Vietnam's 12th Public Holiday Is Confirmed. November 24 Is a Single Day Off
November 24 is now a paid public holiday in Vietnam, taking the annual total to 12 days. The legal basis is a National Assembly resolution, not the Labour Code — which still lists 11.
[Vietnam's 12th Public Holiday Is Confirmed. November 24 Is a Single Day Off]
Workers in Vietnam get November 24 off this year, on full pay. It falls on a Tuesday, and for now it is a single day with no long weekend attached.
The legal basis is a resolution on the development of Vietnamese culture, passed by the National Assembly on April 24 with 477 of 489 deputies present voting in favour. It took effect on July 1.
Getting there took most of the year. The Politburo issued Resolution 80-NQ/TW on January 7, settling on November 24 as Vietnam Culture Day and signalling that it should become a paid holiday. The government followed on February 24 with Resolution 30/NQ-CP, instructing that the 2019 Labour Code be amended to include it. The April vote is what actually made it law.
The Labour Code itself still has not been changed. Article 112 lists six items totalling 11 days: New Year's Day, five days for Lunar New Year, Reunification Day on April 30, International Labour Day on May 1, two days for National Day, and Hung Kings' Commemoration Day. Culture Day is not among them.
That gap was deliberate. During the April debate, some deputies argued a paid day off belongs in the Labour Code so the legal system stays consistent. In its response, the government asked to keep the provision in the resolution so Resolution 80 could take effect immediately, and committed to folding it into the Labour Code amendment going before the National Assembly's second session of its 16th term this October. A draft circulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs in June would add point (g) to Article 112: "Vietnam Culture Day: 1 day (November 24)."
The same draft would also move the job of announcing the annual holiday calendar from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to the Minister of Home Affairs, with a deadline of December 31 of the preceding year. That applies to civil servants and staff at administrative and public service units. Which specific days are taken off each year would still be the prime minister's call.
Two holidays remain in 2026: National Day on September 2, and Culture Day on November 24. National Day is statutorily two days, September 1 and 2, but the government has shuffled working days so the break runs five days straight, from Saturday August 29 through Wednesday September 2. The distinction matters for employers. The statutory holiday applies to all workers; the shuffled long weekend applies to the civil service, and private companies are simply encouraged to follow.
No such shuffle has been approved for Culture Day. In April, workers petitioned through the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour to move Monday November 23 to the following Saturday, which would create a four-day break from November 21 to 24. The confederation said it would gather the proposals and take them up with the relevant agencies. As of August, nothing has been approved, so the day stands at one.
What actually happens on the day is still being worked out. On June 19 the prime minister signed Decision 1111/QĐ-TTg, setting out the plan for running Culture Day from 2026 to 2030. The April resolution also encourages the public to take part in cultural activities, singling out young people and children.
One other provision in the same resolution has nothing to do with days off but is worth noting: state spending on culture must be at least 2% of total budget expenditure each year, rising over time.
As for the date, November 24 marks the first National Cultural Conference in 1946, chaired by President Hồ Chí Minh. Vietnam's public holidays now run to 12 days a year. The list in the Labour Code will only catch up if the amendment passes in October.
Specific cases should be checked against announcements from Vietnam's labour authorities and the text of the Labour Code.
