Public Holidays in South Africa 2026 + Free Staff Planning Template

Complete list of official public holidays and free downloadable staff planning templates

Official Public Holidays

13 holidays in South Africa for 2026

Holiday	Date	Day	Applies To
New Year's Day New Year’s Day is celebrated with a blend of both diversity and tradition in countries such as So...	January 01	Thursday	Nationwide
Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is a public holiday in South Africa	March 21	Saturday	Nationwide
Good Friday Good Friday is a global Christian observance two days before Easter Sunday.	April 03	Friday	Nationwide
Family Day Family Day is a public holiday in South Africa	April 06	Monday	Nationwide
Freedom Day Freedom Day is a public holiday in South Africa	April 27	Monday	Nationwide
Workers' Day Labor Day, International Workers' Day, and May Day, is a day off for workers in many countries ar...	May 01	Friday	Nationwide
Youth Day Youth Day is a public holiday in South Africa	June 16	Tuesday	Nationwide
National Women's Day National Women's Day is a public holiday in South Africa	August 09	Sunday	Nationwide
Day off for National Women's Day National Women's Day is a public holiday in South Africa	August 10	Monday	Nationwide
Heritage Day Heritage Day is a public holiday in South Africa	September 24	Thursday	Nationwide
Day of Reconciliation Day of Reconciliation is a public holiday in South Africa	December 16	Wednesday	Nationwide
Christmas Day Christmas Day is one of the biggest Christian celebrations and falls on December 25 in the Gregor...	December 25	Friday	Nationwide
Day of Goodwill Day of Goodwill is a public holiday in South Africa	December 26	Saturday	Nationwide

Legal Notice: This information is for guidance only and should not be considered legal advice. Always validate with local authorities or legal practitioners in South Africa.

📅 Free Staff Holiday Planning Templates

Download our ready-to-use templates to plan your team's time off around South Africa's public holidays

Google Sheets Template Excel Template

Perfect for HR managers, team leads, and small business owners planning staff coverage around public holidays

Managing staff leave around these holidays?

Stop juggling spreadsheets and manual processes. Leavetrack automatically handles public holidays and makes employee leave management effortless.

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Why HR Teams Choose Leavetrack

Everything you need for seamless leave management

Automatic Public Holiday Import: All public holidays for South Africa and 180+ other countries automatically loaded. No manual data entry required.
Save 5+ Hours Per Week: Eliminate manual leave calculations and reduce administrative overhead by up to 80%.
Compliance Made Easy: Built-in compliance tracking ensures you meet local employment laws and holiday entitlements.
Team Visibility: Everyone sees who's off when, preventing scheduling conflicts and ensuring adequate coverage.

Trusted by HR teams worldwide

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Absences managed

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Employees using Leavetrack

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Average customer rating

"With a team of over 50 employees, keeping track of absences and holidays using a paper based system used to be time consuming and prone to errors. Since introducing Leavetrack, the whole process has become a lot simpler and easier."

Cynthia Fisher

Commercial Director, Intatec Limited

How It Works

Simple, powerful leave management in four steps

Employees Request Leave

Simple, intuitive interface lets employees request time off in seconds. Public holidays are automatically excluded from calculations.

Book leave in under 30 seconds
See available leave balance instantly
Mobile-friendly for on-the-go requests

Managers Approve Instantly

Managers see all request details including conflicts with public holidays and other team members' leave.

Approve/reject directly from email
See team coverage at a glance
Complete audit trail of decisions

Plan Team Coverage

Beautiful visual calendar shows exactly who's off when, including public holidays, so you can plan optimal team coverage.

Color-coded wall chart
Filter by department or team
Spot conflicts before they happen

Generate Reports

Comprehensive reporting gives you insights into leave patterns, costs, and compliance - all exportable to Excel.

Full audit trail of all leave
Export to CSV for further analysis
Track entitlements and accruals

Don't Forget Your Free Planning Templates!

Get our ready-to-use staff planning templates to organize your team around South Africa's 2026 public holidays

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About Public Holidays in South Africa

Public holidays in South Africa are designated days when employees are entitled to take leave from work without losing pay. These holidays are established by the government and are observed nationwide, providing citizens with the opportunity to celebrate significant historical events and cultural traditions. South Africa recognizes 12 public holidays, including New Year's Day, Human Rights Day, and Freedom Day, among others. Understanding public holidays is essential for effective absence management and staff leave planning within businesses, ensuring compliance with labor laws and promoting employee well-being. For more information on public holidays in South Africa, you can visit the official government website at Public Holidays - South African Government.