Public holidays for 2026

Public holidays can have a significant impact on employers when business operations must continue uninterrupted. Public holidays are regulated by the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994 (PHA), while remuneration for work performed on a public holiday is regulated by labour legislation, namely the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA), a Sectoral Determination or Bargaining Council’s collective agreement where applicable to the employer’s specific industry.

Can employees be required to work on a public holiday

An employer may not require an employee to work on a public holiday, unless there is an agreement to this effect, preferably in writing – provided for in the employee’s contract of employment or agreed in advance. The BCEA does not automatically oblige an employee to work on a public holiday, and therefore without such an agreement, an employee may lawfully refuse to do so.

2026 public holidays in South Africa

South Africa has 12 official public holidays. In terms of the PHA, if a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the public holiday will be observed the following Monday, which will also be regarded as a public holiday.

The official public holidays for 2026 include (at the time when this article was written):

• 1 January (Thursday) — New Year’s Day
• 21 March (Saturday) — Human Rights Day
• 3 April (Friday) — Good Friday
• 6 April (Monday) — Family Day (Easter Monday)
• 27 April (Monday) — Freedom Day
• 1 May (Friday) — Workers’ Day
• 16 June (Tuesday) — Youth Day
• 9 August (Sunday) — National Women’s Day
• 10 August (Monday) — National Women’s Day (observed)
• 24 September (Thursday) — Heritage Day
• 16 December (Wednesday) — Day of Reconciliation
• 25 December (Friday) — Christmas Day
• 26 December (Saturday) — Day of Goodwill

Note that government is yet to announce the date for the 2026 Local Government Elections. We might therefore see an additional public holiday being declared by the President in terms of the PHA later in the year.

Remuneration for work done on a public holiday

Calculation of remuneration for work done on a public holiday can be confusing. There are two scenarios for employees who earn below the income threshold:

Scenario 1: Public holiday falls on a day the employee would normally work

• If the employee does not work on the public holiday, the employee must be paid the employee’s normal daily wage.
• If the employee works on the public holiday, he/she must be paid double the daily wage, or if it is greater, their normal daily wage plus the amount earned by the employee for the time worked on that day.

Scenario 2: Public holiday falls on a day the employee would not normally work

• If the employee does not work on the public holiday, no payment is due.
• If the employee does in this case work on the public holiday, he/she must be paid their daily wage plus their hourly wage for each hour worked on the public holiday. Keep in mind that an employee who works for less than four hours on any day must be paid for at least four hours’ work on that day, even if they worked for less than four hours.

If an employee earns above the income threshold, an employer should consult one of our legal experts for advice regarding payment for work done on public holidays.

Reasonable notice and exchange of public holidays

Employers must provide employees with reasonable notice if they are required to work on a public holiday. A public holiday may be exchanged for another day, but only when there is a written agreement between the employer and the employee. Where a public holiday is exchanged, the employee is entitled to receive only the normal daily wage for both the original public holiday and the exchanged day.

This article focuses on employment under the BCEA and there might be different laws applicable to your industry, which might be governed by a Sectoral Determination or Bargaining Council’s collective agreement with different provisions regulating public holidays. Employers are encouraged to contact the LWO to seek legal advice when dealing with these issues.

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