In many places, a public holiday is a paid day off: you get your normal day's pay without working. If you're asked to work instead, you're usually paid more, often double time, and sometimes you also get the normal holiday pay or a day off later. The questions that cause most mistakes are who qualifies, what "a normal day's pay" means for part-timers and shift workers, what happens when the holiday falls on your day off or during your annual leave, and whether holiday hours count towards overtime. This guide answers each one with worked examples.
Public holiday rules are set by each country's labour law, and often by contracts or collective agreements on top. This guide explains how holiday pay commonly works and how to check the maths. It isn't legal advice. For the exact rules where you work, check your contract and your labour department.
1. What a public holiday means for your pay
A public holiday is a day set by law, usually published each year in an official list. For your pay there are two main situations:
- You have the day off. In many places you're paid as if you'd worked a normal day. This is holiday pay.
- You work the day. You're usually paid a premium for the hours worked, and some rules give you holiday pay or a replacement day off as well.
Check the official list every year. Holidays that depend on religious calendars move from year to year, and governments sometimes add one-off holidays at short notice.
2. Who qualifies for holiday pay
Not everyone automatically gets paid for every public holiday. Common conditions include:
- A minimum length of service, such as a few weeks or months with the employer.
- Working your last scheduled shift before the holiday and your first one after it, unless you had a good reason to be absent, such as approved leave or a certified illness.
- The holiday falling on a day you would normally work. If you never work Mondays, a Monday holiday may not give you holiday pay, though some rules give you something else instead (see section 5).
Being part-time, casual or on a short contract doesn't by itself remove the right in many places. What changes is usually how much you get, not whether you get anything.
3. Holiday pay for a day off
For a holiday you don't work, the usual rule is your normal pay for that day. For someone on a fixed salary, that simply means the salary isn't reduced. For someone paid by the hour, it means the hours they would normally have worked that day, at their normal rate.
Carlos Mendoza earns US$ 12.00 an hour and works 8 hours a day, Monday to Friday. A public holiday falls on a Wednesday and he has the day off.
His holiday pay is 8 × 12.00 = US$ 96.00, the same as a normal Wednesday.
Holiday pay should not come out of your annual leave balance. It's a separate entitlement.
4. Working on a public holiday
If you work on a public holiday, rules vary more than anywhere else in pay. These are the four most common set-ups:
- Double time, and that's all. Hours worked are paid at 2× the normal rate.
- Holiday pay plus a premium. You get your normal holiday pay and the hours worked at time and a half (or more).
- Holiday pay plus double time. Sometimes called "triple time" because the total is three times a normal day.
- Normal pay now, a day off later. You're paid normally for the hours worked and get a paid day off in lieu at another time.
Worked example: the same holiday, five outcomes
Carlos (US$ 12.00 an hour, 8-hour day) either takes the holiday off or works his normal 8 hours.
| Situation | How it's worked out | Pay for the day |
|---|---|---|
| Day off, holiday pay | 8 × 12.00 | 96.00 |
| Worked, double time only | 8 × 24.00 | 192.00 |
| Worked, holiday pay + 1.5× | 96.00 + 8 × 18.00 | 240.00 |
| Worked, holiday pay + 2× | 96.00 + 8 × 24.00 | 288.00 |
| Worked, normal pay + day off later | 8 × 12.00 now, + a paid day (96.00) later | 96.00 now |
The gap between the lowest and highest answer for the same 8 hours is 288.00 − 96.00 = US$ 192.00. So the first thing to find out is which set-up applies to you. It should be written in your contract, handbook or collective agreement.
Shifts that cross midnight. If a shift runs from 6 p.m. on the holiday to 2 a.m. the next day, in many places only the 6 hours before midnight are holiday hours. Others treat the whole shift as belonging to the day it started. Check which rule your payroll uses.
5. Holidays on rest days and during leave
When the holiday falls on your rest day
If a public holiday falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or another day you don't normally work, a few things can happen:
- The holiday moves. Many governments announce that the holiday will be observed on the next working day, usually the Monday. Then that day becomes the paid holiday.
- You get a replacement day. Your employer gives you another paid day off.
- You get an extra day's pay. Paid instead of a day off.
- Nothing. In some places, a holiday on a rest day simply gives no extra.
Your weekly rest day is a separate right. The ILO's Weekly Rest Convention sets at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every seven days. A public holiday doesn't replace that rest.
Public holidays during annual leave
In many places, a public holiday that falls during your annual leave doesn't count as a day of leave. The international standard on paid annual leave, the ILO's Holidays with Pay Convention No. 132, says public and customary holidays shouldn't be counted as part of the minimum annual leave.
Lucía Ramírez books two weeks off, Monday to Friday, which is 10 working days. One of those days is a public holiday. She should use 9 days of annual leave, not 10, and be paid holiday pay for the tenth.
