Official Notice in Vietnam: April 30 and May 1, 2024 holidays shall include 5 consecutive days off

Official Notice in Vietnam: April 30 and May 1, 2024 holidays shall include 5 consecutive days off (Internet image) 

Regarding this matter, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

On April 12, 2024, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs issued Notice 1570/TB-BLDTBXH on proposed swap of working days during the Reunification Day (April 30th) and international Workers' Day (May 1st) holiday of 2024 for officials, public employees and employees of State administrative agencies, public service providers and enterprises in Vietnam.

Official Notice in Vietnam: The holidays April 30 and May 1, 2024 shall include 5 consecutive days off

Pursuant to the Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's directive in Official Dispatch 2450/VPCP-KGVX dated April 12th 2024 of the Government Office proposing swap of working days during the Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers' Day (May 1) holiday of 2024, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affairs hereby notifies State administrative agencies, public service providers and enterprises of the swap of working days as follows:

- Officials, public employees and employees of State administrative agencies and public service providers (hereinafter referred to as "officials and public employees") will have their working day of April 29th 2024 (Monday) swapped with May 4th 2024 (Saturday).

This means they will have 05 consecutive days off from April 27th 2024 (Saturday) to May 1st 2024 (Wednesday) for the Reunification Day and International Workers' Day holiday of 2024. May 4th 2024 (Saturday) will be the compensatory working day.

- Agencies and units that apply this schedule shall arrange their departments to work in a reasonable manner to continuously process works, serve the best interest of their organizations and the people. Officials shall be assigned to keep watch during the holiday to handle urgent and unexpected works. Agencies and units that do not take automatic days-off on Saturday and Sunday every week shall arrange their own holiday schedules in accordance with regulations of law.

- Employers at enterprises are encouraged to apply the same holiday schedule to their employees as that applied to officials and public employees, provided their employees receive all the benefits as prescribed by law. Agreements that are more beneficial for employees are encouraged.

What are the penalties for not giving employees time off on April 30 and May 1 in Vietnam?

According to Clause 2, Article 18 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP, violations of regulations on working hours and rest times are as follows:

 A fine ranging from VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed upon an employer for committing violations against regulations on weekly breaks or annual leave or public holidays.

Note: This fine is for individuals; for organizations, the fine is 2 times the fine for individuals (Article 6 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP).

Thus, April 30 and May 1 are holidays, according to the law. If the employer does not give the employee days off on this holiday, they may be fined from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND. Violating organizations may be fined from 20,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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