Working hours, overtime, leave and public holidays: the 48-hour week, overtime caps and pay, annual leave, the 2026 holiday calendar, and sick and maternity leave

Normal working hours and night work

Chapter VII of Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14 governs working time, with detail in Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP. Under Article 105, normal working hours may not exceed 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. The employer may set working time by the day or by the week; where it sets it by the week, normal hours may not exceed 10 a day and the 48-hour weekly limit still applies. The State encourages a 40-hour week, and many foreign-invested offices work a five-day, 40-hour week by contract or internal rule, but that is a choice, not a legal requirement. Working hours must be stated in the labour contract or the internal labour rules and notified to employees. Shorter maximum hours apply to work on the list of heavy, hazardous or dangerous occupations issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and to minors.

Night work is work between 22:00 and 06:00 (Article 106). It carries a premium of at least 30% of the normal hourly wage (Article 98(2)) and is restricted for minors, pregnant employees from the seventh month (or sixth in remote areas) and employees nursing a child under 12 months, who may not be required to work at night or overtime without their consent.

Rest breaks and weekly rest

An employee working six hours or more continuously in a day is entitled to a break of at least 30 minutes, or 45 minutes for night work, counted as working time (Article 109). The employer may arrange additional short breaks in the internal rules. An employee on shifts is entitled to a break of at least 12 hours before starting the next shift (Article 110).

Under Article 111 every employee is entitled to a weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours. Where the nature of the work prevents a weekly rest, the employer must ensure an average of at least four rest days a month. The employer chooses the weekly rest day, usually Sunday, and records it in the internal labour rules. If a public holiday falls on the weekly rest day, the employee takes a compensatory day off on the next working day (Article 111(3)). Seven-day operations should set rotating rest days in the internal rules.

Overtime: consent, caps and notification

Overtime is work outside normal working hours as set by law, the collective bargaining agreement or the internal rules. Article 107 permits it only with the employee's consent and within three limits. First, overtime in a day may not exceed 50% of normal daily hours; where hours are set by the week, normal hours plus overtime may not exceed 12 hours a day. Second, overtime may not exceed 40 hours a month. Third, overtime may not exceed 200 hours a year, save that up to 300 hours a year is permitted in the sectors and cases listed in Article 107(3) and Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP: production and processing of textiles, garments, footwear, electrical and electronic products, and agricultural, forestry, salt and fishery products; electricity generation and supply, telecommunications, oil refining, and water supply and drainage; work requiring highly qualified or technical workers who cannot be found on the labour market at the time; urgent work that cannot be delayed because of seasonal factors or the timing of materials or products; and other cases the Government defines.

An employer organising between 200 and 300 hours of overtime a year must notify the provincial labour authority, now the provincial Department of Home Affairs, in writing. Failure to notify is itself an offence under Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP, separate from the heavier fines for exceeding the caps. Article 108 allows overtime beyond the caps, and without the employee's consent, only in emergencies: national defence and security mobilisation, and work to protect life or property in natural disasters, fires, epidemics and similar events.

The caps are absolute. Paying a premium, obtaining a waiver from the employee or describing the extra hours as training does not make overtime above 300 hours lawful. Seasonal peaks are met by extra shifts, temporary hiring and, within its limits, labour sub-leasing (Employment contracts and probation).

Overtime and night pay

Article 98 sets minimum rates by reference to the hourly wage for normal work: at least 150% on a normal working day, at least 200% on a weekly rest day, and at least 300% on a public holiday or paid leave day, in the last case not counting the holiday pay the employee receives anyway, so that an employee on a monthly salary who works a public holiday receives in effect four times the hourly rate for those hours. Night work earns at least an extra 30%. Night overtime earns, in addition to the overtime and night rates, a further 20% of the daytime wage for that day; Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP sets out the formula, which differs depending on whether the employee also worked daytime overtime that day.

