Four public holidays fall during December and January each year: 16 December is the Day of Reconciliation, 25 December is Christmas Day, 26 December is the Day of Goodwill and 1 January is New Year’s Day. These are four out of 12 public holidays provided for by the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994 (Public Holidays Act).

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared an additional public holiday on Friday, 15 December 2023, in terms of section 2A of the Public Holidays Act. The following day, 16 December, which falls on a Saturday this year, is an existing public holiday.

If an employee works on a public holiday (including an additional public holiday that is declared), their employer must consider the provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 when determining the amount to pay them. In particular, the employer must consider whether the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee would ordinarily work. If the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee would ordinarily work and the employee works on that public holiday, then the employee is entitled to double their ordinary wage for the day or, if greater, the employee’s ordinary wage for the day “plus the amount earned by the employee for the time worked on that day”. However, if the employee does not work on the public holiday which falls on a day the employee would ordinarily work, the employee is entitled to their ordinary wage for the day.

If the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee would not ordinarily work and the employee works on that public holiday, the employee is entitled to their ordinary wage for the day and “the amount earned by the employee for the work performed that day, whether calculated by reference to time worked or any other method”.