Singapore public holidays for 2020 announced

The Ministry of Manpower has announced the gazetted public holidays for Singapore in 2020. According to the release, there will be 11 gazetted public holidays in Singapore next year.

There will be seven long weekends in 2020, compared to only four long weekends in 2019. In 2020, four of the public holidays fall on a Friday, while three fall on a Sunday, which means those for whom Sunday is a normal day of rest will enjoy a public holiday on the following Monday.

The first Day of Chinese New Year (January 25th) and Deepavali (November 14th) fall on a Saturday in 2020 and therefore are not compensated by a public holiday on a weekday.

This year the only public holidays that fall in consecutive weeks are Labour Day (Friday May 1st) and Vesak Day (Thursday May 7th). Using four days of your holiday allowance in that first week of May would mean you would enjoy a ten day break.

In the statement, the Ministry of Manpower highlighted that under the amended Employment Act, all managers and executives are entitled to paid public holidays from April 1st 2019.

Previously, only managers and executives earning up to S$4,500 a month were entitled to this.

Eligible employees include workmen earning more than S$4,500 a month, non-workmen earning more than S$2,600 a month, and all managers and executives, said MOM.

Employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay. Alternatively, employers and staff can agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.

Employers may also grant certain staff time off in lieu of working on a public holiday, which should consist of a mutually agreed number of hours. 

National holidays in Singapore in 2020

Day	Date	Holiday	Comments
Wednesday	Jan 01	New Year’s Day
Saturday	Jan 25	Chinese New Year	1st 2 days of Chinese Lunar New Year
Sunday	Jan 26	Chinese New Year Holiday	1st 2 days of Chinese Lunar New Year
Monday	Jan 27	Chinese New Year (in lieu)
Friday	Apr 10	Good Friday	Friday before Easter Sunday
Friday	May 01	Labour Day	International Workers’ Day
Thursday	May 07	Vesak Day	Birth of Buddha
Sunday	May 24	Hari Raya Puasa	End of Ramadan
Monday	May 25	Hari Raya Puasa Holiday	End of Ramadan
Friday	Jul 31	Hari Raya  Haji	Feast of the sacrifice
Sunday	Aug 09	National Day
Monday	Aug 10	National Day
Saturday	Nov 14	Deepavali	Dewali
Friday	Dec 25	Christmas Day