Looking forward 2024: Six extra leave days for 2024 holidays on weekends

Six public and national holidays will fall on a weekend in 2024, obliging employers to add on the ‘lost’ days of rest to employees’ leave entitlement.

The feasts of patron saint Paul (10th February), saints Peter and Paul (29th June), and Independence Day (21st September) will fall on a Saturday; while Freedom Day (31st March) falls on Easter Sunday – which puts Good Friday on the 29th March – and both Victory Day (8 September) and the Immaculate Conception (8th December) fall on a Sunday.

Under Maltese law, workers are entitled to a holiday if any such national or public holiday falls on a Saturday or on a Sunday, entitling them to a day of vacation leave in addition to the leave entitlement for that particular year.

This concession, which had long been part of Malta’s laws, was removed in 2005 under a Nationalist administration in a bid to recoup lost days of productivity. However, it was reinstated in 2021 by the Labour administration to ensure public holidays falling on a weekend are compensated by additional vacation leave.

In 2024, two other festivities that extend the weekend will be the Sette Giugno commemoration (7th June) falling on a Friday, and Republic Day (13th December) also falling on a Friday.

Only New Year’s Day falls on a Monday in 2024, a leap year. The feast of St Joseph (19th March) falls on a Tuesday, while Workers’ Day (1 May) will be on a Wednesday, and the feast of the Assumption (15th August) will be on a Thursday.

Malta has five national holidays: Independence Day, Republic Day, Freedom Day, Victory Day, and the Sette Giugno. The rest are religious observances, and the International Day of the Worker.

Public Holidays

Mon, 1 January    New Year’s Day

Saturday, 10 February    Feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck

Tuesday, 19 March    Feast of St Joseph

Friday, 29 March    Good Friday

Wednesday, 1 May    Workers’ Day

Saturday, 29 June    Feast of St Peter and St Paul

Thursday, 15 August    Feast of the Assumption

Sunday, 8 December    Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Wednesday, 25 December    Christmas Day

National Holidays

Sunday, 31 March    Freedom Day

Friday, 7 June    Sette Giugno

Sunday, 8 September    Victory Day

Saturday, 21 September    Independence Day

Friday, 13 December    Republic Day