)	1 paid holiday
National Day	Sept 1 (Tue) - Sept 2 (Wed)	2 paid holidays

Note that the government also publishes annual holiday arrangements (especially for Tết and National Day), and extended breaks for public sector employees may differ from the minimum statutory entitlements that private employers must provide.

Key notes for employers

Tết (Lunar New Year) often disrupts operations beyond the statutory days because many teams extend time off using annual leave or company shutdown periods. Plan staffing, cutoffs, and critical deadlines early.
Employees are entitled to a compensatory day off when a public holiday falls on the weekly rest day (often Sunday, depending on the work schedule).
Tết and National Day holiday arrangements are communicated annually in practice. Track official announcements early and align internal policies (e.g., on-call coverage and payroll cutoffs) before the holiday period.
National Day is two paid days: Sep 2 plus either the day before or after. Private employers should document which adjacent day they apply and communicate it clearly.
Foreign employees are entitled to two additional paid days off (one for their home-country National Day and one traditional holiday), which can affect coverage planning for multi-national teams.

3. Workforce Planning Around Vietnamese Holidays

Planning around Vietnam’s holiday calendar means anticipating major holiday breaks, when government offices may close, bank processing slows, and employees often take additional days off. During Tết (Lunar New Year), for example, HR teams should plan rotation coverage early and align payroll cutoffs and internal deadlines to avoid confusion, delayed salary payments, and avoidable costs.

“Part of the workforce often extended their leave, switched jobs, or changed living places after Tết.”

- Nguyễn Văn Hồi, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA)

Tết shutdowns: Many offices and vendors operate at reduced capacity (or pause entirely) during Lunar New Year, so expect slower turnaround from both external partners and internal stakeholders.
Extended leave culture: Employees often take additional annual leave around Tết, which can turn the 5-day statutory holidays into a much longer staffing gap if you don’t set clear leave rules early.
Payroll timing: Long breaks can overlap with public holiday closures and internal approval bottlenecks, so align payroll cutoffs with bank processing timelines to prevent late salary payments.
Manufacturing & shift work: Work performed on public holidays in Vietnam must be paid at at least 300% of the wage for the hours worked (excluding the paid holiday wage itself), with additional premiums for night work and night overtime where applicable.

4. Employer Obligations in Vietnam

To ensure compliant hiring and payroll in Vietnam, employers should focus on getting the basics and documentation right - tracking and logging employee time off on statutory holidays, work type classifications, and premium pay calculations. These are the areas that trigger disputes and audits easily.

Paid Public Holidays in Vietnam

Under Vietnam’s Labour Code 2019 (Article 112), employees are entitled to fully paid leave on statutory public holidays, and these entitlements are statutory and generally non-waivable. If a public holiday falls on an employee’s weekly rest day, the employer must provide a compensatory day off on the next working day.

Working on a Public Holiday

Holiday premium pay: Employees who work on a public holiday must be paid at least 300% of the normal wage for the hours worked, excluding the paid holiday wage (often presented as at least 400% in total for the hours worked).
Night work: at least an additional 30% of the wage of a normal working day.
Overtime at night: an additional 20% of the wage of a normal working day, on top of the overtime pay and the night-work pay.

As the premium pay for working on a public holiday is quite steep, employers should treat holiday work and overtime work shift management as top HR and finance priority. Discuss with managers and communicate with employees early to avoid situations like unapproved overtime or overstaffing.

Holiday Premium Pay & Overtime in Vietnam at a Glance

Type	Additional pay required
Over time, on a normal working day	+50% on top of normal wage (total 150%)
Over time, on a weekly rest day	+100% on top of normal wage (total 200%)
Work on a public holiday / paid leave day	+300% on top of normal wage (total 400%)
Night work (regardless of overtime)	+30% night work allowance (applies to any work performed during statutory night hours)
Night work overtime	+20% on top of applicable premium pay (150%/200%/400%) & night work allowance (30%)

Part-Time & Fixed-Term Workers

Under Article 32 of Vietnam’s 2019 Labour Code, part-time employees are paid and are treated equally in exercising rights and obligations compared with full-time employees, including non-discrimination and occupational safety protections. Public holiday entitlements apply to employees under labour contracts regardless of working schedule or contract term (e.g., part-time or fixed-term).

Compliance Risks that Employers Should Avoid

Underpaying holiday work wages: Wage underpayment (including overtime/holiday premiums) can trigger administrative fines and back-pay obligations under Decree 12/2022/ND-CP.
Failing to grant compensatory leave: If a holiday overlaps a weekly rest day, missing the compensatory day off can be treated as a rest-time/public holiday violation.
Violations of the Labour Code 2019: Most holiday/payroll disputes boil down to misapplying holiday leave entitlements, compensatory day-off, and holiday work pay. Ensure your HR team knows the rules and have a system to track and monitor employee work schedule, hours, and day-type.
DOLISA inspections & penalties: Decree 12/2022 explicitly ties certain compliance steps (and fines) to the local Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA). The fines can vary by violation type and the number of affected employees, and may be coupled with back-pay remedies, adding hefty costs and legal risks if employers misunderstood or knowingly violated the rules.

