Worked on a public holiday? Here's what you're owed
Enter how many days a week you work and what you earn. The page works out, in dollars, the extra pay MOM's rules give you for most kinds of public holiday.
Your job
Pick it and every section below shows your own dollars. Nothing you type is stored or sent: it is worked out in your browser. The page assumes you rest on Sundays.
How much extra do you earn for working a public holiday on $3,000 a month and a 5-day week?
What MOM says you are owed for working a public holiday that falls on a day you work, worked out for your pay. Hover or tap a bar to see the sum.
By default, working a public holiday on a day you normally work earns you an extra $138.46.
12 × $3,000 ÷ (52 × 5). It comes on top of your normal pay for the day. Overtime for hours beyond your normal hours is separate, and applies if Part 4 covers you.
12 × $3,300 ÷ (52 × 5). What the extra day or a day off is worth if the holiday is on a Saturday, the day you do not work.
An estimate for monthly-paid staff from MOM's formula, not legal advice. If Part 4 of the Act does not cover you, your employer may agree time off instead (Catch 5).
On $3,000 basic pay a month and a 5-day week, working a public holiday on a day you normally work earns you an extra $138.46 by default, which is 4.6% of a month's basic pay. The same pay on a 6-day week would earn $115.38, because the same monthly pay is spread over more days.
What do you get on each kind of day?
Three cases from MOM's rules for employees the Employment Act covers. The page assumes you rest on Sundays.
It is on a day you work.
You get your normal pay for the day (the gross rate, already inside your monthly salary) and, by default, one extra day's salary at your basic rate, $138.46. Overtime for hours beyond your normal hours is separate and applies if Part 4 covers you (MOM).
It is on a day you do not work (your Saturday).
Your employer gives you another day off, or pays you one extra day's salary at the gross rate, which is $152.31 for you. That is the whole value of the holiday for a day you do not work, whereas in Case 1 the extra comes on top of the pay for a day you do work. If you also work that Saturday, overtime is paid for the extra hours if Part 4 covers you (MOM).
It is on your rest day (a Sunday).
Your next working day is the paid holiday instead. For example, Deepavali is on Sunday 8 Nov 2026, so Monday 9 Nov is the holiday. If you work that Monday, we read it as Case 1 (our reading). Working the Sunday itself is paid under MOM's separate rest-day rules, which this page does not work out.
On your pay, a holiday worked on a day you work earns an extra $138.46 by default, with a day off or $152.31 if it is on your Saturday, and a Sunday holiday moves the paid holiday to Monday.
Which holidays land on a weekend?
All 11 public holidays in 2026 and in 2027 as MOM lists them (data.gov.sg files updated 3 Jul 2026). Hover or tap a holiday to see what it means for you.
2026
2026: 4 of the 11 holidays fall on a weekend (1 Saturday and 3 Sundays).
2027
2027: 4 of the 11 holidays fall on a weekend (3 Saturdays and 1 Sunday).
If you worked all 7 holidays that fall Monday to Friday in a year, which few people are asked to do, the extra days would add up to 7 × $138.46 = $969.22 (our sum of rounded daily figures), the same count in 2026 and 2027. The other 4 land on a weekend and follow the weekend rules.
What catches people out?
Six rules from MOM. Two of them use your pay.
The extra day is at basic, not gross.
Basic pay leaves out overtime, bonus, AWS and every allowance. Gross pay adds the allowances your contract entitles you to, but not travel, food or housing allowances, which count in neither (MOM). For you the extra day is $138.46 at basic and would be $152.31 at gross.
Being absent around the holiday can cost you the pay.
You get holiday pay only if you were not absent without your employer's consent or a reasonable excuse on the working day before or after the holiday (MOM).
Approved unpaid leave can swallow the holiday.
MOM's example: unpaid leave on 8 Aug with the holiday on 9 Aug still gets holiday pay for 9 Aug, but unpaid leave from 8 to 10 Aug covers the holiday, so there is no holiday pay.