The hourly wage is derived from the monthly salary for the job, using the method in Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP: the monthly salary divided by the number of normal working days in the month set by the employer and by the normal daily hours. Allowances that are part of the salary for the job enter the calculation; bonuses and welfare payments do not. Employers sometimes agree an all-inclusive salary covering overtime. That does not satisfy Article 98 unless the agreed amount can be shown to cover the statutory rates for the hours actually worked, and labour courts read such clauses against the employer.

Annual leave and personal leave

Under Article 113 an employee with 12 months' service is entitled to 12 working days' paid annual leave; 14 days for minors, employees with disabilities and those in heavy, hazardous or dangerous work; and 16 days for those in especially heavy, hazardous or dangerous work. An employee with less than 12 months' service receives leave in proportion to the months worked. Article 114 adds one day for every five years of service with the same employer. The employer sets the leave schedule after consulting the employee representative organisation and must notify employees in advance; employees may agree with the employer to take leave in several instalments or to combine leave for up to three years. On termination, the employer must pay for any annual leave not taken (Article 113(3)).

Article 115 gives paid personal leave of three days for the employee's own marriage, one day for a child's marriage, and three days on the death of a parent, parent-in-law, spouse or child. One day's unpaid leave is available on the death of a grandparent or sibling or the marriage of a parent or sibling, and further unpaid leave by agreement. Many foreign-invested employers grant more generous leave by contract, which is permitted; what an employer may not do is grant less.

Public holidays in 2026

Article 112 gives Vietnamese employees 11 paid public holiday days: Gregorian New Year (1 January, one day); Lunar New Year (Tết, five days); Victory Day (30 April, one day); International Labour Day (1 May, one day); National Day (2 September and one adjacent day, two days); and Hung Kings' Commemoration Day (the tenth day of the third lunar month, one day). Resolution No. 28/2026/QH16 on the development of Vietnamese culture, in force from 1 July 2026, designated 24 November as Vietnam Culture Day, a day off with full pay, so the calendar for Vietnamese employees now runs to 12 paid days. The Government is preparing amendments to the Labour Code that will write the new holiday into Article 112. Foreign employees are entitled, in addition, to one day for their traditional New Year and one for their national day.

The Prime Minister fixes each year the exact Tết days and the day adjacent to National Day for the public sector. Private employers are free to choose the Tết days within the statutory number, but most follow the public sector pattern and announce it to staff in advance. Longer public-sector breaks are achieved by swapping working days, which a private employer may agree with staff but need not. A public holiday that falls on a weekly rest day gives a compensatory day off.

Sick leave, maternity and other leave paid by social insurance

Sick pay in Vietnam is a social insurance benefit, not a salary obligation. Under Articles 42 to 45 of Law No. 41/2024/QH15 on Social Insurance, an insured employee who is unable to work because of illness or a non-occupational accident, or who cares for a sick child under seven, receives a benefit of 75% of the salary on which contributions were paid. The annual maximum, counted in working days, is 30 days for an employee with under 15 years of contributions, 40 days for 15 to under 30 years and 60 days for 30 years or more, with higher limits for heavy or hazardous work and continued benefit for listed long-term illnesses. Leave of less than half a day counts as half a day. The employer pays no salary for those days but must process the claim with Vietnam Social Security and may top up the benefit by contract.

Maternity leave is six months for a female employee giving birth, also paid by social insurance at 100% of the average insured salary for the six months before leave. From 1 July 2026, Law No. 113/2025/QH15 on Population and its implementing Decree No. 168/2026/ND-CP extend maternity leave to seven months for the birth of a second child and increase paternity leave for a second child. Male employees otherwise receive paternity leave of between five and fourteen working days depending on the circumstances of the birth. An employer may not terminate a pregnant employee or one on maternity leave or raising a child under 12 months, save where the employer ceases to operate (Article 37), and must reinstate her to her old job, or a job with no lower salary, on her return.

Foreign employees who participate in compulsory social insurance (Social, health and unemployment insurance) receive the same sickness and maternity benefits. Work accidents and occupational diseases are covered by the separate occupational accident fund, financed by the employer's 0.5% contribution.