Implications Of Extra Public Holiday In December

Nov 28, 2023

Articles

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared 15 December 2023 as a national public holiday. Additionally, 16 December, known as the Day of Reconciliation, is also recognised as a public holiday. The occurrence of these two consecutive public holidays raises considerations for both employers and employees.

For employees working Monday to Friday:
Given that 16 December falls on a Saturday, the public holiday will not be transferred to the following Monday, as this practice is reserved for public holidays falling on a Sunday. While employees working Monday to Friday may not directly benefit from the holiday on 16 December, the inclusion of an extra public holiday on 15 December ensures they still enjoy a day off.

For employees working Monday to Sunday:
Employees working on a Monday-to-Sunday schedule stand to benefit from both public holidays, depending on their regular working days. If employees are not scheduled to work on a public holiday falling on their typical working day, they are entitled to normal pay for that day. Conversely, if they work on a public holiday, they are entitled to double pay, alternatively, employees may choose to exchange the public holiday for another day, treating it as a day off. In the case of employees working on 15 and/or 16 December, they are entitled to double pay. If an employee is scheduled to work on both days, double pay applies to each. If an employee is not scheduled to work on either day, but 15 and/or 16 December is a regular workday as per their shift structure, they are entitled to normal pay. For those instances where 15 and/or 16 December falls on days that an employee would not typically work, they lose out on the public holiday, unless required to work. If required to work, employers must remunerate employees with an amount equal to their ordinary daily wage plus the amount earned for work performed on the public holiday. This provision applies only to employees earning below the earnings threshold.

Should you have any inquiries or require further clarification, please feel free to reach out to us.

This information is published for general information purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice and should not be construed as such. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to any particular situation. Maserumule will accept no responsibility for any actions taken or not taken on the basis of this publication. Consent must be obtained from Maserumule before the information provided herein is reproduced in any way. No person shall have any claim of any nature whatsoever arising out of, or in connection with, the information provided herein against Maserumule and/or any of its personnel.

Implications of an extra public holiday

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