Singapore public holidays 2026: Plan your leave, know your rights

As we look ahead to 2026, Singapore’s annual public holiday calendar offers an excellent foundation for planning time off, family visits and overseas trips.

With 11 official public holidays making six long weekends next year, a little strategic planning can go a long way toward maximising your rest days and holiday experiences.

Here’s your guide to the 2026 public holiday schedule, tips for maximising long weekends, and an overview of employees’ rights regarding public holidays.

Long weekends highlight

This year is especially friendly for planning multi-day breaks.

Six public holidays fall adjacent to weekends, creating built-in long weekends without the need for annual leave.

• Good Friday – Friday, 3 April
• Labour Day – Friday, 1 May
• Vesak Day – Sunday, 31 May (public holiday observed on Monday, 1 June)
• National Day – Sunday, 9 August (public holiday observed on Monday, 10 August)
• Deepavali – Sunday, 8 November (public holiday observed on Monday, 9 November)
• Christmas Day – Friday, 25 December

Maximising your annual leave

Strategically place annual leave around public holidays to extend your break:

• Chinese New Year (17 and 18 February): Taking three days’ leave on 16, 19, and 20 can yield up to nine days’ break.
• Mid-week holidays like Hari Raya Haji can be bridged with leave on the surrounding days to create extended breaks.
• Christmas week can be extended into a long festive holiday with just a few days’ leave.

With as few as 11 to 15 annual leave days, you could enjoy around 39 to 51 days off in 2026, depending on your planning.

Workers’ rights and working on public holidays

But before you open the calendar app and plan your leave days, it is also important to know your entitlements if you are rostered to work on a public holiday or if holidays fall on your rest days.

Employees covered by the Employment Act are entitled to 11 paid public holidays each year.

Working on a public holiday

If you are required to work on a public holiday:

• You are entitled to an extra day’s salary at your basic rate of pay, in addition to your gross pay for that day.
• If the public holiday falls on a rest day or non-working day, you can also choose another day off.
• Alternatively, employers may grant time off in lieu by mutual agreement rather than pay extra if the employee is not covered under Part 4 of the Employment Act.

Who is covered under Part 4 of the Employment Act?

Part 4 of the Employment Act, which provides for rest days, hours of work and other conditions of service, only applies to:

• A workman (doing manual labour) earning a monthly basic salary of $4,500 or less.
• An employee who is not a workman, but who is covered by the Employment Act and earns a monthly basic salary of$2,600 or less.

Plan for 2026

Public holidays are a valuable part of work-life balance and well-being.

Travel, explore locally, celebrate, or rest—advance planning is key, especially in coordinating annual leave with public holidays.

At the same time, knowing your rights ensures you are fairly compensated if work duties are scheduled on these days. And informed planning and understanding your rights will help you enjoy a rewarding 2026.

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