Some jobs are outside the rules on this page.
MOM says the Act does not cover seafarers, domestic workers, statutory board employees and civil servants. Their holiday pay comes from their contracts or service terms, so nothing here applies to them.
Time off instead of pay is only for some people.
Part 4 of the Act covers workmen (people doing manual work, so a desk job is not one) on a basic salary of $4,500 a month or less, and other employees on $2,600 or less. At $3,000 basic you are inside Part 4 if you are a workman, and outside it if you are not. Managers and executives may be outside Part 4 even on lower pay. Time off in lieu is only for people Part 4 does not cover, and only by agreement. If you agree on time off but not how long, your employer can choose one of: an extra day at the basic rate, 4 hours off if you worked 4 hours or less, or a full day off if you worked more than 4 hours (MOM).
A swap needs your yes.
If you work on a public holiday, you and your employer can agree to swap the holiday for another working day. It takes both of you to agree (MOM).
Four things change what you get: basic rather than gross pay, absence around the holiday, unpaid leave, and whether the Act and Part 4 cover you.
More finds
The short version
If the Employment Act covers you as a full-time, monthly-paid employee and you work a public holiday that falls on a day you work, you are by default owed one extra day's salary at your basic rate, which is 12 × monthly basic pay ÷ (52 × the days you work a week): $138.46 on $3,000 a month and a 5-day week (MOM).
Basic pay leaves out overtime, bonus, AWS, special-expense reimbursement, productivity incentive and every allowance. Gross pay adds the allowances your contract gives you, except travel, food and housing allowances. So with $3,000 basic and a $300 shift allowance, the extra day is $138.46 at basic and $152.31 at gross. On the same $3,000 basic, a 5.5-day week gives $125.87 and a 6-day week $115.38, so a 6-day worker gets $23.08 less (our sums).
If the holiday is on a day you do not work, such as a Saturday on a 5-day week, you get another day off or one extra day's salary at the gross rate. If it is on your rest day, a Sunday, the next working day is the paid holiday. Four of the 11 holidays in both 2026 and 2027 fall on a weekend. The MOM pages we read do not say how a Saturday holiday is treated on a 5.5-day week, so the page gives no figure for it.
You lose holiday pay if you were absent without consent or a reasonable excuse on the working day before or after, or if the holiday falls inside approved unpaid leave. You and your employer can agree to swap the holiday for another working day. People Part 4 does not cover, such as workmen on more than $4,500 basic and others on more than $2,600, can agree to time off instead of pay; if they agree on time off but not how long, the employer can choose an extra day at basic, 4 hours off (if you worked 4 hours or less) or a full day off (if you worked more). Overtime rules cover people Part 4 covers.
The Act does not cover seafarers, domestic workers, statutory board employees and civil servants. Part-timers, who work under 35 hours a week, have their own rules, and the sums are for monthly-paid staff, not daily or hourly rates. This page is an estimate and not legal advice. The rules are as MOM lists them on 15 Oct 2026, so check MOM before you rely on a number.
By Ben (opens in a new tab). Updated . Data: MOM and data.gov.sg.
Questions people ask
Do I get extra pay for working on a public holiday in Singapore?
Yes, if the Employment Act covers you and the holiday falls on a day you work. By default you get one extra day's salary at your basic rate on top of your normal pay for the day (MOM). Overtime for hours beyond your normal hours is separate and applies if Part 4 covers you.
How is public holiday pay calculated?
For a monthly-rated employee, daily rate = 12 × monthly rate ÷ (52 × the average days you work a week) (MOM). On $3,000 basic pay and a 5-day week that is 12 × 3,000 ÷ 260 = $138.46. The extra day uses your basic pay; the rules use your gross pay for a day off or an extra day when the holiday falls on a day you do not work.
What is the difference between basic and gross rate of pay?
