Public Holiday

A government-designated day of celebration, commemoration, or observance on which employees are typically entitled to a paid day off, with premium pay rates applying if they're required to work.

What Is a Public Holiday?

Key Takeaways

  • ✓A public holiday (also called a statutory holiday, bank holiday, or gazetted holiday) is a date established by government legislation on which most workers are entitled to a day off from work.
  • ✓In many countries, employees required to work on a public holiday must receive premium pay (typically 1.5x to 2x their regular rate) or a compensatory day off.
  • ✓The United States is unusual: there's no federal law requiring private employers to provide paid time off on public holidays. It's entirely voluntary for non-government employers.
  • ✓The number of public holidays varies dramatically by country, from 6 in the UK to over 30 in India (when counting national and state holidays combined).
  • ✓For global companies, managing public holiday calendars across multiple countries is a significant payroll and scheduling challenge.

Public holidays are the days a country decides everyone (or nearly everyone) should have off. They mark national events, religious celebrations, cultural milestones, or historical commemorations. From a workplace perspective, public holidays create a predictable framework of days when most business activity pauses. The simplicity ends when you start looking at the details. Some countries have fixed-date holidays (like July 4 in the US). Others have lunar-calendar holidays that shift each year (like Eid al-Fitr or Lunar New Year). Some jurisdictions give employers discretion over which holidays to observe. Others mandate specific days with penalties for non-compliance. And the question of what happens when an employee must work on a public holiday, whether they get premium pay, a substitute day off, or both, varies by jurisdiction. For HR teams managing multi-country workforces, public holiday management is one of the most operationally demanding aspects of global payroll and workforce planning.

11Number of federal holidays in the United States (US Office of Personnel Management)
36India has the most public holidays globally among major economies, including national and state-level holidays
1.5x to 2xCommon premium pay rate for employees working on public holidays in most jurisdictions
0Federal requirement for private US employers to provide paid public holidays (it's entirely voluntary)

Public Holidays Around the World

The number, type, and legal treatment of public holidays varies dramatically across major economies.

CountryNumber of Public HolidaysKey HolidaysPremium Pay for Working
United States11 federal (not mandatory for private sector)New Year's, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, ChristmasNo federal requirement; state-specific rules (e.g., Massachusetts, Rhode Island)
United Kingdom8 bank holidays (England/Wales)New Year's, Easter Monday, May Day, Christmas, Boxing DayNo statutory right to premium pay; depends on contract
India3 national + 10 to 25+ state gazetted holidaysRepublic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti, Diwali, Eid, Christmas2x wages under the Factories Act; varies by state Shops Act
Singapore11 gazetted holidaysNew Year's, Chinese New Year (2 days), Deepavali, Christmas, Hari RayaExtra day's salary at basic rate under the Employment Act
Japan16 national holidaysComing of Age Day, Golden Week, Mountain Day, Emperor's Birthday35% premium under Labour Standards Act
Germany9 federal + 0 to 4 state holidaysNew Year's, Good Friday, Christmas (2 days), German Unity DayVaries by collective agreement; many require premium pay
UAE10 to 14 (varies yearly due to Islamic calendar)Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, UAE National Day, New Year's50% premium or substitute day off under Federal Labour Law
Brazil12 national + state/municipal holidaysCarnival (unofficial but observed), Independence Day, Christmas2x wages or compensatory time off under CLT

US Federal Holidays: What Private Employers Need to Know

The US approach to public holidays is unique among developed nations, and many employers and employees misunderstand the rules.

The 11 federal holidays

New Year's Day (Jan 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (3rd Monday, Jan), Presidents' Day (3rd Monday, Feb), Memorial Day (last Monday, May), Juneteenth (Jun 19), Independence Day (Jul 4), Labor Day (1st Monday, Sep), Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day (2nd Monday, Oct), Veterans Day (Nov 11), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday, Nov), Christmas Day (Dec 25). These are mandatory paid days off for federal government employees. For private sector employers, there is no requirement to observe any of them.

Private employer obligations

Zero. There's no federal law requiring private employers to give employees the day off on any public holiday, or to pay premium wages for working on one. Some states have exceptions: Massachusetts and Rhode Island require premium pay on certain holidays (like Thanksgiving and Christmas). But broadly, holiday pay in the US private sector is a voluntary employer benefit, not a legal right. This surprises many employees and even some HR professionals.

Common private sector practice

Despite no legal mandate, 97% of US private sector employers provide paid time off on at least some federal holidays (BLS, 2024). The most commonly observed: Thanksgiving (97%), Christmas (97%), New Year's Day (93%), Independence Day (93%), Labor Day (93%), Memorial Day (93%). Columbus Day and Presidents' Day are observed by fewer than 50% of private employers. Juneteenth observance has grown rapidly since its designation as a federal holiday in 2021.

Managing Public Holidays for a Global Workforce

Multi-country employers face a unique set of challenges with public holiday management.

