Public holidays in 2026

2025 is gradually coming to an end. With the new year approaching, some are already looking ahead to their holiday planning for 2026. Below is an overview of the public holidays in 2026, along with a brief reminder of the applicable rules regarding substitute days.

Public holidays in 2026

Applicable rules

 As a rule, employees cannot work on public holidays in Belgium.

If a public holiday falls on a Sunday or another day which is normally a non-working day (usually a Saturday), it must be replaced by a replacement day on a normal working day. The employer, however, is obliged to pay the employee a normal salary for that holiday. In the list above, the public holidays that fall on a non-working day in the course of 2026, have been marked in bold. Employees are entitled to two replacement days in 2026, for Assumption Day (15 August) and All Saints’ Day (1 November).

The law of 4 January 1974 provides for the manner in which replacement days should be determined. In theory, the Joint Industrial Committee competent for each sector may decide when replacement days shall fall, but we do not see this very often in practice. If the Joint Industrial Committee has not taken its decision before 1 October 2025, each company may decide for itself when the replacement days for its employees will fall in 2026. The company may take that decision in one of the following ways:

• By the Works Council;
• If the company has no Works Council, by agreement between the union representation and the employer;
• If the company has a Works Council nor union representation, by agreement between all the employees and the employer;
• If no agreement can be reached for the whole company, individual agreements may be drawn up between the employer and each employee.

If replacement days cannot be decided upon using one of the solutions above, they automatically fall on the next normal working day following the public holiday (usually a Monday).

Employers must inform their employees of the replacement days for 2026 by displaying a signed and dated document on the company premises before 15 December 2025. You can obtain a template of such a document from your payroll business partner.

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