Public Holidays in 2020 – an extra day on the 10th August 2020
South Africa will have 13 public holidays in 2020, including an additional day off to celebrate National Women’s Day on 9 August.
Monday (10 August 2020) becomes an additional public holiday in terms of the Public Holidays Act.
South Africans also scored an day off in May last year, to vote in the national elections.
Employees are also likely to take advantage of the long weekends – with Freedom Day (27 April) and Workers’ Day (1 May) set to fall on a Monday and Friday respectively.
The public holidays for 2020 are as follows according to official government proclamation:
1 January: New Year’s Day
21 March: Human Rights Day
10 April: Good Friday
13 April: Family Day
27 April: Freedom Day
1 May: Workers’ Day
16 June: Youth Day
9 August: National Women’s Day
10 August: Public holiday
24 September: Heritage Day
16 December: Day of Reconciliation
25 December: Christmas Day
26 December: Day of Goodwill
The dates on which Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall are determined according to the ecclesiastical moon. That varies each year but they fall at some point between late March and late April.
Consecutive public holidays can have a significant impact on working arrangements and shifts, especially in workplaces that run a 24/7/365 operation. And while, a ‘day off’ can impact economic productivity, it can help stave off fatigue-related issues.
