Compensation

Holiday Pay

Definition

What is Holiday Pay?

Holiday Pay is the compensation employees receive for public or statutory holidays, either as paid time off on those days or as additional pay when required to work during holiday periods.

Featured snippet

Pay employees receive for working on or observing statutory public holidays.

In Practice

How Holiday Pay works?

Holiday pay refers to compensation provided to employees for time off on public or company-designated holidays — either paid time off (employees receive their regular pay without working) or premium pay for employees required to work on designated holidays (typically 1.5x to 2x the regular rate). US federal law does not require holiday pay for private sector employees — it is entirely at employer discretion — making holiday pay a benefit rather than a legal entitlement in most US employment contexts. This is a common employee misconception: employees who assume they are legally entitled to paid holidays or holiday premium pay may be surprised to discover their employer's legal flexibility, making clear communication about holiday pay policy an important onboarding and handbook element.

By the numbers

Key Statistics

What the research says about employee engagement.

78%

78 percent of private sector employers in the United States offer paid holidays as a benefit, with the average number of paid holidays being 9.7 days annually — making holiday pay nearly universal in practice despite being legally optional in the US private sector.

1.5x

Retail and healthcare employers who require employees to work on designated holidays and offer premium pay rates of 1.5x to 2x see holiday volunteer rates averaging 65 to 75 percent — compared to 30 to 40 percent for those offering only regular pay for holiday work.

15%

Holiday pay policies that are unclear about whether part-time employees receive proportional holiday entitlement generate approximately 15 percent of all HR policy-related employee relations inquiries, making clear part-time holiday policy communication a significant administrative and relationship investment.

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Also known as

Synonyms and Translations

Other ways this term appears across industries and languages.

Synonyms

Public Holiday Pay

Bank Holiday Pay

Statutory Holiday Pay

Translations

🇸🇦

Arabic

أجر العطلة

🇫🇷

French

Rémunération des jours fériés

🇮🇳

Hindi

अवकाश वेतन

🇵🇰

Urdu

تعطیل کی تنخواہ

🇵🇭

Tagalog

Holiday Pay

People may ask

People May Ask

Common questions about employee engagement.

What is holiday pay?

Holiday pay is the money employees receive either for taking paid public holidays off work or as additional compensation when they are required to work on those days.

Are all employees entitled to holiday pay?

In most jurisdictions, all employees including part-time workers are entitled to holiday pay, though the amount may be proportional to hours worked.

How is holiday pay calculated for part-time workers?

Part-time employees typically receive holiday pay proportional to their contracted hours compared to the hours of a full-time equivalent role.

Can an employer refuse to pay holiday pay?

Generally no. Where holidays are statutory, employers are legally required to provide holiday pay. Refusal may constitute unlawful deduction from wages.

What happens if a public holiday falls on a weekend?

Many employers give a substitute day off in lieu. Whether this is required depends on the employment contract, company policy, or applicable law.

Holiday Pay

What is Holiday Pay?

How Holiday Pay works?

Key Statistics

Synonyms and Translations

People May Ask

Related Terms