Circular No. 56/2025/TT-BQP on the leave regulations for officers, professional military personnel, workers, and defense civil servants

CIRCULAR

Pursuant to the Labor Code on November 20, 2019;

Based on Decree No. 01/2022/NĐ-CP dated November 30, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of National Defense; Decree No. 03/2025/NĐ-CP dated February 28, 2025 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 01/2022/NĐ-CP dated November 30, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of National Defense;

Pursuant to the Law on Professional Military Personnel, Workers, and Civil Servants of National Defense dated November 26, 2015;

The Minister of National Defense issues this Circular to stipulate the leave regulations for officers, professional soldiers, defense workers, and defense civil servants.

At the proposal of the Chief of General Staff;

This Circular stipulates the leave regimes, authority to resolve, registration, management, suspension of leave regimes for officers, professional soldiers on active duty, defense workers, and defense civil servants in agencies, units, and organizations under the Ministry of National Defense.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular applies to officers, professional soldiers on active duty (hereinafter referred to as soldiers); defense workers, defense civil servants (hereinafter referred to as workers and civil servants); agencies, units, organizations, and related individuals.

Article 2. Applicability

Article 3. Leave Regimes

1. Soldiers, workers, and civil servants shall enjoy the following leave regimes:

a) Daily leave outside working hours;

b) Weekly leave;

c) Annual leave;

d) Special leave;

đ) Public holiday leave;

e) Medical leave;

g) Retirement preparation leave.

2. In addition to the leave regimes prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, soldiers, workers, and civil servants shall be entitled to sick leave, maternity leave, work injury leave, and occupational disease leave in accordance with the laws on social insurance and labor safety and hygiene.

3. When implementing the leave regimes prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, soldiers, workers, and civil servants may leave the camp; they shall be entitled to salary and allowances (if any) according to current regulations.

4. For soldiers, workers, and civil servants implementing the leave regimes prescribed in points c and d of Clause 1 of this Article, travel time shall not be counted towards the number of days of annual leave.

5. In cases where annual leave cannot be arranged due to mission requirements, the settlement for non-leave days shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 7, Article 1 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army 2024 and Clause 1, Article 38 of the Law on Professional Soldiers, Workers, and Defense Civil Servants 2015.

6. The service period stipulated in this Circular shall be calculated as the total period during which soldiers, workers, and civil servants have participated in mandatory social insurance (excluding the period during which they have received one-time social insurance benefits).

6. The period of service specified in this Circular shall be calculated as the total time that military personnel, workers, and civil servants in national defense have participated in mandatory social insurance (excluding the time they have received one-time social insurance benefits).

Article 4. Daily Rest Outside Working Hours

Military personnel, workers, and defense officials are entitled to daily rest outside working hours. Commanders at the regiment level and above shall issue regulations on daily rest, taking into account the nature and characteristics of the unit's tasks, the circumstances and conditions of military personnel, workers, and defense officials, ensuring combat readiness and the completion of assigned tasks.

Article 5. Weekly Rest

Every week, military personnel, workers, and defense officials are entitled to rest on Saturdays and Sundays. When units are engaged in training, combat readiness, or other mission requirements, commanders at the regiment level and above shall organize weekly rest periods based on the specific situation of the unit, ensuring appropriate implementation.

Article 6. Annual Leave

1. Military personnel, workers, and defense officials are entitled to annual leave, with the duration of leave corresponding to years of service as follows:

a) Less than 15 years of service: Entitled to 20 days;

b) From 15 to less than 25 years of service: Entitled to 25 days;

c) 25 years of service or more: Entitled to 30 days.

2. Military personnel, workers, and defense officials stationed in units far from their registered leave location (residence of spouse or children; parents or legal guardians of themselves, spouse, or children), when taking annual leave, are additionally entitled to:

a) 10 days for any of the following cases:

The unit is located more than 500 kilometers away from the registered leave location;

Located in areas with particularly difficult economic and social conditions; remote, mountainous, border areas more than 300 kilometers away from the registered leave location.

Located on islands belonging to the Spratly Islands and DK platforms.

b) 5 days for any of the following cases:

The unit is located between 300 kilometers and less than 500 kilometers away from the registered leave location;

Located in remote, mountainous, border areas more than 200 kilometers but less than 300 kilometers away from the registered leave location.

Located on islands that receive regional allowance.

3. Annually, agencies and units at the regiment level and above have the responsibility to plan annual leave for military personnel, workers, and defense officials; based on the nature and requirements of the unit's tasks, they shall determine the appropriate ratio of leave to ensure combat readiness and the completion of assigned tasks. Academies and schools shall arrange for military personnel, workers, and defense officials to take leave primarily during the summer break of students.

