4 long weekends in 2019, but you can easily make it 6

We're barely halfway through 2018, but it's not too early to start planning your holidays for 2019.

There will be 11 gazetted public holidays in Singapore next year and a total of four long weekends, according to a Ministry of Manpower release on Wednesday.

There are also four long weekends this year.

While there are five public holidays in 2019 that fall either on a Friday or a Sunday, National Day and Hari Raya Haji fall on the same weekend next year. National Day is on a Friday while Hari Raya Haji falls on Sunday, where the next day will be a public holiday.

However, you can easily enjoy two more long weekends with just two days' of leave.

Two public holidays are on a Tuesday (New Year's Day and Chinese New Year), so taking the day off on Monday will allow you to enjoy a break of four or five days at a stretch.

EMPLOYMENT ACT

MOM in its statement reminded all employers of some rules under the Employment Act.

An employee who is required to work on a public holiday is entitled to an extra day's salary at the basic rate of pay.

Alternatively, the employer and employee may mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.

An employer also has the additional option of granting managers and executives, earning up to a basic monthly salary of $4,500, time-off--in-lieu for working on a public holiday. The time off should consist of a mutually agreed number of hours.

a1admin@sph.com.sg