One thing that helps us power through the day to day grind? All the upcoming public holidays and long weekends spread across the year. 'Cause who doesn't love getting a break without having to take annual leave? If you haven't already heard, instead of the usual 11 gazetted public holidays, we get 12 this year all thanks to the Singapore General Election Polling Day (aka GE2025). Out of these, a total of four public holidays fall on a Friday or Monday, which essentially means we get to enjoy four long weekends in 2025. That's one long weekend less than what we got in 2024, but it turns out that three public holidays, including Polling Day, happen to fall on a Saturday – so those on a standard five-day work week have the option of claiming those as an off day on another day, or receiving salary in lieu. Our advice? Create your own long weekend by taking that off-in-lieu day on a Friday or Monday too.
Now that we're officially in the second quarter of the year, these are all the eight remaining public holidays to look forward to in 2025, with long weekends marked by an asterisk:
- Good Friday: April 18, Friday*
- Labour Day: May 1, Thursday
- Polling Day: May 3, Saturday
- Vesak Day: May 12, Monday*
- Hari Raya Haji: June 7, Saturday
- National Day: August 9, Saturday
- Deepavali: October 20, Monday*
- Christmas Day: December 25, Thursday
The first long weekend of the year has already concluded with Hari Raya Puasa, but there are still three remaining long weekends happening for the rest of the year – with the next one coming real soon on Good Friday. The other two will happen on Vesak Day and Deepavali in May and October respectively. And since we're on the topic: Get informed on the difference between Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji, because the two religious festivals are not one and the same.
If you're required to work on a public holiday, remember that you're entitled to time off in lieu, an extra day's salary at your basic rate of pay, or even overtime pay depending on your particular scenario, as part of Singapore's Employment Act. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has a useful calculator to help you figure out the compensation you should receive.
And for the rest who don't have obligations to work during public holidays, start planning quick beach getaways, nearby road trips, or a luxurious hotel staycation to make the most of your long weekends. Lock in your leave dates ASAP before your colleagues reserve theirs first!
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