According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 112 of the 2019 Labor Code:
New Year’s Day, January 1st, is a paid holiday for employees.
Regarding New Year’s Day 2026, employees across the country will have a paid day off on January 1st.
The specific holiday schedule for employees working in non-state-owned enterprises will be decided by the employer, but a minimum of one day off is guaranteed.
This year, New Year’s Day 2026 falls on a Thursday (1/1/2026). Depending on the weekly rest schedule of one day (Sunday) or two days (Saturday and Sunday), employees may have one day off or four consecutive days off.
Therefore, for more convenience and to create a longer holiday with the weekend, for enterprises with a fixed two-day weekend schedule on Saturdays and Sundays, it is possible to swap the working day on Friday (January 2, 2026) to Saturday (December 27, 2025) or Saturday (January 10, 2026).
Thus, by compensating for the New Year’s Day 2026 swap, employees can have four consecutive days off from Thursday, January 1, 2026 to Sunday, January 4, 2026 (including one holiday, one compensatory day off, and two weekend days).
In the case of employees working in enterprises that only have Sundays off, they will have one day off on Thursday (1/1/2026).
According to regulations, the employer shall notify the employees of the 2026 New Year holiday schedule at least 30 days in advance before implementing it.
The holiday schedule for New Year’s Day 2026 for officials, public employees, and employees of administrative agencies, public non-business units, political organizations, and socio-political organizations (collectively referred to as the state sector) will be implemented according to the specific announcement of the Ministry of Home Affairs on the holiday schedule in 2026 (expected to be issued at the end of 2025).
Civil servants and public employees in agencies and units with a fixed Saturday and Sunday weekly rest schedule are also expected to be allowed to swap work schedules to have four consecutive days off.
Employees may have four days off during New Year’s Day 2026. Illustration: TL
Which holidays in 2026 will employees have paid time off?
According to the 2019 Labor Code, in 2026, employees will have a minimum of 11 days off for holidays and weekends.
Employees are entitled to paid time off on the following holidays: New Year’s Day (1 day), Lunar New Year (5 days), Hung Kings Commemoration Day on the 10th day of the third lunar month (1 day), April 30th Victory Day (1 day), International Labor Day on May 1st (1 day), and National Day on September 2nd (2 days).
Foreigners working in Vietnam will have an additional day off for their traditional Lunar New Year and National Day.
Hung Kings Commemoration Day falls on Sunday, April 26, 2026, and New Year’s Day falls on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
The 2019 Labor Code notes that employers have the right to decide on the weekly day of rest on Sunday or another day of the week but must include it in the labor regulations.
If a holiday falls on a weekend, employees shall be entitled to a day off to ensure they have 11 days off for holidays and weekends.
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