Basic pay leaves out overtime, bonus, AWS, special-expense reimbursement, productivity incentive and any allowance. Gross pay includes the allowances your contract entitles you to, but still leaves out those other items and any travel, food and housing allowances (MOM).
Do allowances count towards public holiday pay?
Not for the extra day at the basic rate. For the gross rate, allowances in your contract count, except travel, food and housing allowances. With $3,000 basic pay and a $300 shift allowance, the extra day is $138.46 at basic and $152.31 at gross (our sums).
What if a public holiday falls on a Saturday?
On a 5-day week Saturday is a day you do not work, so your employer gives you another day off or pays you one extra day's salary at the gross rate: $152.31 on $3,300 gross pay (MOM, our sum). If you also work that Saturday, you get overtime for the extra hours. The MOM pages we read do not say how it works on a 5.5-day week.
What if a public holiday falls on a Sunday?
If Sunday is your rest day, the next working day is the paid holiday. That is Monday 9 Nov 2026 for Deepavali on Sunday 8 Nov, and Monday 8 Feb 2027 for Chinese New Year on Sunday 7 Feb. Working the Sunday itself is paid under MOM's rest-day rules, which we did not read.
Can my employer give me time off instead of pay?
Only if Part 4 of the Act does not cover you, and by agreement. If you agree on time off but not how long, your employer can choose one of: an extra day's salary at the basic rate; 4 hours off on a working day if you worked 4 hours or less; a full day off on a working day if you worked more than 4 hours (MOM).
Who does Part 4 of the Employment Act cover?
Workmen (people doing manual work) on a basic salary of $4,500 a month or less, and other employees the Act covers on $2,600 or less. MOM says Part 4 does not cover all managers and executives, so check with MOM if you are one (MOM).
Can I lose my public holiday pay?
Yes. You get no holiday pay if you were absent without your employer's consent or a reasonable excuse on the working day before or after the holiday, or if the holiday falls inside approved unpaid leave. MOM's example: unpaid leave on 8 Aug with a holiday on 9 Aug still gets holiday pay for 9 Aug; unpaid leave from 8 to 10 Aug does not.
Can my employer swap my public holiday for another day?
Yes. If you work on a public holiday, you and your employer can both agree to substitute it for another working day (MOM).
Is overtime paid as well on a public holiday?
MOM's public holiday page lists overtime pay if you work beyond your normal hours. MOM's hours of work page says its overtime rules cover people Part 4 covers, so otherwise your contract decides. We did not work out the overtime rate, so this page has no figure for it.
How many public holidays are there in Singapore, and when are they?
There are 11 paid public holidays a year for employees the Act covers. In 2026: 1 Jan, 17 and 18 Feb, 21 Mar, 3 Apr, 1 May, 27 May, 31 May, 9 Aug, 8 Nov and 25 Dec. In 2027: 1 Jan, 6 and 7 Feb, 10 Mar, 26 Mar, 1 May, 17 May, 20 May, 9 Aug, 28 Oct and 25 Dec (MOM).
Who does the Employment Act not cover, and what about part-timers?
The Act does not cover seafarers, domestic workers, statutory board employees and civil servants; their contracts or terms of service apply. Part-time employees, who work under 35 hours a week, have their own rules, which this page does not cover (MOM).
Which date does this page cover?
The rules are as MOM lists them on 15 Oct 2026, and the calendar is MOM's public holidays page (last updated 19 Jun 2026) and MOM's files on data.gov.sg (last updated 3 Jul 2026), which list the same dates. The dollar sums are ours, worked out from MOM's formula.
