With the proposal to extend the 2026 New Year's holiday to four consecutive days, on which day will employees have to work to compensate?

The Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed swapping working days, opening up the possibility of a continuous New Year's Day holiday in 2026 from January 1st to January 4th.

The Ministry of Interior has recently issued a document seeking opinions from ministries and agencies on the proposed plan for the 2026 New Year's Day holiday for officials, civil servants, and employees, suggesting a four-day consecutive holiday by swapping working days to extend the New Year's break.

According to the plan proposed by the Ministry of Interior, January 1, 2026 will remain a public holiday as currently stipulated, while the working day of Friday, January 2, 2026, will be swapped with the weekly day off of Saturday, January 10, 2026. This will allow employees to avoid having to return to work immediately after the New Year.

If this proposal is approved, the 2026 New Year's holiday will last for four consecutive days, from Thursday, January 1, 2026 to Sunday, January 4, 2026, including two regular weekend days and two days off due to a work schedule swap.

The Ministry of Interior stated that the proposal aims to encourage employers in the business sector to adopt a similar New Year's holiday schedule to that of civil servants and public employees, while still ensuring full benefits for employees as stipulated by law and creating room for more favorable agreements.

Holiday schedule for workers in 2026

According to the 2019 Labor Code, each year employees are entitled to a total of 11 days of paid leave, including one day off for New Year's Day on January 1st, five days off for Lunar New Year (as decided by the Prime Minister), and other holidays such as Hung Kings' Commemoration Day, April 30th, May 1st, and National Day on September 2nd.

In 2026, January 1st falls on a Thursday, facilitating the swapping of the workday to January 2nd, 2026, something many workers have been hoping for to have a more complete New Year's holiday.

Previously, the Ministry of Interior also announced the Lunar New Year holiday schedule for 2026, according to which officials, civil servants, and employees in administrative agencies, public service organizations, political organizations, and socio-political organizations will have 5 days off as prescribed, including 1 day before Tet and 4 days after Tet.

Specifically, the Lunar New Year holiday in 2026 will begin on Monday, February 16, 2026 (the 29th day of the 12th lunar month of the Year of the Snake) and end on Friday, February 20, 2026 (the 4th day of the 1st lunar month of the Year of the Horse), combined with four consecutive weekly days off, allowing public sector agencies to have up to nine consecutive days off.