Your travel plans, sorted: 5 long weekends in Singapore's 2027 public holidays

Whether you are planning business events, regional meetings, or simply looking forward to your next break, these dates are worth keeping a tab on.

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has announced the public holiday calendar for 2027. There will be a total of 11 dates to take note of, including five long weekends across the year.

Of the public holidays listed above, employees can look forward to five long weekends in 2027:

• New Year’s Day — 1 January 2027 (Friday).
• Chinese New Year — 6 and 7 February 2027 (Saturday and Sunday), with Monday, 8 February 2027, observed as a public holiday if the employee’s rest day falls on 7 February.
• Good Friday — 26 March 2027 (Friday).
• Hari Raya Haji — 17 May 2027 (Monday).
• National Day — 9 August 2027 (Monday).

As always, employers are reminded to comply with the Employment Act when managing public holiday entitlements.

1. Employees are entitled to 11 paid public holidays a year.
2. If an employee is required to work on a public holiday, employers should generally pay the employee an extra day’s salary. Alternatively, by mutual agreement, employers may provide:
   1. A public holiday in lieu.
   2. Time off in lieu (only for employees not covered under Part IV of Employment Act).

• The additional day’s salary should be paid at the basic rate of pay.
  • An employee's monthly gross salary already includes payment for the holiday, so employers only need to pay an additional day’s salary.

• If an employee is absent without reason on the working day immediately before or after the public holiday, they may not be entitled to holiday pay.
• If the holiday falls on a rest day, the next working day will be a paid holiday.
• If employees are on a five-day workweek, Saturday would be considered a non-working day.
  • For a public holiday that falls on a Saturday, they should get either a day off or salary in lieu.

• Employees are entitled to their gross rate of pay on a public holiday, if:
  • They were not absent on the working day immediately before or after a holiday without consent or a reasonable excuse.
  • They are not on authorised leave (e.g. sick leave, annual leave, unpaid leave) on the day immediately before or after a holiday
    
• Employees are not entitled to holiday pay if the holiday falls on their approved unpaid leave.
• For employees not covered under the Employment Act, additional days off or extra salary in lieu should be given according to the terms of their employment contract.
• If an employee is not covered under Part IV of the Employment Act, employers can grant them time off in lieu of working on a public holiday. The time-off should consist of a mutually agreed number of hours.
• If there is no mutual agreement on the duration of time off in lieu, the employer can decide on one of the following:
  • Pay an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay for one day’s work.
  • For working four hours or less on a holiday, grant time off in lieu of four hours on a working day.
  • For working more than four hours on a holiday, grant a full day off on a working day.

* - Subject to further confirmation.

READ MORE: Plan ahead: Public holidays across APAC in 2026