When is Black Friday in 2023 in Vietnam?

What day is Black Friday in Vietnam?

Black Friday, also known as "Thứ Sáu đen tối", is an unofficial name for the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving (an annual holiday celebrated mainly in the United States and Canada that falls on the fourth Friday in November).

Black Friday falls around November 23 - 29 every year and has been considered the opening day for the American Christmas shopping season since 1952.

In recent years, the Black Friday event has not only been limited to Western countries but has also spread to many countries around the world, including Vietnam.

According to this regulation, Vietnamese businesses and sellers are also gradually adapting, responding and launching many attractive promotions.

In 2023, Black Friday, also known as Thanksgiving, will fall on November 24, 2023.

When is Black Friday in 2023 in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Do employees have to go to work on Black Friday?

Pursuant to Article 112 of the 2019 Labor Code, regulations on public holidays are as follows:

Public holidays

1. Employees shall be entitled to fully paid days off on the following public holidays:

a) Gregorian Calendar New Year Holiday: 01 day (the 1^st of January of the Gregorian calendar);

b) Lunar New Year Holidays: 05 days;

c) Victory Day: 01 day (the 30^th of April of the Gregorian calendar);

d) International Labor Day: 01 day (the 1^st of May of the Gregorian calendar);

dd) National Day: 02 days (the 2^nd of September of the Gregorian calendar and the previous or next day);

e) Hung Kings Commemoration Day: 01 day (the 10^th of the third month of the Lunar calendar).

2. Foreign employees in Vietnam are entitled to 01 traditional public holiday and 01 National Day of their country, in addition to the public holidays stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The Prime Minister shall decide the specific public holidays mentioned in Point b and Point dd Clause 1 of this Article on an annual basis.

According to this Article, currently in Vietnam, employees will have 04 holidays and 02 New Year holidays to enjoy full salary, specifically:

For Tet holidays:

- New Year's Day: 01 day (January 1 of the solar calendar).

- Lunar New Year: 05 days.

For holidays:

- Victory Day: 01 day (April 30 of the solar calendar).

- International Labor Day: 01 day (May 1 of the solar calendar.

- National Day: 02 days (September 2 of the solar calendar and 01 day immediately before or after).

- Hung King's Death Anniversary: ​​01 day (March 10th of the lunar calendar).

From the above regulations in Vietnam, it can be seen that Black Friday is a day that is not included in the regulations for holidays and New Year holidays according to the 2019 Labor Code. Therefore, employees will not be entitled to leave on this day.

On Black Friday, can employers force employees to work overtime in Vietnam?

First, according to Clause 1, Article 59 of Decree 145/2020/ND-CP, there are regulations on employees’ consent to overtime work as follows:

Employee's consent when working overtime

1. Except for the cases specified in Article 108 of the Labor Code, the employer must obtain the employees’ consent to the following matters when organizing overtime work:

a) Overtime hours;

b) Overtime location;

c) Overtime works.

2. In case the employees’ consent is made into a separate document, refer to form No. 01/PLIV in Appendix IV hereof.

At the same time, Article 108 of the 2019 Labor Code has regulations on overtime working in special cases as follows:

Overtime working in special cases

In the following cases, an employer has the right to request any employee to work overtime on any day without limits on the overtime hours as prescribed in Article 107 of this Labor Code and the employee must not decline:

1. Execution of a conscription order for the purpose of national security or national defense as prescribed by law;

2. Performance of tasks necessary to protect human life or property of certain organizations or individuals in the prevention and recovery of natural disasters, fires, epidemics and disasters, unless those tasks threaten the employees’ health or life as prescribed by occupational safety and health laws.

Thus, from the above regulations in Vietnam, when the employer organizes overtime work, it is required to receive the employee's consent and must include contents such as overtime time and location, part-time job.

However, only in cases of overtime work in Article 108 of the 2019 Labor Code, employees cannot refuse to work overtime.

Therefore, if it does not fall into the cases in Article 108 of the 2019 Labor Code, employers will not be allowed to force employees to work overtime on Black Friday.

Best regards!