Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower published the official list of public holidays for 2027 on 18 June 2026. There are 11 gazetted public holidays in 2027 — the same number as in 2026. Three of those eleven fall on weekends, including two on Saturdays, which creates specific compliance obligations for employers that are frequently mishandled at the payroll stage.
This guide sets out the full 2027 public holiday calendar, explains the Employment Act rules that apply when a holiday falls on a weekend or a non-working day, clarifies pay entitlements and time-off-in-lieu requirements, and highlights the planning actions HR teams should take now — well ahead of the year-end payroll cycle.
Singapore Public Holidays 2027: The Full Official List
Per the Ministry of Manpower’s press release of 18 June 2026, the 11 gazetted public holidays for 2027 are as follows:
| Public Holiday | Date | Day | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 1 January 2027 | Friday | — |
| Chinese New Year (Day 1) | 6 February 2027 | Saturday | See note below |
| Chinese New Year (Day 2) | 7 February 2027 | Sunday | Monday 8 February 2027 is a gazetted public holiday |
| Hari Raya Puasa | 10 March 2027 | Wednesday | Subject to official moon-sighting confirmation |
| Good Friday | 26 March 2027 | Friday | — |
| Labour Day | 1 May 2027 | Saturday | See note on Saturday holidays below |
| Hari Raya Haji | 17 May 2027 | Monday | Subject to official moon-sighting confirmation |
| Vesak Day | 20 May 2027 | Thursday | — |
| National Day | 9 August 2027 | Monday | — |
| Deepavali | 28 October 2027 | Thursday | — |
| Christmas Day | 25 December 2027 | Saturday | See note on Saturday holidays below |
Note on Hari Raya dates: As is standard practice in Singapore, the dates for Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji are based on the Islamic calendar and are subject to official moon-sighting confirmation. The dates published by MOM on 18 June 2026 are the officially gazetted dates and the working assumption for payroll and roster planning. If the moon sighting results in a date change, MOM will issue an updated gazette notification.
The Chinese New Year Weekend: Monday 8 February 2027 Is a Public Holiday
Chinese New Year in 2027 falls on Saturday and Sunday (6–7 February). As both days are non-working days for most employees on a five-day work week, neither day alone triggers a standard public holiday for those employees. Under the Employment Act, when a gazetted public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday becomes a paid public holiday in substitution. MOM has confirmed that Monday, 8 February 2027 is accordingly a gazetted public holiday.
For Saturday 6 February (CNY Day 1): employees who do not normally work on Saturdays are entitled to a day off in lieu or an additional day’s pay. Employees who do normally work Saturdays are entitled to treat it as a standard public holiday — either a paid day off or, if they work, an extra day’s pay at the basic rate on top of their gross rate of pay for that day.
The effective result for a standard Monday–Friday employee is three consecutive public holidays: Saturday 6 February (day off in lieu), Sunday 7 February, and Monday 8 February (the gazetted substitute holiday). HR teams should plan rosters and leave calendars with this three-day cluster in mind.
Labour Day and Christmas on Saturdays: The Compliance Obligation
Two holidays fall on Saturdays in 2027: Labour Day (1 May) and Christmas Day (25 December). Saturdays do not have the same automatic substitution-day rule that applies to Sundays under the Employment Act. The treatment depends on whether Saturday is normally a working day for the employee.
For Employees Who Normally Work on Saturdays
These employees are entitled to treat the Saturday as a standard public holiday. If they do not work, they receive full pay for the day. If their employer requires them to work, they must receive an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay, in addition to their gross rate of pay for that day. For three specific categories — workmen earning more than SGD 4,500 per month, non-workmen earning more than SGD 2,600 per month, and all managers and executives — employers may instead grant time-off-in-lieu by mutual agreement.
For Employees Who Do Not Normally Work on Saturdays
For the large majority of Singapore’s office-based workforce, Saturday is a non-working day. Where a gazetted public holiday falls on a non-working day (other than Sunday, which triggers a Monday substitute), the employer must grant the employee an extra day’s paid leave in substitution, or pay an additional day’s salary. The substitution day must generally be agreed between employer and employee, or determined by the employment contract or company policy.
In practice, many employers grant the Friday immediately preceding the Saturday holiday (i.e., 30 April 2027 for Labour Day and 24 December 2027 for Christmas) as the substitution day. This is administratively clean and commonly accepted, but it is not mandatory — the substitution day can be any agreed working day.
Employers who simply ignore the Saturday holiday and do not grant substitution leave or additional pay are in breach of Section 88 of the Employment Act. This is the most common compliance failure around weekend public holidays and is worth explicitly addressing in your 2027 HR planning cycle. For a broader view of the HR calendar obligations employers must track across the year, see our Singapore HR MOM Compliance Calendar.
