Photo: Adobe Stock
Photo: Adobe Stock
Democracy and history are our friends. BusinessTech have highlighted two very special days on the calendar, which will become “extra” public holidays in 2019 and see South Africans score some precious time off work.
Earlier this month, we discussed how you could stretch 14 days of holiday leave into 42 days out of office over the next 12 months. However, 2019 is unique to the previous four years, as we’ve got an election coming up.
Public Holidays in South Africa for 2019
When Mzansi goes to the polls, Election Day is usually marked as a public holiday. Emphasising the importance of the vote, many offices and businesses close down to allow their employees a chance to participate in the democratic process. So make sure you
| Day | Date | Holiday |
| Tuesday | 1 January | New Year’s Day |
| Thursday | 21 March | Human Rights Day |
| Friday | 19 April | Good Friday |
| Monday | 22 April | Family Day |
| Saturday | 27 April | Freedom Day |
| Wednesday | 1 May | Worker’s Day |
| ? | May | Election Day |
| Sunday | 16 June | Youth Day |
| Monday | 17 June | Public Holiday (for Youth Day) |
| Friday | 9 August | Women’s Day |
| Tuesday | 24 September | Heritage Day |
| Monday | 16 December | Day of Reconciliation |
| Wednesday | 25 December | Chirstmas |
| Thursday | 26 December | Boxing Day |
When is the 2019 Election in South Africa?
Unfortunately, we can’t tell you the specific day in May that workers will be given off. Cyril Ramaphosa let slip which month the elections would be in during a speech last September, but no date has yet been confirmed.
It’s highly unlikely that the ANC would stage the election on 1 May – the month’s only scheduled public holiday for Workers’ Day. So you don’t have to worry about one potential day off being swallowed up by another.
Meanwhile, Youth Day falls on a Sunday this year. But if you think you’ve been cheated out of a break from the office, think again. The magnificent document that is the Public Holidays Act (PHA) will ensure that both Sunday 16 and Monday 17 June are used to commemorate the occasion.
Public Holidays on a Saturday
However, the law of averages means that one of our public holidays will fall on a Saturday this year. The PHA only allows for a “rollover” midweek day off if one occurs on a Sunday. Freedom Day takes place on Saturday 27 April, meaning there’s no get-out-of-office-free card for Monday-to-Friday workers.
It’s at this point our thoughts go out to the retail workers and service staff of South Africa. “Public Holidays” is a term that means nothing to these brave warriors, who soldier on while the rest of us lounge about. If they add another day off to the calendar, it should be named after you guys.
