The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has announced the 11 gazetted public holidays for 2017. HR professionals should take note of the following dates:
| 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.
