Government

South Africans will ‘lose’ two public holidays next year

Staff Writer

 ·23 Sep 2025

South Africans will only get ten instead of twelve days off work from public holidays in 2026 due to the way the Public Holidays Act handles public holidays that fall on weekends.

South Africa has twelve public holidays, starting with New Year’s Day on 1 January 2026 and ending with Day of Goodwill on 26 December 2026.

The country observes the usual public holidays, such as Easter, Christmas on 25 December 2026, and International Workers’ Day on 1 May 2026.

The dates on which Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall are determined according to the ecclesiastical moon.

“The exact date varies each year, but they fall between late March and late April,” the government website explains. Next year, Easter falls between 3 and 6 April.

Then, there are country-specific public holidays, including Freedom Day, Human Rights Day, Heritage Day, Day of Reconciliation, Youth Day, Family Day, and National Women’s Day.

Although South Africa officially has twelve public holidays, the number of days people will get off work depends on which day of the week the public holiday falls.

When a public holiday falls on a weekday, between Monday and Friday, it is automatically a holiday for workers. However, weekends are treated differently.

The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will also be a public holiday.

However, if the public holiday falls on a Saturday, people will not get a day off work. Hence, it essentially falls away for most workers.

In 2026, two public holidays fall on a Saturday: Human Rights Day on 21 March 2026 and the Day of Goodwill on 26 December 2026.

This means that people who do not work on a Saturday will not get a day off work on either of these public holidays.

Some consolation is that National Women’s Day, which falls on Sunday, 9 August 2026, will be observed on Monday, 10 August 2025.

This means that South Africans will enjoy 10 weekdays off work next year because of the Public Holidays Act, fewer than they usually get.

The table below shows the public holidays which will be observed in South Africa in 2026.