The numbers behind it
| Monthly basic pay | 5-day week | 5.5-day week | 6-day week |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,500 | $69.23 | $62.94 | $57.69 |
| $2,000 | $92.31 | $83.92 | $76.92 |
| $2,500 | $115.38 | $104.90 | $96.15 |
| $3,000 | $138.46 | $125.87 | $115.38 |
| $3,500 | $161.54 | $146.85 | $134.62 |
| $4,000 | $184.62 | $167.83 | $153.85 |
| $5,000 | $230.77 | $209.79 | $192.31 |
| $6,000 | $276.92 | $251.75 | $230.77 |
| Date | Day | Holiday | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2026 | Mon to Fri (Thu) | New Year's Day | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 17 Feb 2026 | Mon to Fri (Tue) | Chinese New Year | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 18 Feb 2026 | Mon to Fri (Wed) | Chinese New Year | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 21 Mar 2026 | Saturday (Sat) | Hari Raya Puasa | 5-day week: a day off or an extra day at gross. 5.5-day week: not stated in the MOM pages we read. 6-day week: our reading, like a weekday |
| 3 Apr 2026 | Mon to Fri (Fri) | Good Friday | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 1 May 2026 | Mon to Fri (Fri) | Labour Day | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 27 May 2026 | Mon to Fri (Wed) | Hari Raya Haji | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 31 May 2026 | Sunday (Sun) | Vesak Day | Mon 1 Jun is the paid holiday if Sunday is your rest day |
| 9 Aug 2026 | Sunday (Sun) | National Day | Mon 10 Aug is the paid holiday if Sunday is your rest day |
| 8 Nov 2026 | Sunday (Sun) | Deepavali | Mon 9 Nov is the paid holiday if Sunday is your rest day |
| 25 Dec 2026 | Mon to Fri (Fri) | Christmas Day | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Mon to Fri (Fri) | New Year's Day | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 6 Feb 2027 | Saturday (Sat) | Chinese New Year | 5-day week: a day off or an extra day at gross. 5.5-day week: not stated in the MOM pages we read. 6-day week: our reading, like a weekday |
| 7 Feb 2027 | Sunday (Sun) | Chinese New Year | Mon 8 Feb is the paid holiday if Sunday is your rest day |
| 10 Mar 2027 | Mon to Fri (Wed) | Hari Raya Puasa | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 26 Mar 2027 | Mon to Fri (Fri) | Good Friday | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 1 May 2027 | Saturday (Sat) | Labour Day | 5-day week: a day off or an extra day at gross. 5.5-day week: not stated in the MOM pages we read. 6-day week: our reading, like a weekday |
| 17 May 2027 | Mon to Fri (Mon) | Hari Raya Haji | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 20 May 2027 | Mon to Fri (Thu) | Vesak Day | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 9 Aug 2027 | Mon to Fri (Mon) | National Day | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 28 Oct 2027 | Mon to Fri (Thu) | Deepavali | Extra day at basic if you work it |
| 25 Dec 2027 | Saturday (Sat) | Christmas Day | 5-day week: a day off or an extra day at gross. 5.5-day week: not stated in the MOM pages we read. 6-day week: our reading, like a weekday |
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rate | Monthly-rated employees: 12 × monthly rate ÷ (52 × average days required to work a week) | MOM, monthly and daily salary |
| Basic rate | Excludes overtime, bonus, AWS, special-expense reimbursement, productivity incentive and any allowance | MOM, monthly and daily salary |
| Gross rate | Includes allowances the contract entitles you to; excludes overtime, bonus, AWS, special-expense reimbursement, productivity incentive, and travel, food and housing allowances | MOM, monthly and daily salary |
| Holiday on a working day, worked | By default an extra day's salary at the basic rate; overtime beyond normal hours is separate (Part 4) | MOM, public holidays entitlement and pay |
| Holiday on a non-working day | Another day off, or one extra day's salary at the gross rate | MOM, public holidays entitlement and pay |
| Holiday on a rest day | The next working day is the paid holiday | MOM, public holidays entitlement and pay |
| Losing holiday pay | Absent without consent or a reasonable excuse on the working day before or after; holiday inside approved unpaid leave | MOM, public holidays entitlement and pay |
| Swap | If you work on a public holiday, employer and employee may agree to substitute another working day | MOM, public holidays entitlement and pay |
