Two things about public holidays that most South African employees do not know.
You cannot be forced to work one. Work on a public holiday is by agreement only.
And this is the one premium that partly survives the earnings threshold. If you earn above R269 600.90 a year, you lose your right to overtime pay, Sunday pay, meal intervals and a night shift allowance. But you keep the core public holiday entitlement. Almost every article on this subject tells high earners they get nothing. That is wrong.
What you are paid
The rules are in section 18 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and they split depending on whether the holiday lands on a day you would normally have worked.
If the holiday falls on a normal working day
You do not work it. You must still be paid your ordinary daily wage. A public holiday is a paid day off. Your employer cannot dock you for it and cannot make you take annual leave for it.
You do work it. You must be paid the greater of:
- Double your ordinary daily wage, or
- Your ordinary daily wage plus the amount you earned for the hours actually worked
The word “greater” is doing real work there. If you are called in for three hours on a public holiday, the double daily wage figure will almost always be the larger one, so you are owed a full double day for three hours of work. Employers routinely pay three hours at double time instead, which is a fraction of what is due.
If the holiday falls on a day you would not normally work
Different rule, in section 18(3). You are paid your ordinary daily wage plus what you earned for the hours you worked.
This is the subsection that falls away above the earnings threshold. Section 18(2), the double pay rule above, does not.
Work out your own figure with the overtime and premium pay calculator, which handles both cases.
You cannot be compelled to work
Section 18(1) is short and clear. An employer may not require an employee to work on a public holiday except by agreement.
That agreement can sit in your contract, which is how most retail, hospitality and security employers handle it. But if it is not in your contract and you have not agreed, you may decline, and declining is not misconduct.
If your employer has been treating public holiday shifts as compulsory without any agreement in place, that is worth raising.
The rules people trip over
A public holiday falling on a Sunday moves to the Monday. Under the Public Holidays Act, the following Monday becomes the public holiday. You do not lose it.
A public holiday during your annual leave does not eat a leave day. If a public holiday falls on a day you would ordinarily have worked, during a period of annual leave, you get an extra day of leave. Check this against your leave balance, because payroll systems get it wrong constantly. See our leave days calculator.
Public holidays can be exchanged by agreement. Your employer and you may agree to swap a public holiday for another day off. This is common where a religious or cultural holiday matters more to a workforce than the gazetted one. It has to be agreed, not imposed.
Sunday and public holiday premiums do not stack. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, you are paid under the public holiday rules. You do not get double for the Sunday and double again for the holiday.
The 12 public holidays
New Year’s Day, Human Rights Day, Good Friday, Family Day, Freedom Day, Workers’ Day, Youth Day, National Women’s Day, Heritage Day, Day of Reconciliation, Christmas Day and the Day of Goodwill.
The President may also declare an additional public holiday, for example an election day, and it carries the same pay rules as any other.
If you are not paid correctly
Underpayment on a public holiday is a monetary claim under section 73A of the BCEA.
Ask in writing first, setting out the date, the hours and the amount you say is due. If that fails, refer the dispute to the CCMA for conciliation. Below the earnings threshold you may then go to CCMA arbitration. Above it, you must go to the Labour Court.
You can also complain to the Department of Employment and Labour, whose inspectors can issue a compliance order.
The three year prescription period matters here. Do not sit on it for years.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I get paid for working a public holiday in South Africa? At least double your ordinary daily wage, or your daily wage plus what you earned for the hours worked, whichever is greater, where the holiday falls on a day you would ordinarily work.
Can my employer force me to work on a public holiday? No. Work on a public holiday requires agreement, which may be contained in your employment contract.
Do I still get public holiday pay if I earn above the threshold? Yes, for the main rule. Section 18(2), covering a public holiday on a day you would ordinarily work, still applies. Only section 18(3), covering a holiday on a day you would not ordinarily work, falls away.
What if a public holiday falls on a Sunday? The following Monday becomes the public holiday under the Public Holidays Act.
Do I get paid if I do not work on a public holiday? Yes, if it falls on a day you would ordinarily have worked. You receive your ordinary daily wage.
What if I only work a few hours on a public holiday? You are still entitled to at least double your ordinary daily wage, because the Act requires the greater of the two calculations.
Sources
- Department of Employment and Labour, Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
This is general information, not legal advice.
