Good Friday isn't a public holiday, whatever your employer does. If a public holiday falls on a day you don't work, a qualifying part-timer still gets a fifth of a week's pay.
Quick facts
- Number
- 10 a year
- Your entitlement
- Day off, extra leave, extra pay, or day off within a month
- Part-time
- 40 hours in the last 5 weeks
- Not a public holiday
- Good Friday
- Ask which option
- 21 days before
- Next
- Last Monday in October (26 Oct 2026)
The dates
New Year's Day; St Brigid's Day (first Monday in February, or 1 February if a Friday); St Patrick's Day; Easter Monday; the first Mondays of May, June and August; the last Monday in October; Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day.
For 2026 and 2027: "1 January 1 January 2 February 1 February 17 March 17 March 6 April 29 March 4 May 3 May 1 June 7 June 3 August 2 August 26 October 25 October 25 December 25 December 26 December 26 December". "Good Friday is not a public holiday ."
What you're owed
One of: "A paid day off on the public holiday An additional day of annual leave An additional day's pay A paid day off within a month of the public holiday".
"You can ask your employer at least 21 days before a public holiday, which of the alternatives will apply. If your employer does not respond at least 14 days before the public holiday, you are entitled to take the actual public holiday as a paid day off."
Part-time workers
"Full-time workers have immediate entitlement to benefit for public holidays and part-time workers have entitlement to benefit when they have worked a total of 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks."
"If you don't normally work on a certain day but it's a public holiday, you should get paid one-fifth of your weekly pay." If your employer won't resolve it, complain to the Workplace Relations Commission online, usually within 6 months. WRC information line: (059) 917 8990.
Common questions
How many public holidays are there in Ireland?
10 a year, since St Brigid's Day was added in 2023.
Is Good Friday a public holiday in Ireland?
No. Good Friday is not a public holiday.
Do part-time workers get paid for bank holidays?
Yes, once they've worked 40 hours in the 5 weeks before. If it falls on a day they don't work, they get a fifth of their weekly pay.
What do I get if I work on a public holiday?
Your employer must give you one of: a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave, or an extra day's pay.