| Time off in lieu | Only for people Part 4 does not cover, by agreement; if you agree on time off but not how long, the employer can choose an extra day at basic, 4 hours off (4 hours or less worked) or a full day off (more than 4 hours) | MOM, public holidays entitlement and pay |
| Part 4 coverage | Workmen on a basic salary of $4,500 a month or less; non-workmen on $2,600 or less | MOM, who is covered by the Employment Act |
| Not covered by the Act | Seafarers, domestic workers, statutory board employees, civil servants | MOM, who is covered by the Employment Act |
| Overtime | The hours of work rules, including overtime, cover people Part 4 covers (workmen on $4,500 or less, others on $2,600 or less) | MOM, hours of work, overtime and rest days |
| Part-time employees | Under 35 hours a week; their own rules (not covered here) | MOM, who is covered by the Employment Act |
The boring bit
Where the information comes from
The rules and the calendar come from MOM's pages on public holidays: entitlement and pay (opens in a new tab), monthly and daily salary (opens in a new tab), who is covered by the Employment Act (opens in a new tab), the list of public holidays (opens in a new tab), hours of work, overtime and rest days (opens in a new tab) and MOM's own public holiday pay calculator page (opens in a new tab), all read on 15 Oct 2026. The calendar is also in MOM's files on data.gov.sg, Public Holidays for 2026 (opens in a new tab) and Public Holidays for 2027 (opens in a new tab), both last updated 3 Jul 2026 and downloaded on 15 Oct 2026. Contains information from these datasets accessed on 15 Oct 2026 from data.gov.sg, made available under the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0.
What is not claimed
- This is not legal advice. Whether the Employment Act covers you, and how a rule applies to you, depends on your contract and your job, and MOM decides.
- The picker and the calendar assume you rest on Sundays. Shift workers with another rest day follow MOM's rules for their own rest day, which we did not work out.
- The MOM pages we read do not say how a Saturday holiday is treated on a 5.5-day week, so the page gives no figure for it. MOM's working-days table counts that Saturday as a half working day, and a 6-day week's Saturday as the 6th working day, but gives no holiday pay rule for either. For a 6-day week we count a Saturday holiday like a weekday one; that is our reading, not a figure MOM gives.
- We did not work out pay for working on a rest day, or the overtime rate, so the page names both and gives no figure for them. Overtime rules cover people Part 4 covers.
- The sums are for monthly-paid employees. MOM gives the daily-rate formula for monthly-rated staff; daily-rated and hourly-rated workers are not covered here.
- The dollar sums are ours, worked out from MOM's formula and rounded to the nearest cent. Your payslip may differ by a cent, depending on how your employer rounds.
- The page does not cover part-time employees (under 35 hours a week), or people the Act does not cover, whose contract or terms of service decide.
- We make no claim about what any employer pays, or whether anyone is paid correctly.
- Rules can change after the date above, and the calendar comes from MOM's page (last updated 19 Jun 2026) and its data.gov.sg files (last updated 3 Jul 2026).
- Nothing here says anything about any person or company.
Coverage
The picker covers three work weeks (5, 5.5 and 6 days), basic pay from $500 to $30,000 a month and allowances up to $10,000 a month, and all 22 holidays in 2026 and 2027 (11 a year; the data.gov.sg files also list the 4 Mondays in lieu, 3 in 2026 and 1 in 2027). It does not cover a rest day other than Sunday, part-time employees, or people the Act does not cover.
Report an error. Corrections are logged publicly with a date.
How we did it
- Typed the rules. We copied the pay formula, the basic and gross definitions and the three cases (working day, non-working day, rest day) from MOM's pages.
- Downloaded the calendar. We saved MOM's Public Holidays files for 2026 and 2027 from data.gov.sg, checked them against MOM's calendar page, and let the code work out the day of the week for each date.
- Worked out the pay in whole cents. The function below does every sum in cents and rounds half a cent up, so nothing drifts.
- Checked the sums. A second script recomputes every figure with exact fractions, runs the page's own code over a grid of pay levels and weeks, and confirms every number the text states.
