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    South Africa working days and public holidays 2025

    South Africa, 2025: 250 working days and 2000 working hours at 8 hours a day. There are 12 national public holidays, 11 of them on working days.

    South Africa 2025 at a glance

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    Working days
    250
    Standard hours
    2000
    Free days
    115
    Calendar days
    365
    Holidays in period
    12
    Free days from holidays
    11
    Holidays on weekends
    1

    Public holidays 2025

    January

    • 1 Jan Wednesday New Year's Day

    March

    • 21 Mar Friday Human Rights Day

    April

    • 18 Apr Friday Good Friday
    • 21 Apr Monday Family Day
    • 28 Apr Monday Freedom Day

    May

    • 1 May Thursday Workers' Day

    June

    • 16 Jun Monday Youth Day

    August

    • 9 Aug Saturday National Women's Day Weekend

    September

    • 24 Sept Wednesday Heritage Day

    December

    • 16 Dec Tuesday Day of Reconciliation
    • 25 Dec Thursday Christmas Day
    • 26 Dec Friday St. Stephen's Day

    Working days and hours by month 2025

    Month Working days Hours
    January 1 Jan New Year's Day 22 176
    February 20 160
    March 21 Mar Human Rights Day 20 160
    April 18 Apr Good Friday, 21 Apr Family Day, 28 Apr Freedom Day 19 152
    May 1 May Workers' Day 21 168
    June 16 Jun Youth Day 20 160
    July 23 184
    August 9 Aug National Women's Day 21 168
    September 24 Sep Heritage Day 21 168
    October 23 184
    November 20 160
    December 16 Dec Day of Reconciliation, 25 Dec Christmas Day, 26 Dec St. Stephen's Day 20 160
    Total 250 2000

    How it works?

    This calculator counts working days, public holidays, and shortened workdays for a selected country and period. A working day is any day outside the weekend (Saturday and Sunday; in Egypt Friday and Saturday) that is not a public holiday. Shortened workdays: in Estonia the working day immediately before New Year's Day, Independence Day, Victory Day and Christmas Eve is 3 hours shorter. In Latvia and Lithuania the working day immediately before every public holiday is 1 hour shorter (Latvian Labour Law § 135, Lithuanian Labour Code art. 112).

    Holiday data comes from the Nager.Date public holiday database, updated annually.

    Frequently asked questions

    What counts as a working day?

    A working day is any day that is neither a weekend day nor a public holiday. In Estonia and most countries the weekend is Saturday and Sunday; in Egypt it is Friday and Saturday.

    Link to this answer

    What is a shortened workday?

    Under § 53 of the Estonian Employment Contracts Act, the working day before New Year's Day, Independence Day (24 February), Victory Day (23 June) and Christmas Eve (24 December) is shortened by three hours. The day shortened is the one immediately before the holiday: if that day is a day off (for example a Sunday), no working day is shortened - the Friday before stays a full day. In Estonia the day before other public holidays is not shortened. In Latvia (Labour Law § 135) and Lithuania (Labour Code art. 112) the working day right before every public holiday is one hour shorter for full-time staff.

    Link to this answer

    Why don’t some public holidays reduce the working day count?

    If a public holiday falls on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday), it does not reduce the working day count, since those days would not be working days regardless.

    Link to this answer

    How are annual working hours calculated?

    Multiply the working days by 8 hours and subtract the shortening for each shortened day - 3 hours in Estonia, 1 hour in Latvia and Lithuania: working days × 8 − shortened days × 3 (or × 1). Monthly norm hours work the same way from that month's working days. For part-time staff, use the agreed daily hours instead of 8.

    Link to this answer

    Working days and public holidays in other countries

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