Overtime and overtime
Ms. Bui Thi Ha is working as a worker for a company specializing in confectionery production in Xuan Phuong ward (Hanoi).
From the beginning of the fourth quarter of each year, Ms. Ha's company has started the overtime crop to keep up with the sudden increase in orders during the Lunar New Year. Every year, Ms. Ha is in the group that registers to work overtime the most in the company. For Ms. Ha, this is an opportunity to increase her income that she has never missed.
"There were years when overtime pay for the months before Tet helped me have some money to save, even buy gold to take care of big things. During the overtime period during the 2025 Lunar New Year, I saved nearly 20 million VND for overtime for 3 months. I bought 2 taels of gold, and left 1 tael to buy Tet gifts for my parents and children, Ms. Ha shared.
Ms. Ha's hometown in Hien Chung commune (Thanh Hoa province). Her parents are farmers, and have 4 children, of which Ms. Ha is the eldest. After finishing high school in 2020, Ms. Ha went to Hanoi, applied to work as a worker to have money to support her parents to raise 3 children to study.
Regarding the plan for the Lunar New Year 2026, Ms. Ha said that the company has just announced a schedule for overtime and overtime work during Tet. From the beginning of December 2025, the company began a period of overtime. Ms. Ha is in the group of registered workers to do the majority of shifts. "I am not married and not involved in any husband or children, so I just register to work as much as possible. Only when the company is off for Tet, do I return to my hometown. Every year, I ask for a relative's car to come home for Tet. There were years when I returned to my hometown from Hanoi on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet, said Ms. Ha.
Mr. Ha Van Bau (from Van Nham commune, Lang Son province) is working as a worker in Bo De ward (Hanoi).
Mr. Bau said that his company specializes in electrical equipment production, and orders are distributed all year round, so there is no peak overtime like businesses producing essential food products. Near Tet, there are many extra jobs around the area where he rents a room, so every year Mr. Bau takes advantage of this to increase his income.
"There were years when I sold goods for hire to kumquat and peach gardens; there were years when I worked as a delivery staff for supermarkets... seasonal work was not tied, so I kept asking around, where the salary was high, I would do it. It is difficult for me to work hard for about a month before Tet, but every year I have an extra Tet holiday for my family in my hometown, said Mr. Bau.
According to Mr. Bau, for the Lunar New Year 2025, he worked for the orchard store for 20 days, working as a supervision worker and shipping goods to customers when orders were high. On the afternoon of the 28th of Tet, he was paid more than 9 million VND for 15 extra days of work. This year, Mr. Bau was contacted early by the owner of the flower shop because he trusted him.
Students have many options to work extra during Tet
For the past 3 years, Hoang Tung Minh - a student at Hanoi High School for the Gifted - has chosen to stay in the capital to work part-time at a coffee shop during the Lunar New Year.
"Tet is the time when the market lacks labor, especially in the service sector. If she stays to work part-time, she will receive a lot of seasonal salary and attractive bonuses. For the Lunar New Year 2025, I work overtime until the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year, receiving a salary and bonus of nearly 8 million VND. So I have a way to help my parents, Minh said.
An Xuan Quynh (from Mai Son commune, Son La province) - a 4th year student at the University of Social Work - also stayed in Hanoi for 3 years to work during the Lunar New Year. "Because my holiday salary is higher than usual, I want to take advantage of this time to earn more money to cover my living expenses. Working extra during Tet, in addition to salary and bonus, I also get lucky money from customers, especially on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of Tet" - Xuan Quynh said.
Xuan Quynh shared that he works part-time for a freight transport company. During Tet, the delivery work is busier, so my salary has also increased significantly, an average of 500,000 VND/day. "I work part-time during Tet, although I miss home very much, I try to stay and work part-time to reduce the burden on my family and parents. After Tet, I will return to reunite with my family and have another gift for relatives, Quynh said.
Mr. Vu Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of the Hanoi Employment Service Center - said that the demand for labor recruitment of enterprises in the capital at the end of the year is mainly concentrated in the trade - service sector.
Accordingly, at the end of the year, Hanoi Employment Service Center continuously received recruitment orders from units and enterprises. In particular, at the end of the year, there are often many major holidays such as Christmas, New Year, and Lunar New Year, so the demand for labor recruitment in the trade and service industry continues to increase.
Enterprises need to recruit workers for the fields of food and beverage services, tourism, and processing and manufacturing industry. In addition, construction, e-commerce, and logistics industries continue to have a high recruitment demand..., said Mr. Vu Quang Thanh.
