Public Holiday on a Sunday

If a public holiday falls on a Sunday in South Africa, then the following Monday is also a public holiday. The government sets 12 public holidays per year, and the days are published by the South African government on its official site, www.gov.za/about-sa/public-holidays.

The rule that makes the Monday also a public holiday is found in the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994.

This means a Sunday public holiday isn’t just reset to the Monday, it creates a double public holiday — both Sunday and the following Monday are holidays. This rule, which is repeated on the government’s public-holiday site, makes the Monday a holiday when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, but doesn’t apply to Saturdays.

However, this rule in the Public Holidays Act is separate from the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which regulates holiday work and pay.

If an employee does have an agreement to work on a public holiday, then Sections 18(2) and 18(3) of the BCEA say what they should earn: at least double their usual daily rate, or if greater, their usual daily rate plus a premium for the hours worked, or their usual daily rate plus their actual earnings for the work done.

This Section 18 rule isn’t a unique public-holiday temporary wage; it’s a statutory wage calculated for any work that takes place on a public holiday, separate from the statutory declaration of the holiday itself. And an employer must pay a public-holiday wage on the employee’s normal payday.

The practical consequence is:

• If you’re a South African worker about to enjoy a Sunday-warranted extra day off, first double-check the government’s public-holidays page, at www.gov.za/about-sa/public-holidays, to confirm. The current list, published annually, is South Africa’s authoritative public-holiday schedule.
• Then check your employment contract or contact your employer to understand work and pay arrangements.

You should now look under Section 18 of the BCEA to see what happens to pay and work for those two public holidays.