Vietnam Leave Laws & Holidays

Last updated on July 24, 2026..

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Vietnam

Vacation (Annual Leave) Quota

12 days

Employees and workers in Vietnam receive 12 days of paid vacation each year. To receive this vacation leave quota, an employee must serve at least 12 months at the company.

After five years of service at the same company, an employee is entitled to one additional day, and in the same manner for every 5 years of service. So, an employee with 5 years of service at the same company would be entitled to 13 days, with 10 years of service - 14 days, etc.

Employees who have not completed a full year of service are entitled to pro-rated vacation leave, receiving approximately one day of vacation time per month of work.

Vacation Entitlements by Job Type

The number of vacation days employees receive in Vietnam depends on their specific job environment and position.

Carry Over

Whether employees can carry over unused vacation days is up to their employer.

PTO Payout at the Termination

When the employment of an employee ends for any reason, and they haven’t used all their days of vacation leave, the employer must pay them for all those remaining days.

Sick Leave in Vietnam

30 to 60 days of partially paid sick leave

The number of paid sick leave days that an employee may take varies from 30 to 60 days per year.

This depends on one main factor:

• Contributions to social security => The more an employee has paid into the system, the more sick leave you can take;

but also

• Job industry => Same as for vacation leave, those who work in a hazardous job are entitled to more days of paid sick leave.

Payout

During their sick leave, an employee receives 75% of the previous month’s salary. This is paid by the Social Insurance Authority, not directly by the employer.

The amount of paid sick leave you get depends on how long an employee has been paying into the Social Insurance Fund:

• Less than 15 years of contributions: 30 days per year;

• 15 to 30 years of contributions: 40 days per year;

• 30 or more years of contributions: 60 days per year.

If an employee suffers from a serious illness that needs long-term therapy, they can get up to 180 days per year. In case they still need treatment even after that, they still receive payment, but at a lower rate (45% - 65% of regular salary).

An employee must have a doctor’s note at a maximum of 48 hours within the 1st day of absence to take legit paid sick leave.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave in Vietnam

6 months

In Vietnam, pregnant employees may take a regular six months of paid maternity leave if they have been contributing to the social security system for a minimum of three months.

Here are the basics.

Maternity leave duration: 6 months.

• Prenatal leave: An employee may start her leave up to two months before the expected date of the birth of a baby. The legal minimum is at least two weeks off before the birth.

• Postnatal leave: The remaining leave is taken after the baby is born.

• An additional leave: An employee who has more than one child may benefit from an extra 30 days of maternity leave for each child after the first.

• Application: An employee must apply for maternity leave at least 15 days before her due date.

Second child: Since July 1, 2026, employees giving birth to their second child are entitled to seven months of paid maternity leave

Payout

• Who pays: The Social Security system covers the payment during maternity leave.

• Amount: An employee receives 100% of her average salary over the past six months, but there’s a cap—20 times the minimum wage.

• How to claim: Within 30 days of giving birth, a pregnant employee needs to submit some paperwork (an application, birth certificate, and hospital discharge papers) to receive her payments.

For ex-pats: Maternity leave payments for ex-pats (living outside the country) are worked out between an employer and an employee.

Stillbirth or Miscarriage

An employee is also entitled to paid leave if she experiences the unfortunate event of a miscarriage or pregnancy termination.

The amount of leave she is entitled to depends on how far along her pregnancy is:

• Less than 5 weeks: 10 days

• 5 to 13 weeks: 20 days

• 13 to 25 weeks: 40 days

• 25 weeks or more: 50 days

Paternity Leave in Vietnam

5 days

A male Vietnamese employee, after becoming a father, is entitled to at least 5 days of fully paid paternity leave for natural and regular childbirth.

However, a new father may be entitled to longer leave in different scenarios of childbirth.

Paternity leave, according to the type of childbirth and number of newborns, is as follows:

• 5 days - Normal delivery;

• 7 days - Caesarean section;

• 10 days - Normal delivery of twins;

• 14 days - Caesarean section of twins.

• In case of the birth of three children or more, an employee receives 3 additional days of paternity leave for each additional child. For example, 13 days for triplets.

Second child: Since July 1, 2026, a male employee is also now entitled to 10 working days of paid paternity leave if his wife gives birth to her second child (normal delivery).

Paternity leave must be taken within the first 30 days from the birth of the child.

In the unfortunate event of the death of the mother, the father of a newborn may take leave to care for their child until the child turns six months old.

Payout

Social Security pays paternity leave, and an employee receives full salary during this period (as is their last salary that they received before leave). To receive the full benefits of paid leave, an employee must have been paying contributions into the social security system for at least 3 months.

Parental Leave in Vietnam

20 days until the child is 3 years old; 15 days until the child is 7.

Eligible employees may take parental leave to care for their child. This gives them up to 20 working days off per year until their child is three years old. Then up to 15 working days per year until the child turns seven.

Payout

If an employee is of Vietnamese nationality, he or she shall receive 75% of their usual salary during this leave, paid by Social Security.

Bereavement Leave in Vietnam

3 days

Employees in Vietnam are entitled to bereavement leave specified by Vietnamese leave laws as follows.

Up to 3 paid days:

• The death of a parent (biological or relationship by adoption);

• The death of a husband or wife;

• The death of their spouse’s parent (biological or relationship by adoption);

• The death of a daughter or a son;

Up to 1 unpaid day:

• The death of their grandparents;

• The death of a sibling.

Jury Duty Leave in Vietnam

Jury duty leave is not specified by law. No jury system. However, trials use “people’s assessors” (lay judges) sitting alongside professional judges. Employers are required to provide unpaid leave for them. People’s assessors receive a daily allowance from the court.

Military Leave in Vietnam

Unpaid leave

Military service is compulsory for young men in Vietnam (24 months of active duty), and performing military service or militia duty is a lawful ground for suspending the employment contract for the entire service period.

This leave is unpaid: the employer owes no salary during the suspension, as conscripts receive allowances from the military instead. The job, however, is protected—within 15 days of completing service, the employee is entitled to return, and the employer must reinstate them under the original contract if it’s still valid.

Voting Leave in Vietnam

Voting leave is not specified by Vietnam leave laws. Elections are constitutionally held on Sundays.

Public Holidays in Vietnam

(*) The dates for the Lunar New Year (Tet) vary every year, as they are based on the Vietnamese calendar. Tet, the most important celebration, will provide for the year 2025, for example, 9 days of leave from January 25 to February 2. Also, the Lunar New Year might be celebrated differently for employees working Monday through Friday and those who work Monday through Saturday.

The further regulations:

• If a public holiday falls on a weekend, employees are given leave for the next working day instead. If it falls on their usual day off, they shall receive leave for another working day instead.

• If an employee is an expat, he or she receives two extra days of leave: one for his or her home country’s New Year and one for his or her home country’s National Day.

• Companies are required to notify their employees of the Lunar New Year (Tet) and National Day schedule at least a month in advance. Most places, such as government departments and agencies, companies, and non-essential services (those that do not provide health, financial support, or food supplies), close down in time for the Tet holiday!

Sources

1. Local Laws & Regulations, https://www.atlashxm.com/en/countries/vietnam

2. Payroll and Benefits Guide Vietnam, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/vietnam/

3. Definitive Guide to Hiring in Vietnam, https://www.globalexpansion.com/countrypedia/Vietnam

4. Maternity benefit rate in Vietnam, https://vietanlaw.com/maternity-benefit-rate-in-vietnam/

5. 2025 Vietnam Public Holidays Calendar, https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/2025-vietnam-public-holidays-list.html/

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.