The government has released the dates of next year’s 11 official public holidays

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has announced the 11 gazetted public holidays for 2017. HR professionals should take note of the following dates:
Under the Employment Act (EA), employees required to work on a public holiday are entitled to an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay, the Ministry said. Both employee and employer can also mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.
Employers also have the option of granting managers and executives time-off-in-lieu of a public holiday provided that the individual earns a basic monthly salary of up to $4,500. This time off should contain a pre-agreed upon number of hours.
The EA also states that if a public holiday falls on a Saturday, employees who are not required to work on that day are entitled to an additional day off or an extra day’s salary in lieu of the holiday.
Holiday | Date | Day |
New Year’s Day | 1 January | Sunday |
New Year’s Day (observed) | 2 January | Monday |
Chinese New Year | 28 January 29 January |
Saturday Sunday |
Chinese New Year (observed) | 30 January | Monday |
Good Friday | 14 April | Friday |
Labour Day | 1 May | Monday |
Vesak Day | 10 May | Wednesday |
Hari Raya Puasa | 25 June | Sunday |
Hari Raya Puasa (observed) | 26 June | Monday |
National Day | 9 August | Wednesday |
Hari Raya Haji | 1 September | Friday |
Deepavali | 18 October | Wednesday |
Christmas Day | 25 December | Monday |
Under the Employment Act (EA), employees required to work on a public holiday are entitled to an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay, the Ministry said. Both employee and employer can also mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.
Employers also have the option of granting managers and executives time-off-in-lieu of a public holiday provided that the individual earns a basic monthly salary of up to $4,500. This time off should contain a pre-agreed upon number of hours.
The EA also states that if a public holiday falls on a Saturday, employees who are not required to work on that day are entitled to an additional day off or an extra day’s salary in lieu of the holiday.