How my 12 days of annual leave became impossible to use

A single day off was too short to travel or visit my hometown. Asking for three days or more often drew visible discomfort from my boss, followed by repeated questions: "Where are you going?" and "What will you do?"

I still remember the first time I requested leave after nearly a year of working without missing a single day. I submitted the request two weeks in advance, completed a full handover, and ensured my absence would not disrupt the team's schedule.

Company regulations required board-level approval for leave exceeding three days. Yet just days before my planned departure, my manager called me in and said briefly: "There’s been a change. It’s important, so please postpone or shorten your leave." The trip was effectively canceled.

By the end of this year, I still had all 12 days of annual leave remaining. Taking three days or more was considered "difficult," while taking fewer than three days made travel impractical. When I did submit leave requests, I was repeatedly pressed to explain why I needed time off. In the end, I worked through the year, taking only public holidays and the Lunar New Year, and forfeited all 12 days of leave without any additional compensation.

A woman working in an office. Illustration photo by Pexels

Under Vietnam labor law, employees are entitled to at least 12 days of annual leave each year. On paper, this is a clear and mandatory right. In reality, many workers understand that while submitting a leave request is their responsibility, whether it is approved depends largely on the discretion of direct managers and senior leadership. As a result, procedures may be followed, but outcomes are often uncertain.

The law grants employees the right to annual leave, but it also allows employers to arrange leave schedules based on production and business needs. This balance, in practice, often tilts against workers.

A common perception in workplaces is that those who are close to management, who socialize easily or maintain personal relationships, tend to have leave approved more smoothly. Meanwhile, employees who work quietly, lack strong interpersonal networks, or speak up at work often find it harder to take time off.

At another level, repeated denial of leave can reflect shortcomings in management. Without proper contingency planning or workload distribution, the quickest response to a leave request is sometimes simply to reject it. Rather than treating the situation as an organizational issue, the burden is shifted onto individual employees.

As a result, many workers approach their jobs with lingering doubts about their own entitlements. Some accumulate leave until the end of the year, only to lose it because it "cannot be arranged." Others quietly give up their leave altogether in exchange for workplace stability and peace of mind. In these cases, annual leave exists more in policy documents than in everyday working life.

A healthy labor relationship cannot depend on the personal discretion or preferences of individual managers. If leave is a legal right, there must be mechanisms to protect it, transparent criteria for refusal, and accountability in workforce planning. Employees have a responsibility to give notice and ensure proper handover; employers, in turn, have a responsibility to respect the legitimate right of workers to rest.