Public Holiday Pay

The Rules

South Africa has 12 public holidays per year. Under the BCEA:

• If the public holiday falls on a day the employee would normally work, they get the day off with normal pay.
• If the employee works on a public holiday, they must be paid at least double their normal daily rate.
• If the public holiday falls on a day the employee doesn't normally work, there is no additional pay obligation.

South African Public Holidays

The 12 official public holidays are: New Year's Day (1 Jan), Human Rights Day (21 Mar), Good Friday, Family Day, Freedom Day (27 Apr), Workers' Day (1 May), Youth Day (16 Jun), National Women's Day (9 Aug), Heritage Day (24 Sep), Day of Reconciliation (16 Dec), Christmas Day (25 Dec), and Day of Goodwill (26 Dec).

How It Works in SA Wages Pro

When creating a payslip, you can enter public holiday hours worked. The system calculates pay at 2× the normal rate. Public holidays are also factored into the days-worked calculation so you don't accidentally count them twice.