Statutory holidays and substitute days in 2027
Your full-time employees are entitled to 10 statutory public holidays annually. On these days, on which inactivity is legally mandated, employees retain the right to wages for the hours they would normally work. In principle, working on public holidays is prohibited, except in specific cases, such as in the hospitality or retail sectors.
The holidays in 2027 are:
Friday, January 1: New Year's
Monday, March 29: Easter Monday
Saturday, May 1: Labor Day
Thursday, May 6: Ascension Day
Monday, May 17: Whit Monday
Wednesday, July 21: National Holiday
Sunday, August 15: Assumption of Our Lady
Monday, November 1: All Saints' Day
Thursday, November 11: Armistice Day
Saturday, December 25: Christmas
Replacement days
In 2027, three public holidays (Saturday, May 1, Sunday, August 15, and Saturday, December 25) fall on a weekend day (for companies operating on a 5-day system from Monday to Friday). Replacement days must be provided for these. This can be arranged in various ways, according to a cascading system:
Decision by the competent joint committee (before 1 October 2026).
Decision of the Works Council.
Agreement between employer and trade union delegation (in the absence of a works council).
Agreement between employer and employees (group).
Individual agreement with the employee.
If no replacement day is agreed upon, the next working day (usually Monday) will be the replacement day.
Procedure
List the public holidays and substitute days in the employment regulations.
Post a dated and signed notice in the company before December 15, 2026, stating the agreed replacement days.
Have employees sign the message to prevent later discussions. Agreement by the majority of the staff is sufficient.
Attach a copy of this message to the employment regulations and send it to the Inspectorate for Supervision of Social Laws.
Free choice for employees?
Employees can choose a replacement day off, but this can lead to complications, especially for part-time employees with variable hours. To prevent this, as an employer, you can designate fixed replacement days.
The same notice may also include compensatory rest days or dates of collective closures.
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