According to the Labour Code, contracted employees are entitled to an extra day off if a public holiday falls on a Saturday – but only if Saturday is a scheduled day off for them.
Legal basis
Article 130 § 2 of the Labour Code indicates that each public holiday falling during the settlement period and falling on a day other than Sunday reduces working time by 8 hours. This means that if a holiday falls on a Saturday and it is a day off from the schedule for a given employee, the employer must designate another day off in the same pay period.
Time off for a public holiday on a Saturday
Saturday is a public holiday in most companies due to the five-day working week. Therefore, if a holiday falls on a Saturday – which is a day off anyway – the employee ‘loses’ a public holiday. To avoid this, it is necessary to grant an additional day off at another time.
However, it is worth remembering that if Saturday is a working day for the employee (e.g. in trade, catering or production), the additional day off is not due – the employee simply does not work on the particular public holiday Saturday.
Additional day off in 2025
In 2025 we have two holidays falling on a Saturday:
- 3 May (Constitution Day) – Saturday,
- 1 November (All Saints’ Day) – Saturday.
For employees covered by the standard working system (Monday-Friday), this means two additional days off to be designated by the employer.
Practical suggestions:
- For 3 May – it may be worth considering 2 May (Friday), which will extend the May weekend without the need for a holiday,
- For 1 November – the logical choice might be 10 November (Monday before 11 November), creating a long weekend.
When and how to take a day off?
The extra day off is due in the same reference period as the holiday falling on Saturday.
The reference period can be monthly, quarterly or yearly – depending on the working time system. There is no obligation for the day off to fall exactly after the holiday – it can also be before it.
Who decides the date of a day off?
It is the employer who sets the date of the day off. He can do this:
- arbitrarily, indicating a specific date for everyone,
- in agreement with the employees (e.g. after consultation with the team),
- flexibly, allowing employees to choose the date within the pay period,
- rotational, dividing employees into groups that take time off on different days.
Does a contractor or B2B person also get a day off?
No. An additional day off for a public holiday on Saturday is only granted to employees with an employment contract.
Those working under a contract of mandate, contract to perform a specific task or a B2B contract are not covered by this provision – their days off depend solely on the agreement with their contractor or principal.