Can companies open on holidays? Learn the rules.

Can any company operate during mandatory holidays?

In the end, is it possible for any company to remain in operation during mandatory holidays? The answer is clear: no, not all can. 

"The activities that are not allowed on Sundays must close or suspend operation on mandatory holidays" - explains the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT) in response to frequently asked questions on its website.

What are the mandatory holidays?   

According to ACT, these are the mandatory holidays: 

• 1st of January

• Good Friday

• Easter Sunday

• April 25th

• 1st of May

• Body of God

• June 10th

• August 15

• October 5th

• November 1st

• 1, 8 and 25 of December

In addition, in addition to the mandatory holidays, "Tuesday of Carnival and the municipal holiday of the locality" may be observed as a holiday, through a collective bargaining agreement or employment contract instrument.

"These optional holidays can be replaced by others agreed upon between employer and employee", it reads.  

But can employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements indicate different holidays?  

The ACT explains that the collective labor regulation instrument or the employment contract cannot establish holidays different from those mentioned above.

Read also:  Save the holidays! Learn about the holidays, long weekends, and extended weekends of 2025

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