💡Slasify Expert Insight: "Beyond the Calendar: Understanding the Tết Bonus

While not legally mandated, the '13th-month salary' is a cultural expectation in Vietnam. Most employers pay this bonus before the Tet holiday (mid-February 2026) to help employees prepare for celebrations. For EOR clients, it is crucial to factor this into your Q1 payroll budget to maintain employee retention. For more insights and best practices on hiring in Vietnam, visit our Vietnam Employment Guide.

5. Payroll & Compliance Considerations

Major holiday periods, especially Tết (Lunar New Year), are when payroll issues tend to surface. Employers should align with Vietnam’s bank holidays and plan early for likely pressure points such as a spike in bonus expectations, slower internal approvals, and messier timekeeping for holiday work and shift coverage.

Factor in Tết bonuses and any advance salary payments by setting a written bonus policy early. Bring payroll cut-off dates forward so wages aren’t delayed during long breaks. Communicate early to lock shift rotations and avoid last-minute changes that can trigger confusion and unintended premium pay.
Track holiday work and overtime with clean time records and clear payroll breakdowns. Vietnam requires employers to provide employees with a wage statement/payslip that itemizes key components such as wages, overtime/night pay, allowances, and any deductions at each payment.
Holiday work must be paid at 300% premium, excluding holiday pay itself, with additional premiums for night work/night overtime if applicable.
Under Vietnam’s accounting record retention rules (including the Law on Accounting (2015) and Decree 174/2016/ND-CP), many payroll documents are treated as accounting records and are commonly subject to a 10-year retention period, depending on document type and classification.
Ensure compliance for both local-entity hires and EOR hires by applying the same core rules on wage payment timing, pay transparency, holiday premiums, and bonus policy governance.

Most holiday payroll disputes come down to day-type classification and documentation. Spend extra time defining what counts as public holiday work vs. weekly rest day vs. make-up day, and verify that payslips and supporting records reflect the correct calculations.

6. How Slasify Helps Employers in Vietnam

Staying on top of Vietnam’s holiday calendar, payroll calculations, required documentation, and local regulatory updates is crucial if you’re scaling quickly or expanding into Vietnam. To ensure you meet compliance requirements at every step, you’ll want a trusted HR partner that can handle the operational details end to end. With Slasify, you can access the following services:

EOR services: Hire new talent effortlessly with Slasify’s Employer of Record (EOR) for Vietnam without setting up a local entity. Slasify manages local HR requirements, so you can focus on building your team.
Payroll & compliance: Slasify simplifies payroll in Vietnam by automating holiday pay, overtime, and statutory contributions to align with local compliance requirements.
Local HR expertise: Get access to local guidance and support on Labour Code updates and yearly holiday announcements, plus advisory on HR and workforce planning strategies from your dedicated account manager.
APAC scalability: With support for 150+ countries and 130+ currencies, Slasify’s all-in-one cloud platform lets you manage Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and many other APAC countries effortlessly by integrating local laws, payroll, and compliance requirements.

Build your Global Team Hassle-free- Book a Consultation

Even though Vietnam’s public holidays in 2026 have a national standard, the biggest impact comes from how employers plan and react to each holiday cluster, especially around Tết, when banks and government agencies close and employees take additional leaves.

If you’re planning to build or expand your team in Vietnam, Slasify can help you stay compliant and run payroll seamlessly, so you can spend your resources on hiring the right talent and growing your business. Talk to our Vietnam HR expert today to explore the best option for your hiring plan in 2026.

7. FAQ: Employment & Public Holidays in Vietnam

Q1. How many paid public holidays are there in Vietnam?

Vietnam provides 11 paid public holidays per year for most employees, and foreign employees get two additional paid days off (one for their traditional New Year and one for their national day). Employers should align staffing with Vietnam’s bank holidays to ensure smooth payroll processes.

Q2. Is the Tet Holiday (Lunar New Year) mandatory and fully paid?

Yes. By law, Tết is a statutory public holiday, and private employers are generally required to provide 5 fully paid days off. However, the actual schedule is determined by the Ministry of Home Affairs every year. In 2026, there will be 4 extra weekend rest days in 2026 to form a 9-day holiday break (Feb 14-22).

Q3. What is the pay rate for working on a public holiday?

Working on a public holiday in Vietnam requires the employer to pay at least 300% of the normal wage for the hours worked, excluding the paid holiday wage itself. In practice, many employees effectively receive the paid holiday entitlement plus the 300% premium for hours worked.

Q4. Are compensatory days required if holidays fall on weekends?

If a public holiday coincides with the employee’s weekly day off, the employee is entitled to a compensatory day off on the next working day.

Q5. Can employers offer additional public holidays?

Yes. Even though the 11 statutory paid public holidays are a minimum, employers can provide extra paid days off as a company benefit. It’s advised that the entitlement is clearly documented in the employment contract, collective bargaining agreement, or internal policy.

Employment Insights Asia

Vietnam Public Holiday Calendar 2026: Employer Guide & Tet Bonus

1. Introduction