Public holidays in 2025: set the dates for the replacement days before 15 December 2024

Author Catherine Mairy  (Legal Expert)
Read time 3min
Last updated 02/10/2024 - 07:54

When a legal public holiday coincides with a Sunday or with a day which is not a regular working day in the company, it must be replaced by a regular working day.

There are 10 legal public holidays and their dates (and those of the replacement days) must be mentioned in the work rules.

Attention! As an employer, don't forget to indicate to your payroll office, via the statements of work, the precise dates of the 10 public holidays (or days replacing public holidays) granted to your employees.

Here is a brief reminder of the rules to be applied for public holidays in 2025.

What are the dates of the public holidays in 2025?

For 2025, the legal public holidays are set on the following dates:

  • New Year’s Day: Wednesday 1st January
  • Easter Monday: Monday 21st April
  • Labour Day: Thursday 1st May
  • Ascension Day: Thursday 29 May
  • Whit Monday: Monday 9 June
  • National Day: Monday 21st July
  • Assumption: Friday 15 August
  • All Saints’ Day: Saturday 1st November
  • Armistice Day: Tuesday 11 November
  • Christmas Day: Thursday 25 December

In principle, employees in the private sector cannot be employed on legal public holidays. The employer is required to pay the employees for these public holidays.

What if a public holiday falls on a Sunday or a usual day of inactivity?

Replacement 

When a public holiday coincides with a Sunday or with a day which is not a regular working day in the company, it must be replaced by a regular working day. This replacement day can be either before or after, but must be within the same calendar year, in order to guarantee 10 days off per year.

Notes

  1. The usual day of inactivity may be any day of the week other than Sunday and may vary from one employee to the other within the same company.

  2. The replacement day is treated as a public holiday for employees employed within the company.

Procedure 

The replacement day can be set by:

  • a decision of the joint committee (or joint sub-committee) made compulsory by Royal Decree;

  • a decision of the works council (in the absence of a decision by the joint committee);

  • an agreement between the employer and the trade union delegation (in the absence of a (decision of the) works council);

  • a collective agreement between the employer and all the employees (in the absence of a trade union delegation);

  • an individual agreement between the employer and each employee (in the absence of a collective agreement).

In the absence of an agreement on those different levels, the public holiday will be replaced by the first regular working day following this public holiday in the company.

Notification

Before 15 December of each year, the employer must display on the company's premises a dated and signed notice indicating:

  • the replacement day(s) of (a) public holiday(s) of the following year that has (have) been fixed in compliance with the procedure described above;

  • the terms and conditions for applying time off in lieu in the event of employment on a public holiday.

A copy of this notice must be enclosed with the work rules.

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