Sick leave can be similar. If a holiday falls during a period you're off sick, check whether you get holiday pay, sick pay, or the better of the two. See our guide to sick pay.
6. Part-timers and shift workers
For people whose hours change from week to week, "a normal day's pay" needs working out.
- Fixed part-time hours. If you always work the day the holiday falls on, you get your usual hours for that day. Sam Taylor works 5 hours on Mondays at US$ 11.00 an hour. A Monday holiday gives him 5 × 11.00 = US$ 55.00.
- Varying hours. Many employers use an average over recent weeks. Rosa Díaz worked 30, 34, 26 and 30 hours over the last 4 weeks, over 16 shifts in total. That's 120 hours ÷ 16 shifts = 7.5 hours a shift. At US$ 10.00 an hour, her holiday pay is 7.5 × 10.00 = US$ 75.00.
- Rotating rosters. Where the holiday falls on a day you're not rostered, look at section 5. Some rules give rotating staff a day's pay or a replacement day so they aren't worse off than colleagues on fixed weeks.
Whatever method is used, it should be the same for everyone in the same situation, and written down.
7. Holidays and overtime
Two questions come up again and again.
Do paid holiday hours count towards the overtime limit? In many places, overtime is based on hours actually worked, so a paid day off doesn't count. Some contracts count it.
Worked example: a short week with a holiday
Kevin Brown earns US$ 10.00 an hour. Overtime is paid at 1.5× over 40 hours a week. Monday is a public holiday, which he has off with 8 hours' holiday pay. He then works 44 hours, Tuesday to Saturday.
- If only hours worked count: 40 × 10.00 = 400.00, plus 4 overtime hours × 15.00 = 60.00, plus holiday pay of 80.00. Total US$ 540.00.
- If paid holiday hours count: 8 + 44 = 52 hours, so 12 overtime hours. 40 × 10.00 = 400.00 (including the holiday), plus 12 × 15.00 = 180.00. Total US$ 580.00.
Does holiday work stack with overtime? If you work a holiday in a week that also goes over the limit, some rules pay the holiday premium and the overtime premium on the same hour, and others pay only the higher one. Our overtime guide works through stacked and unstacked examples.
8. What your payslip should show
A clear payslip lets you check holiday pay without asking anyone. Look for:
- Holiday pay as its own line for a holiday you didn't work, with the hours or day and the rate.
- Holiday hours worked as their own line, with the hours and the multiplier, for example "Public holiday (2×) 8.00 h".
- Any holiday pay on top, shown separately from the worked hours.
- Days off in lieu recorded, if that's what you were given.
- Annual leave balance not reduced for a holiday that fell during your leave.
If a holiday you worked is buried inside "Regular hours", ask for a breakdown.
9. A checklist for employees and employers
- The official holiday list for this year is checked, including moved and one-off holidays.
- The qualifying rules (service, working the days before and after) are written down.
- The rule for working a holiday is clear: double time, holiday pay plus a premium, or a day in lieu.
- Holidays on rest days have a clear rule (moved, replacement day, extra pay, or none).
- Holidays during annual leave don't use up leave days, where local rules say so.
- Part-time and shift workers' holiday pay is worked out the same way for everyone.
- It's clear whether holiday hours count towards overtime, and whether premiums stack.
- Payslips show holiday pay and holiday hours worked as their own lines.
10. Frequently asked questions
Do I get paid for a public holiday if I don't work?
In many places, yes, at your normal pay for that day, as long as you meet any qualifying conditions such as a minimum length of service. Check your contract and local rules.
Is working on a public holiday always double time?
No. Double time is common, but some rules pay holiday pay plus time and a half, some pay holiday pay plus double time, and some give a day off later instead. It should be written in your contract or collective agreement.
What happens if a public holiday falls on my day off?
Often the holiday moves to the next working day, or you get a replacement day or an extra day's pay. In some places you get nothing extra. Check what applies where you work.
Does a public holiday during my annual leave count as a leave day?
In many places, no. The holiday is paid separately and your leave balance shouldn't go down for that day.
I'm part-time. Do I get holiday pay?
In many places, yes, if the holiday falls on a day you'd normally work. Pay is usually your normal hours for that day, or an average if your hours vary.
Does holiday pay count towards overtime?
Often not, because overtime is usually based on hours actually worked. Some contracts count paid holiday hours. Check your contract and payslip.
11. Where to get help
- Check your contract, handbook or collective agreement for the holiday rules that apply to you.
- Ask payroll for a breakdown of the holiday lines on your payslip: hours, rate and multiplier.
- Raise any mismatch in writing, with the date of the holiday, the hours and the amount you expected.
- Contact your labour department for the official holiday list and your rights. There are often time limits on pay claims.
- Talk to your union or staff representative, if you have one.
You may also find our guides on breaks and rest and planning shift rotas useful.