Tet holiday business closures in Vietnam: plan ahead

Tet holiday business closures begin this week, because Lunar New Year falls on Monday, 8 February 2016. Many offices, factories and shops in Vietnam will be shut for several days. If you send goods, pay staff or wait on a reply from a Vietnamese partner, plan around the gap now. This short checklist shows what to settle first.

Today, 7 February, is Lunar New Year's Eve. For most firms the working year is already over. The steps below still help you avoid late deliveries, missed pay and silent inboxes in the days after.

What the law says about Tet leave

Vietnam's Labour Code gives employees five paid days off for Tet each year. The law counts them as one day at the end of the lunar year and four days at the start of the new one. That is the minimum. The Government can set the exact calendar dates each year, so check the official announcement for this year.

A worker who is asked to work on a public holiday must be paid more. The Code sets holiday overtime at no less than 300 percent of the normal hourly rate, not counting the pay for the holiday itself. If a holiday falls on a weekly rest day, the employee gets a day off in exchange on the next working day. Ask your HR team how your own company handles this before you promise a partner anything.

The Code took effect on 1 May 2013, so this is the third Tet under the current rules.

Source: Labour Code, Law No. 10/2012/QH13 (effective 1 May 2013), on public holidays and holiday pay.

Why closures often last longer than five days

Five paid days is the legal floor, not the real length of the break. Many companies add days next to the holiday, and many staff travel to home provinces and return late. Some workers do not come back for a week or more. Trucks, ports and small suppliers may also run at half speed after the holiday.

For planning, assume your Vietnamese partners are slow for the whole week before Tet and the week after it. A supplier who says a job takes ten days may need twenty. Treat any date inside that window as a soft date.

Source: Labour Code, Law No. 10/2012/QH13, on the minimum number of paid Tet days.

A checklist for buyers and suppliers

Confirm in writing, this week, the last day each partner will ship and the first day it will work again. Ask for a named person who can answer an urgent email or call, and get a mobile number as well as an email address.

Move order dates forward. Place your final order before the break begins, and plan for deliveries to arrive after it ends. Do not count the closure days as working days in any lead time. If goods must reach a port or customs office, ask when that office will be open.

Check stock levels. Compare what you hold with what you expect to sell until your supplier is back at full speed. If you will run short, order extra now or find a backup source.

Review contracts for delivery dates, payment dates and penalty terms that fall inside the closure. Where a date is tight, agree a short written extension now. It is far easier than a dispute in March.

Source: general business practice, based on the closure periods set out in the Labour Code, Law No. 10/2012/QH13.

Payroll and banks

Many employers pay salary, and often a Tet bonus, before the holiday. Staff expect it, and it is a common source of friction if it is late. Decide the pay date early and tell your team in writing. Do the same for any outside contractors you pay.

Banks and government offices also close for the public holiday. Transfers, tax filings and licence work may stop for several days. File what you can before the break, and keep some cash or a cleared transfer ready for urgent costs.

If you ask people to work during the holiday, pay the correct premium and agree it in advance. Overtime is lawful only with the employee's consent and within the limits of the Code.

Source: Labour Code, Law No. 10/2012/QH13 (effective 1 May 2013), on pay and holiday work.

Staffing and contact gaps

Set an out-of-office message with clear dates and a backup contact. Tell customers when you close, when you reopen, and how to reach someone in an emergency. Short, plain notices cut the number of angry calls on the first day back.

Plan the return as well. On the first working days after Tet, some teams will be short. Put the most urgent tasks on the first week's list, and leave larger projects until the full team is back. Visitors from abroad should avoid booking meetings in the week after the new year.

This article gives general information about business practice and the law. It is not legal advice, so check the details with your own adviser or the labour authority.

Source: general business practice; legal points drawn from the Labour Code, Law No. 10/2012/QH13.

The short version

Tet leave is at least five paid days, and the real gap is often longer. Confirm dates in writing, order early, pay staff before the break, and name a backup contact. A few hours of planning this week will save weeks of delay.

Sources: Labour Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Law No. 10/2012/QH13, passed by the National Assembly on 18 June 2012, effective 1 May 2013 (public holidays and holiday pay provisions); the published lunar calendar for 2016.