  • Maintain a centralized, annually updated holiday calendar for every country and region where you have employees. Tools like Deel, Remote, and Papaya Global include built-in global holiday calendars.
  • Account for holidays that shift with the lunar or religious calendar (Eid, Lunar New Year, Diwali). These dates change every year and are sometimes confirmed only weeks in advance.
  • Handle state/provincial differences within countries. India alone has 28 states with different holiday lists. Germany has 16 states with varying holidays. Canada has 13 provinces/territories.
  • Define your policy for employees working across time zones. A US employee working for a Singapore-based team shouldn't be expected to work on the 4th of July because Singapore doesn't observe it.
  • Decide whether to offer a baseline global holiday set (company-wide holidays) plus country-specific statutory holidays, or rely entirely on local calendars.
  • Build public holiday pay rules into your payroll system for each country, including premium rates and substitute day logic.
  • Communicate the holiday calendar at the start of each year, highlighting any changes from the previous year.

Public Holiday Statistics [2026]

Key data points on public holiday entitlements and observance globally.

11
Federal holidays in the United StatesUS Office of Personnel Management
97%
Of US private employers provide paid Thanksgiving and ChristmasBureau of Labor Statistics, 2024
36+
Total national and state holidays in India (highest among major economies)Government of India Gazette, 2024
2x
Premium pay rate for working on public holidays in India (Factories Act)Factories Act, 1948

How to Calculate Public Holiday Pay

The calculation method depends on the jurisdiction and the employee's compensation structure.

Salaried employees

For salaried employees, public holidays are typically included in their regular monthly salary. They receive their normal pay whether they work or not. If they're required to work, the premium is calculated on top: Daily Rate = Monthly Salary / Number of Working Days in the Month. Premium Amount = Daily Rate x Premium Multiplier (e.g., 1.5x or 2x). Total Holiday Pay = Regular Daily Rate + Premium Amount.

Hourly and part-time employees

For hourly workers, holiday pay is calculated at their regular hourly rate for hours not worked (if the employer pays for the holiday). If they work on the holiday: Holiday Pay = Hours Worked x Hourly Rate x Premium Multiplier. Part-time employees may receive prorated holiday pay based on hours they would normally have worked. In Singapore, part-time employees who work on a public holiday receive their gross daily rate plus their regular pay for the day.

Common Employer Issues with Public Holidays

These challenges come up repeatedly in HR operations, especially for growing and global companies.

Holiday falling on a rest day

When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the rules for substitution vary. Singapore mandates the next working day as a paid holiday. The UK does the same. India varies by state. In the US, there's no private-sector mandate, but most employers observe Monday (for Saturday holidays) or Friday (for Sunday holidays). Define your substitution rule in the leave policy and apply it consistently.

Religious holiday conflicts

Employees may request time off for religious holidays not on the company calendar. In the US, Title VII requires employers to reasonably accommodate religious practices unless it causes undue hardship. The 2023 Supreme Court decision in Groff v. DeJoy raised the bar for what constitutes undue hardship. Floating holidays are the most practical accommodation tool. If you don't offer floating holidays, be prepared to approve PTO or unpaid leave for religious observances.

Varying holidays across locations

A company with offices in Mumbai, Singapore, and New York has to manage three completely different holiday calendars. Coordinating project timelines, client deliverables, and team meetings across these calendars is a real operational challenge. Some companies designate a small number of 'global company holidays' (like New Year's Day) and then let each location follow its local statutory calendar for the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are private US employers required to pay employees for public holidays?

No. There's no federal law requiring private employers to provide paid time off on any public holiday or to pay premium wages for working on one. Holiday pay in the US private sector is entirely a voluntary benefit. A few states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island) require premium pay on certain specific holidays. But the vast majority of states leave it to the employer's policy.

Can an employer require employees to work on a public holiday?

In most jurisdictions, yes, especially for essential services. In countries with strong public holiday protections (like Singapore and India), the employer must provide premium pay or a compensatory day off. In the US, there's no restriction on requiring private-sector employees to work on holidays. In the EU, it depends on the member state's implementation of the Working Time Directive and sector-specific regulations.

What's the difference between a public holiday and a bank holiday?

In practice, they're the same thing. 'Bank holiday' is the term used in the UK and Ireland, originating from the Bank Holidays Act 1871 which originally only applied to banks and financial institutions. Today, bank holidays apply to all workers in the UK. 'Public holiday' is the more globally used term. 'Statutory holiday' is common in Canada and Australia. 'Gazetted holiday' is the term in India and parts of Southeast Asia.

Do part-time employees get public holiday pay?

It depends on the jurisdiction. In Singapore, part-time employees covered by the Employment Act receive holiday pay if the public holiday falls on their normal working day. In the UK, part-time workers are entitled to a pro-rata share of the 28-day annual leave entitlement (which includes bank holidays). In the US, it's up to the employer. Best practice is to provide proportional holiday benefits to part-time employees.

How do companies handle public holidays for remote workers in different countries?

The standard approach is to follow the public holiday calendar of the employee's work location (i.e., where they're physically based), not the company's headquarters location. A remote employee based in Germany working for a US company observes German public holidays, not US holidays. This is both a practical and legal necessity, since the employment laws of the employee's location typically govern. Global HRIS platforms automate this by assigning holiday calendars based on employee location.
Adithyan RKWritten by Adithyan RK
Surya N
Fact-checked by Surya N
Published on: 25 Mar 2026Last updated:
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