Employment Act Coverage: Who Is Entitled to Public Holiday Pay?
The public holiday entitlements described above apply to employees covered by the Employment Act. In Singapore, the Employment Act covers all employees except certain categories of senior managers and executives earning above SGD 4,500 per month who are excluded from Part IV of the Act (which governs rest days, hours of work and public holidays). For the avoidance of doubt: employees earning above SGD 4,500 per month remain entitled to public holidays under the Act — the exclusion from Part IV affects shift and overtime provisions, not the basic public holiday entitlement.
Employers and employees may also mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day, provided the arrangement is documented. This flexibility is commonly used by businesses in hospitality, retail, and healthcare that operate on public holidays as a matter of course.
Part-Time and Shift Workers: Pro-Rated Entitlements
Part-time employees’ public holiday entitlements are pro-rated based on their contracted hours relative to a full-time equivalent. The formula is: (Part-time hours per week / Full-time hours per week) × number of public holidays. For employees on rotating shifts whose scheduled working day does not fall on the public holiday, the employer is not obligated to grant a substitute day — but this must be set out clearly in the employment contract.
Payroll systems should be configured to handle the 2027 Saturday holidays correctly. The most common payroll error is treating a Saturday public holiday as a non-event for Monday-to-Friday employees and failing to generate either the substitution leave credit or the additional-pay entry. HR and payroll teams should update their 2027 leave and pay calendars well before Q1 2027, ideally before the end of August 2026.
Long Weekends and Leave Planning for 2027
For employees planning annual leave, 2027 offers several natural long-weekend clusters:
- New Year 2027: New Year’s Day on Friday 1 January — natural long weekend with New Year’s Eve Thursday.
- Chinese New Year: Saturday 6 February through Monday 8 February — three-day cluster; add Thursday 4 February and Friday 5 February leave for a seven-day break.
- Hari Raya Puasa: Wednesday 10 March — mid-week holiday; bookending with leave creates a long break on either side.
- Good Friday: Friday 26 March — automatic long weekend.
- Labour Day: Saturday 1 May with likely Friday 30 April substitution — natural long weekend.
- Hari Raya Haji + Vesak Day: Monday 17 May and Thursday 20 May are both public holidays in the same week — a rare occurrence that incentivises annual leave bridging.
- National Day: Monday 9 August — natural long weekend.
- Deepavali: Thursday 28 October — bookending with Friday leave gives a four-day weekend.
- Christmas: Saturday 25 December with likely Friday 24 December substitution — natural Christmas long weekend.
Publishing the 2027 public holiday calendar in your company’s leave management system now allows employees to plan annual leave early, and helps HR teams forecast leave uptake and manage staffing levels in advance.
Key Action Items for Employers
Based on the 2027 public holiday calendar, the specific compliance actions for HR teams are:
- Update payroll system with the 11 gazetted public holidays, including the Saturday flags for Labour Day and Christmas Day.
- Configure substitution leave rules for the Saturday holidays (Labour Day, Christmas Day, and CNY Day 1 for Monday-to-Friday employees).
- Update leave management software and confirm that Saturday holiday credits are generated automatically for non-Saturday workers.
- Communicate the 2027 calendar to employees now, so annual leave planning can begin.
- Review employment contracts for any contractual provisions on public holiday substitution that may differ from the Employment Act defaults — contractual provisions prevail if they are more favourable to the employee.
The 2027 changes fit into a broader pattern of regulatory updates affecting HR teams in Singapore. The SWDA launch on 1 July 2026, the retirement age increase to 64, and the new shared parental leave rules from April 2026 have all added to the compliance workload. For context on the skills and workforce agency changes, see our guide to SWDA Singapore 2026 and what it means for employers. For the retirement age changes in force from 1 July 2026, see our Singapore retirement age 64 employer guide.
Conclusion
The 2027 Singapore public holiday calendar brings three weekend holidays — two on Saturdays and one on a Sunday (with a Monday substitute already gazetted). The Saturday holidays for Labour Day and Christmas Day require active payroll and leave calendar action from HR teams. With the calendar now confirmed by MOM, the optimal time to update systems, communicate to staff, and resolve any contractual ambiguity about substitution leave is now — well before the year-end rush.
For guidance on Singapore employment pass applications, work pass management, and MOM compliance for employers with a foreign workforce, contact Little Big Employment Agency — MOM Licence 19C9790. For corporate secretarial, payroll outsourcing, and HR compliance support, Raffles Corporate Services offers a full suite of employer services.
— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency