Millions of South Africans set for bad news with 2 holidays cancelled next year

South Africans will get fewer days off work in 2026. Instead of the normal twelve holidays they’ll only get ten free days.

This is because of how the law deals with holidays that happen on weekends. The country has public holidays throughout the year starting on New Year’s Day and ending with the Day of Goodwill.

These include common holidays like Easter Christmas and Workers’ Day. Easter’s date changes each year but happens between March and April. In 2026 Easter will be from April 3 to 6.

South Africa also has its own special holidays like Freedom Day Heritage Day and Youth Day. The total number of days off depends on which days these holidays fall on.

If a holiday is on a normal weekday people get that day off work. When it falls on a Sunday the next Monday becomes a holiday too. But if it’s on a Saturday workers don’t get an extra day off.

In 2026 Human Rights Day and the Day of Goodwill both fall on Saturdays. This means most people won’t get time off for these days.

There’s one good thing though – because National Women’s Day is on a Sunday people will get that Monday off.

That’s why South Africans will only get ten weekdays off instead of twelve in 2026. The government has a list of all these holidays for the year.