Working Hours, Public Holidays 2026: Official Guide

Working Hours and the 2026 Public Holiday Calendar: What Employers Must Comply With

2026 has several calendar quirks: Lunar New Year gives the public sector 9 consecutive days off, Hung Kings' Day falls exactly on a Sunday, and the April 30 – May 1 break forms a neat 2-day midweek stretch. For HR and legal teams, this is not just about hanging a calendar — each holiday option carries advance-notice duties, overtime pay rules and dispute risks if misapplied.

This article compiles the official 2026 public holiday calendar under Notice 9441/TB-BNV and the working-time and overtime rules under the 2019 Labor Code — the provisions employers must follow when planning production and business for the year.

Contents

• 1. 2026 public holidays: summary table
• 2. Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse): 9 days public sector, 3 options for enterprises
• 3. Hung Kings' Day, Apr 30 – May 1 and National Day (2 September)
• 4. Normal working hours and night work
• 5. Overtime: limits and conditions
• 6. Overtime and night-work pay calculation
• 7. Frequently asked questions
• References

1. 2026 public holidays: summary table

Total statutory public holidays under Article 112 of the 2019 Labor Code: 11 days/year — 1 for New Year, 5 for Lunar New Year, 1 for 30/4, 1 for 1/5, 2 for National Day and 1 for Hung Kings' Day.

2. Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse): 9 days public sector, 3 options for enterprises

Under Notice 9441/TB-BNV dated 16/10/2025 of the Ministry of Home Affairs, public-sector officials and employees get 9 consecutive days off for Lunar New Year, 14/02–22/02/2026 — 5 statutory Tet days plus 4 weekend days. The first day of the Year of the Horse is 17/02/2026.

Private-sector enterprises choose one of three options:

• 1 day at the end of the Year of the Snake + 4 days at the start of the Year of the Horse;
• 2 days at year-end + 3 days at year-start;
• 3 days at year-end + 2 days at year-start.

Whichever option is chosen, the enterprise must notify employees at least 30 days in advance. This duty is commonly missed: many enterprises notify verbally or at the last minute, creating grounds for wage disputes over the holiday days.

3. Hung Kings' Day, Apr 30 – May 1 and National Day (2 September)

Hung Kings' Commemoration Day (10th day of the 3rd lunar month) 2026 falls on Sunday, 26/04/2026. Under the Labor Code's compensatory-leave rule, if a public holiday coincides with the weekly day off, employees get a compensatory day off on the next working day — Monday, 27/04/2026, where Sunday is the enterprise's weekly day off.

The April 30 – May 1 break in 2026 is convenient: 30/4 (Victory Day) is Thursday, 1/5 (Labour Day) is Friday — 2 consecutive days off as prescribed, with no compensatory leave and no working-day swaps needed.

For National Day (2 September), employees get 2 days: 2 September plus one adjacent day. Enterprises choose 1 September or 3 September alongside 2 September, notifying employees at least 30 days in advance.

4. Normal working hours and night work

Under Article 105 of the 2019 Labor Code, normal working hours must not exceed 8 hours/day and 48 hours/week. Employers may set daily or weekly working time but must notify employees; for weekly-based schedules, normal hours must not exceed 10 hours/day and 48 hours/week.

Under Article 106, night working hours run from 22:00 to 06:00 the next morning. Night shifts carry higher pay (see section 6) and protections for female and juvenile workers.

5. Overtime: limits and conditions

Overtime is permitted only when all conditions in Article 107 of the 2019 Labor Code are met: employee agreement, respect for daily overtime limits, and the caps:

• Not more than 40 hours/month;
• Not more than 200 hours/year, except certain special cases under Government regulations allowing up to 300 hours/year.

Breaching overtime caps is among the most common findings in labor inspections, especially in year-end peak seasons. Enterprises expecting heavy overtime should check from early in the year whether they fall in the 300-hour special category, rather than acting first and seeking approval later.

One further point: overtime hours accumulate by month and by year — they do not "reset" when a new quarter starts. Many enterprises track overtime by month only and forget the annual cumulative total, discovering in Q4 that they have already breached the 200-hour cap. From that point every further hour of overtime is a violation, even where the employee volunteers. The solution is to build a cumulative tracker for each employee from the start of the year and set alerts at the 150-hour and 180-hour marks.

6. Overtime and night-work pay calculation

Under Article 98 of the 2019 Labor Code, overtime pay is based on the normal working day's hourly wage:

• Overtime on normal weekdays: at least 150%;
• Overtime on weekly days off: at least 200%;
• Overtime on public holidays: at least 300%.

Night work earns at least an extra 30% of the normal day's wage. Night overtime earns further additional rates as prescribed — a point many enterprise payroll sheets under-calculate, creating wage arrears and disputes when employees sue.

In practice, the most common error is not in the percentages but in the wage base used for the calculation. Many enterprises use the basic salary (the social-insurance contribution base), while the lawful base for overtime pay is the wage actually paid for the work being done on a normal working day — including work-linked wage allowances. Where the gap between base salary and actual pay is large, this wrong formula builds up significant wage arrears over the years and becomes a time bomb in collective disputes. Enterprises should review the overtime-pay formula in their payroll regulations and reconcile it against actual payroll at least once a year.

7. Frequently asked questions

How many days off for Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse) 2026? Public-sector employees get 9 consecutive days, 14/02–22/02/2026 (5 statutory Tet days plus 4 weekend days). Private enterprises choose one of three options (1+4, 2+3 or 3+2 days) and must notify employees at least 30 days in advance (Notice 9441/TB-BNV dated 16/10/2025).

When is Hung Kings' Commemoration Day 2026, and is there a compensatory day off? Hung Kings' Day (10th day of the 3rd lunar month) falls on Sunday, 26/04/2026. If Sunday is the enterprise's weekly day off, employees get a compensatory day off on Monday, 27/04/2026 under the 2019 Labor Code.

How does the Apr 30 – May 1 break work in 2026? In 2026, April 30 (Victory Day) is a Thursday and May 1 (Labour Day) is a Friday. Employees get 2 consecutive days off as prescribed, with no compensatory leave.

Which day can enterprises choose for National Day (2 September) 2026? Under the 2019 Labor Code, National Day gives 2 days off: 2 September plus one adjacent day. Enterprises choose 1 September or 3 September alongside 2 September and must notify employees at least 30 days in advance.

What are the statutory overtime limits? Under Article 107 of the 2019 Labor Code, overtime must not exceed 40 hours/month and 200 hours/year, except certain special cases under Government regulations allowing up to 300 hours/year. Overtime requires employee agreement and must respect total working-time limits.

How is overtime and night-work pay calculated? Under Article 98 of the 2019 Labor Code: overtime on normal weekdays at least 150%, on weekly days off at least 200%, on public holidays at least 300% of the normal hourly wage. Night work earns at least an extra 30%; night overtime earns additional rates as prescribed.

Contact FLAT Law Firm to review your company's work schedules, public-holiday calendars and payroll: hotline 0988424851.

References

1. Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 dated 20/11/2019 (effective 01/01/2021).
2. Notice No. 9441/TB-BNV dated 16/10/2025 of the Ministry of Home Affairs on the 2026 Lunar New Year holiday schedule.