Public Holidays In 2025: How To Maximise Annual Leaves To Enjoy 10 Long Weekends

Singapore is well-known for its fast-paced workplaces and long working hours. Amidst the hustle and bustle of work, every employee looks forward to the precious reprieve that public holidays provide.

In 2025, Singaporeans can look forward a year filled with opportunities to take advantage of some the public holidays that can turn into long weekend holidays by strategically planning ahead and maximising your annual leaves. 

Whether you’re hoping to jet off to nearby destinations, spend quality time with loved ones, or indulge in a hobby you’ve long set aside, here’s the guide to how you can stretch your time off with up to 10 long weekends in 2025.

Read Also: 18 Types of Leaves Offered By Singapore Companies (Statutory And Non-Statutory)

There Are 11 Public Holidays In Singapore

There are 11 paid Public Holidays each year that are mandated by the government.

Source: MOM

As you can already see, there are some opportunities to make an extra long weekday using our annual leaves – especially when the Public Holiday falls on a Friday, Monday or even Thursday and Tuesday.

Governed by the Employment Act, employees in Singapore have a minimum of 7 to 14 days of annual leave in Singapore. Often though, many employees may enjoy the upper limit or even more than 14 days of annual leaves. These can be used strategically with Public Holidays to make long weekend holiday plans – something both employees and employers will be aware of.

Read Also: Half Days On Public Holiday Eves, Block Leave, Mental Health Day Off: 10 Leave Practices That Are Not Statutory Entitlements And Why Do Companies Implement Them

Enjoying Up To 13 Long Weekends In 2025 

#1 New Year’s Day (Wednesday, 1 January 2025)

In 2025, you can extend these to enjoy up to 10 long weekends throughout the year. For those who have already planned ahead, New Year’s Day falls on a Wednesday and using your last remaining leaves in 2024, when other colleagues may not have any left, on Monday and Tuesday (30 and 31 December) can give you a 5-day long weekend without impacting your 2025 holiday plans.

#2 Chinese New Year (Wednesday and Thursday, 29 – 30 January 2025)

Similarly, for Chinese New Year on 29 and 30 January (Wednesday and Thursday), taking leave on 31 January (Friday) gives you a 5-day holiday from 29 January to 2 February. This may be especially suitable Chinese employees who have family in the region or non-Chinese employees who are not travelling to Malaysia or even Hong Kong and China.

#3 Hari Raya Puasa (Monday, 31 March 2025)

Falling on a Monday, 31 March, Hari Raya Puasa gives everyone a conventional 3-day weekend. This is enough to plan a short getaway in the region or you can boost your vacation plans by using some annual leaves.

#4 Good Friday (Friday, 18 April 2025)

Every year, we can trust Good Friday to give us a long weekend. This year, Good Friday is celebrated on 18 April – offering another conventional 3-day weekend that we can plan our holidays around. 

#5 Labour Day (Thursday, 1 May 2025)

Labour Day on 1 May 2025 falls on a Thursday and offers another opportunity to merge annual leaves to earn an extra long weekend. 

#6 Vesak Day (Monday, 12 May 2025)

Another conventional 3-day weekend we will enjoy in 2025 is Vesak Day, which falls on Monday, 12 May. Again, you can extend this further by taking leaves to earn a well-deserved mid-year break. This might be especially useful for those without children, as many families may be looking forward to their June holidays with their kids less than a month later and may skip this one.

#7 Hari Raya Haji (Saturday, 7 June 2025)

Hari Raya Haji falls on Saturday, 7 June. By default, employees do not get an off day automatically. Instead, you can enjoy an off-in-lieu. Nevertheless, 7 June falls within the school holiday season, and families may want to take this opportunity to travel with their children, without impacting their school schedules.  

#8 National Day (Saturday, 9 August 2025)

National Day will fall on a Saturday on 9 August this year. While employees go back to office on Monday, school-going children will get Monday, 11 August as a designated off-in-lieu. This means parents taking their off-in-lieu on Monday for a short holiday can avoid disrupting their children’s school schedules.

#9 Deepavali (Monday, 20 October 2025)

Deepavali, celebrated on Monday, 20 October, provides another conventional three-day weekend. You can extend this by taking annual leave on Friday or Tuesday to create a luxurious 4-day break or even longer. 

#10 Christmas (Thursday, 25 December 2025)

Finally, Christmas Day, which falls on Thursday, 25 December, can be paired with leave on Friday, 26 December, giving you a four-day holiday from 25 to 28 December. Again, since this is a school holiday, it will be an easier decision for parents to take a break during this long weekend.

Read Also: 18 Types of Leaves Offered By Singapore Companies (Statutory And Non-Statutory)

Parents Can Find Even More Opportunities For Long Weekends

Similar to how parents can still maximise the National Day long weekend, even though it falls on a Saturday, there are other school holidays that they can look out for.

Youth Day (Sunday, 6 July 2025)

This one is a little bit of a “cheat”. While this may not be on the radar for many employees, those with kids will realise that they can take an annual leave during this weekend without any disruption to their children’s school schedules. This is because Monday, 7 July will be a school holiday.

Teacher’s Day (Friday, 5 September 2025)

Again, only employees who are parents may be gunning for this weekend. Since their children are off on Friday, 5 September, they can make good use for their annual leave to match their kids’ time-off school.

Children’s Day (Friday, 3 October 2025)

Children’s Day is only applicable for Primary school children. Parents with younger children will be more interested in this holiday, since they will likely have less competition for extending their weekend into a holiday.

This list does not end here either. There are other breaks from school, including during key examination dates, such as PSLE and O Level (unless your kids are taking these exams!), as well as marking dates that you can also look out for during the year. These may offer more opportunities to maximise school holidays so you don’t disrupt your children’s learning schedules just to enjoy a long weekend.

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