Vietnam annual leave rules: days, seniority and pay

Vietnam annual leave rules start with a simple base: an employee on a standard contract who has worked a full 12 months earns 12 paid days of leave each year. Longer service, heavy or hazardous work, and age can add more days. This guide explains the numbers and the steps an employer and employee should follow.

How many days do employees earn?

The Labor Code of 2019 sets the yearly paid leave by type of work. Most employees get 12 days. Employees under 18, employees with disabilities, and people doing heavy, toxic or dangerous work get 14 days. People doing work on the official list of especially heavy, toxic or dangerous jobs get 16 days.

These are working days, not calendar days. Weekly rest days and public holidays are separate and do not use up annual leave. The leave is paid at the normal wage.

Keep a simple record each year. Write down the number of days you are owed, the days you took and the dates. A short note like this is easy to share with your employer if a question comes up later, and it takes only a few minutes to keep.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Articles 111, 112 and 113 (weekly rest, public holidays, annual leave).

How does seniority add days?

Every five years of service with the same employer adds one day to the yearly leave. A person with a base of 12 days who has worked five years for the company gets 13 days. After ten years, the total is 14 days. After fifteen years, it is 15 days.

The same step applies to the 14 and 16 day groups. A person in the 14 day group with ten years of service would therefore have 16 days.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 114 (additional leave for seniority); Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP guiding the Labor Code.

What if you have worked less than 12 months?

A person who has not yet completed 12 months gets leave in proportion to the months worked. For example, an employee with the 12 day base who has worked six months earns six days. Check your contract and the company rules for how this works in practice.

The guiding decree lists which periods count as time worked when leave is calculated. Ask your employer which periods, such as probation or paid leave, were counted in your balance, and ask to see the figures.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 113; Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP.

Who decides when leave is taken?

The employer sets the leave calendar, but only after asking for the employee's views. The employer must tell each employee the plan in advance. This means leave should not appear on short notice without a talk first.

An employee and the employer can also agree to take the leave in several parts. They can agree to save leave and take it together, for up to three years of leave at once. Put any such deal in writing, so both sides can check it later.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 113 (leave scheduling and taking leave).

How is unused leave paid?

If an employee leaves the job or loses it and still has leave days that were not taken, the employer must pay for them in money. The same applies when the work period is shorter than a full year and some earned leave remains. The pay is based on the wage for those days, so it is easy to check against the pay slip.

Employers and employees can both prepare for this moment. Ask for a leave balance before you hand in notice. Check how many days you have used and how many remain. Then compare that number with your pay slips and your contract, so the final payment holds no surprises.

A good habit is to write the leave balance on each month's pay slip. It prevents disputes when a contract ends and keeps the records clear for both sides.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, Article 113; Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP.

Quick checklist

Start with your contract and your employer's labor rules. Count your base days, add one day for each full five years with the same employer, and check which leave has already been used. If the numbers do not match, ask for the leave record in writing. This article gives general information, not legal advice, and the exact rules can differ by contract and by type of work, so confirm details with a qualified Vietnamese labor lawyer or the local labor office.

Sources: Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14; Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP.