Singapore's list of 2019 public holidays

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower has just announced the list of public holidays for 2019:

• 1 January 2019 - Tuesday - New Year's Day
• 5 February 2019 - Tuesday - Chinese New Year
• 6 February 2019 - Wednesday - Chinese New Year
• 19 April 2019 - Friday - Good Friday
• 1 May 2019 - Wednesday - Labour Day
• 19 May 2019 - Sunday - Vesak Day*
• 5 June 2019 - Wednesday - Hari Raya Puasa
• 9 August 2019 - Friday - National Day
• 11 August 2019 - Sunday - Hari Raya Haji^
• 27 October 2019 - Sunday - Deepavali#
• 25 December 2019 - Wednesday - Christmas Day

*Monday, 20 May 2019, will be a public holiday if your rest day falls on 19 May 2019. ^Monday, 12 August 2019, will be a public holiday if your rest day falls on 11 August 2019. #Monday, 28 October 2019, will be a public holiday if your rest day falls on 27 October 2019.

This presents four long weekends in 2019 - Good Friday, Vesak Day, Hari Raya Haji, and Deepavali, the last three of which fall on Sunday, typically the rest day for office workers, thus the Monday off in lieu.

ALSO READ: Mark your calendars: These are Singapore’s 2020 public holidays

What HR needs to know about employee rules on a public holiday (PH):

• Employees are entitled to gross rate of pay on a PH, if they were not absent on the working day immediately before or after a holiday without consent or a reasonable excuse; or were are on authorised leave (e.g. sick leave, annual leave) on the day immediately before or after a holiday.
• If employees are required to work on a public holiday, they should be paid an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay.
• If employees work on a public holiday, they and the employer can mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.
• For employees in a managerial or executive position, the employer may grant time off in lieu for working on a public holiday. The time off should consist of a mutually agreed number of hours.

[Full set of Ministry of Manpower guidelines on public holidays]

Lead photo / Ministry of Manpower