Article 7. Special Leave

In addition to the annual leave system, military personnel, workers, and defense officials are entitled to special leave, not exceeding 10 days each time if they fall under any of the following circumstances:

1. Self-marriage or marriage of legitimate children.

2. Family encounters sudden difficulties due to serious illness, accidents, death, or heavy property damage caused by natural disasters, fires, or dangerous epidemics of the spouse, legitimate children, parents, or legal guardians of themselves, spouse, or children.

Article 8. Holidays and Festivals

1. Annually, military personnel, workers, and defense officials are entitled to holidays and festivals according to the Labor Code and the Day of the People's Army of Vietnam - National Defense Day (December 22).

2. For units engaged in training, combat readiness, or other mission requirements, the rest regime stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall be organized and implemented appropriately by commanders at the regiment level and above based on the specific situation of the unit's tasks.

Article 9. Convalescence Leave

Military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense shall be granted convalescence leave in accordance with Circular No. 179/2013/TT-BQP dated September 17, 2013, issued by the Minister of National Defense, stipulating the functions, tasks, organization, management of activities of Convalescent Units and convalescence leave regulations within the military.

Article 10. Retirement Preparation Leave

1. Military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense who are decided to retire by competent authorities shall be granted retirement preparation leave for a period corresponding to the number of years of service as follows:

a) From fifteen to less than twenty years of service: Six months leave;

b) From twenty to less than twenty-five years of service: Nine months leave;

c) Twenty-five years of service or more: Twelve months leave.

2. The period of retirement preparation leave prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall be counted towards social insurance participation time and contributions.

3. During the period of retirement preparation leave, if military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense suffer from serious diseases, long-term treatment diseases, mental illnesses, they shall comply with the provisions of Circular No. 157/2013/TT-BQP dated August 26, 2013, issued by the Minister of National Defense, on the management, treatment, care, and policy resolution for military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense, and personnel working in secretarial organizations managed by the military suffering from serious diseases, long-term treatment diseases, mental illnesses, and other guiding documents for implementation.

Article 11. Registration and Management of Leave Regulations

1. When military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense wish to resolve leave benefits, they must register according to the management level regarding the timing, duration, reasons, and place of leave for consolidation and reporting to the competent authority for resolution and management in accordance with the regulations.

2. During annual leave, military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense have the responsibility to register with the People's Committee of the commune where they take their leave.

Article 12. Authority to Resolve Leave Benefits

1. The authority to resolve leave benefits as stipulated in Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and Article 9 shall be implemented as follows:

a) Regiment Commanders, Regiment Political Commissars, and equivalent positions shall resolve for military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense under their jurisdiction;

b) Officers holding positions from Regiment Commanders, Regiment Political Commissars, and equivalent positions shall be decided by the immediate superior command or political commissar.

2. The authority to resolve retirement preparation leave as stipulated in Article 10 of this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the Regulation on Leadership of Cadre Work in the Vietnam People's Army of the Central Military Commission; Circular No. 170/2016/TT-BQP dated October 30, 2016, issued by the Minister of National Defense, stipulating the rank of professional military personnel corresponding to salary levels, promotion, demotion of ranks in cases of disciplinary reduction in pay grade; procedures, formalities, and decision-making authority for professional military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense, amended and supplemented by Circular No. 12/2021/TT-BQP dated January 28, 2021, issued by the Minister of National Defense.

Article 13. Suspension of Leave Benefits

1. When there is a declaration of a state of emergency concerning national defense throughout the country, a general mobilization order, or partial mobilization, the suspension of leave benefits shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 38 of the Law on Professional Military Personnel, Workers, and Civil Servants of National Defense 2015 and Clause 2 of Article 2 of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army 1999; amended and supplemented in 2008, 2014, and 2024.

2. When units have urgent or special missions, the commander at the level authorized to resolve leave benefits as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Circular may call military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense back to the unit to perform the mission.

Article 14. Effective Date

Article 32. Responsibilities of Agencies

2. Circular No. 153/2017/TT-BQP dated June 26, 2017, issued by the Minister of National Defense, stipulating the leave benefits of officers of the Vietnam People's Army, and Circular No. 113/2016/TT-BQP dated August 23, 2016, issued by the Minister of National Defense, stipulating the leave benefits of professional military personnel, workers, and civil servants of national defense, shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect.

3. In case the referenced documents in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replacing documents.

4. National defense civil servants serving in agencies, units, and organizations under the Ministry of National Defense shall implement the leave benefits stipulated in this Circular.

Article 15. Responsibility for Implementation

The Deputy Chief of General Staff, Director of the General Political Department, Heads of agencies, units, organizations, and individuals concerned are responsible for implementing this Circular./.