Weekly Rest Days and Public Holidays

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What are the relevant laws on weekly rest days and public/festival holidays?

Weekly rest days and festival holidays are determined under the Factories legislation, Shops and Establishments legislation and Standing Orders legislation. The details of these laws are as under: 

Factories Legislation

  1. The Factories Act, 1934
  2. The Factories Act, 1934 (adapted by the province of Punjab through the Amendment Act of 2012)
  3. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Factories Act, 2013
  4. The Sindh Factories Act, 2015
  5. Balochistan Factories Act, 2021

Shops and Establishments Legislation

  1. The Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1969
  2. The Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1969 (adapted by the province of Punjab through the Amendment Act of 2014)
  3. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shops and Establishments Act, 2015
  4. The Sindh Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 2015
  5. Balochistan Shops and Establishments Act, 2021

Standing Orders Legislation

  1. The Industrial and Commercial Establishments (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968 (applicable in ICT)
  2. Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968 (adapted by the province of Punjab through the Amendment Act of 2012)
  3. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Industrial And Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 2013
  4. The Sindh Terms of Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 2015
  5. Balochistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 2021

How many weekly holidays am I allowed to have?

If you work 8 or 9 hours/day, you are eligible for a one-day holiday in a week. It can be either day in a week and can also be the day when your establishment is closed. However, if you are required to work on your holiday, you can’t be made to work consecutively for 10 days without a compensatory holiday for a full day. Your weekly holidays are paid, and your employer can’t deduct money for these holidays.

What if I am asked to work on a weekly holiday/rest day?

Your employer can ask you to work on a weekly holiday (Sunday or any other assigned weekly rest day); however, you must have already been granted a holiday for one whole day in one of the three days immediately before that Sunday or be granted a holiday immediately three days after that Sunday. An organization requiring its workers to work over the weekend must also deliver a notice to the office of the labour inspector and also display a notice in the factory. There is no overtime premium for work on weekly holidays.

Moreover, if you are made to work on your holiday, you can’t be made to work consecutively for 10 days without being given a compensatory holiday for a full one day.

What are compensatory holidays under Factory legislation? 

If the provincial government passes an order to exempt a factory or a class of workers from the above provisions of weekly rest day and these workers are consequently deprived of any of the weekly holidays, those workers will be allowed, as soon as circumstances permit, compensatory holidays of equal number. It is illegal for an employer to give wages to a worker in place of compensatory holidays and make him work during that period.

Factories Act does not require an employer to give compensatory holidays to its workers within a specified period, and instead it leaves it to the discretion of an employer.

According to Punjab Factories Rules, compensatory holidays should be arranged such that there are not more than 2 compensatory holidays in a given week. These holidays are to be given before a worker is discharged or dismissed.

How many festival holidays are in a year? What is the difference between public, gazetted and festival holidays?

The provincial government announces festival holidays, and these are usually 14 in number. These are provided with full pay. However, if a holiday falls on Sunday, there is no substitute for it.

Although the law mentions only festival holidays, there is no difference in the public, gazetted and festival holidays as they are all paid holidays.

The table below shows the expected dates for festival holidays in 2024. It is important to remember that the Muslim festivals are subject to the moon's appearance, so these dates may slightly change. If you belong to any of the non-Muslim communities, you will be granted a holiday with pay on your festivals. The provincial governments also issue notifications in this regard. The information below is based on a notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Interior.

Public/Festival Holidays in 2024

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

Kashmir Day

February 05

Monday

Pakistan Day

March 23

Saturday

Eid ul Fitr (Shawwal 01)*

April 10-12

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday*

Labour Day

May 01

Wednesday

Eid ul Azha  (Zil Haj 10)*

June 17-19

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday*

Ashura / Muharram  (09-10)*

July 16-17

Tuesday and Wednesday*

Independence Day

August 14

Wednesday

Eid Milad un Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH) (12 Rabi ul Awwal)*

September 16

Monday*

Allama Iqbal Day

November 9

Saturday

Quaid-e-Azam Day / Christmas

December 25

Wednesday

 Muslim festival holidays depend on the moon's sighting, and thus, a separate notification is issued later. The dates mentioned above are anticipated and subject to change depending on the moon's appearance. 

Bank Holidays

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

1 January 2024

January 1

Monday

1 Ramazan 1446 AH* 

March 11

Monday

Closing of Financial Year

July 1

Monday

On bank holidays, banks are closed for public dealings only but not for their employees. 

Muslim Optional Holidays

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

Shab-e-Miraj (Rajab 27)*

February 8

Thursday

Shab-e-Barat (Sha`aban 15)*

February 26

Monday

Chehlum (Safar 20)*

August 27

Wednesday

Giyarveen Shareef (Rabi us Sani 11)*

October 16

Wednesday

  The dates of Muslim optional holidays are anticipated and subject to change, depending on the moon's appearance. 

Christian Community Workers

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

New Year Day

January 1

Monday

Good Friday

March 29

Friday

Easter (and the day after)

March 31

April 1

Sunday and Monday

Day after Christmas

December 26

Thursday

 

Hindu Community Workers

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

Basant Panchami

February 14

Wednesday

Shivaratri

March 8

Friday

Holi

March 24

Sunday

Dulhandi

March 25

Monday

Janam Ashtami

August 26

Monday

Durga Puja

October 11

Friday

Dussehra

October 12

Saturday

Birthday of Guru Valmik Swami Ji

October 17

Tuesday

Diwali

November 1

Friday

 

Sikh Community Workers

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

Baisakhi (Vaisakhi)

April 13

Saturday

Guru Nanak's Birthday

November 15

Friday

 

Parsi Community Workers

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

Parsi New Year's Day (Nauroze)

August 15

Thursday

Birthday of Khordad Sal (Lord Zoaraster)

August 20

Tuesday

 

Buddhist Community Workers

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

Buddha Purnima (Vesākha)

March 23

Saturday

 

Bahai Community Workers

Name of Occasion

Dates in 2024

Days

Eid-e-Rizwan

April 21

Sunday

 

What if I have to work on a public holiday?

Your employer can ask you to work on a public holiday. However, work on a festival/public holiday is compensated at three times (300%) the ordinary rate of pay if substitute and compensatory holidays are not allowed. ILO also supports compensation for working on public holidays. In accordance with the ILO convention on working conditions in hotels and restaurants, if workers are required to work on public holidays, they have to be compensated appropriately.

Factories Act requires employers to give their workers holidays with pay on all days declared by the government as festival holidays. A worker may be required to work on a public holiday but one day's additional compensatory holiday with full pay and a substitute holiday be allowed to him. This equals to 300% of the ordinary rate of wages.

What is the responsibility of an employer with regard to weekly rest days and festival holidays? 

Your employer is required to give you holidays with pay on all weekly rest days and festival holidays as and when announced by the government. Employers are further required to put all such information on notice boards specifying the days observed by the industrial establishment or commercial establishment as holidays. Similarly, the days and dates for such festival holidays should be notified to the employees by the employer at the beginning of the calendar year.

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