- Tested the page. A browser test runs each week choice and several pay levels at five screen widths, in light and dark.
Show the code
/* Public holiday pay sums. Whole cents only, so nothing drifts. Half a cent rounds up. */
var PH = {};
(function () {
/* x2 is the days you work a week, doubled, so 5 days is 10, 5.5 days is 11 and 6 days is 12. */
PH.WEEKS = { 10: { name: "5-day week", days: "5" }, 11: { name: "5.5-day week", days: "5.5" }, 12: { name: "6-day week", days: "6" } };
/* MOM: daily rate = 12 x monthly rate / (52 x average days worked a week).
In cents: 12 * M / (52 * x2 / 2) = 12 * M / (26 * x2), rounded half up. */
PH.daily = function (monthlyCents, x2) {
return Math.floor((12 * monthlyCents + 13 * x2) / (26 * x2));
};
/* The extra day as tenths of a percent of a month's pay: 12 / (26 * x2) * 1000, rounded half up. */
PH.shareTenths = function (x2) {
return Math.floor((12000 + 13 * x2) / (26 * x2));
};
PH.fmt = function (cents) {
var d = Math.floor(cents / 100), c = cents % 100;
return "$" + String(d).replace(/\B(?=(\d{3})+(?!\d))/g, ",") + "." + (c < 10 ? "0" : "") + c;
};
PH.fmt0 = function (dollars) {
return "$" + String(dollars).replace(/\B(?=(\d{3})+(?!\d))/g, ",");
};
/* Holidays as MOM lists them (page last updated 19 Jun 2026). */
PH.HOLS = {
2026: [
[1, 1, "New Year's Day"], [2, 17, "Chinese New Year"], [2, 18, "Chinese New Year"], [3, 21, "Hari Raya Puasa"],
[4, 3, "Good Friday"], [5, 1, "Labour Day"], [5, 27, "Hari Raya Haji"], [5, 31, "Vesak Day"],
[8, 9, "National Day"], [11, 8, "Deepavali"], [12, 25, "Christmas Day"]
],
2027: [
[1, 1, "New Year's Day"], [2, 6, "Chinese New Year"], [2, 7, "Chinese New Year"], [3, 10, "Hari Raya Puasa"],
[3, 26, "Good Friday"], [5, 1, "Labour Day"], [5, 17, "Hari Raya Haji"], [5, 20, "Vesak Day"],
[8, 9, "National Day"], [10, 28, "Deepavali"], [12, 25, "Christmas Day"]
]
};
var DOW = ["Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat"];
var MON = ["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"];
PH.MON = MON;
/* One record per holiday: weekday, and for a Sunday the Monday that stands in for it (Sunday rest day). */
PH.year = function (y) {
return PH.HOLS[y].map(function (h) {
var dow = new Date(Date.UTC(y, h[0] - 1, h[1])).getUTCDay();
var r = { m: h[0], d: h[1], name: h[2], dow: dow, day: DOW[dow], kind: dow === 6 ? "sat" : dow === 0 ? "sun" : "wk" };
if (dow === 0) {
var t = new Date(Date.UTC(y, h[0] - 1, h[1] + 1));
r.lieu = t.getUTCDate() + " " + MON[t.getUTCMonth()];
}
return r;
});
};
PH.counts = function (y) {
var a = PH.year(y), n = { wk: 0, sat: 0, sun: 0, long: 0 };
a.forEach(function (h) {
n[h.kind]++;
if (h.dow === 5 || h.dow === 1 || h.dow === 0) n.long++; /* a Friday, a Monday, or a Sunday that gives a Monday in lieu */
});
return n;
};
})();
What could make this wrong: MOM may change a rule after 15 Oct 2026; your contract may give more than the law; and the page is only as current as MOM's pages when we read them.
Source: MOM (Ministry of Manpower) and data.gov.sg, read on 15 Oct 2026.