Public Holidays & Your Household Employee 2026: Do You Have to Pay When She's Off?
Do I have to pay my cleaner on August 1st? Does a public holiday during vacation count as a vacation day? And which holidays even apply in your canton? The interactive calendar shows every statutory public holiday in 2026 for all 26 cantons - and this guide answers the pay questions that come with them.
With a monthly salary, pay simply continues on statutory public holidays. With an hourly wage there is - except on August 1st - no legal obligation to pay for cancelled workdays; your employment contract decides. If a public holiday falls within vacation, it does not count as a vacation day.
Interactive Holiday Calendar 2026
Select your canton and your household employee's vacation entitlement. The calendar shows every statutory public holiday in your canton in 2026 - plus an example distribution of vacation weeks across the year.
January 2026
February 2026
March 2026
April 2026
May 2026
June 2026
July 2026
August 2026
September 2026
October 2026
November 2026
December 2026
Year 2026 · vacation distribution shown as an example (February, spring, summer, autumn) · simplified overview, cantonal law prevails
Key Takeaways
- 1Monthly salary: pay continues unchanged on statutory public holidays
- 2Hourly wage: no legal obligation to pay - except on August 1st
- 3A public holiday during vacation does not count as a vacation day - it stays in the balance
- 4Which holidays apply is decided by your canton - the calendar shows all 26
Do I Have to Pay on Public Holidays?
Private households are not covered by the Swiss Labour Act (ArG Art. 2). What counts are the Code of Obligations, the cantonal standard employment contract (NAV) and your own employment contract. For holiday pay, the rules are:
Monthly salary
Pay continues unchanged on statutory public holidays. Your employee gets the day off at full pay - a deduction is not permitted.
Hourly wage
No general legal obligation: if a workday is cancelled because of a public holiday, you generally don't have to pay for it - the only exception is August 1st. Many employers pay holidays anyway or reschedule the session within the same week; some cantonal NAVs have their own rules.
Put holidays in the employment contract
Agreeing a public holiday
Maria
online
Good morning Mrs Vogt, next Thursday is Ascension Day (public holiday). Should I still come?
08:10Good morning Maria! No, you're off on Ascension Day, and it's paid since you're on a monthly salary. We'll see each other as usual the Thursday after. Enjoy your day off!
08:24Oh, thank you so much! See you in two weeks then.
08:26August 1st Is Special
Swiss National Day is the only federal public holiday - and federal law makes it a paid holiday (Federal Constitution Art. 110 para. 3). If August 1st falls on a day your household employee normally works, you must pay the wage even on an hourly basis.
In 2026, August 1st falls on a Saturday. If your employee works Saturdays, the cancelled session must be paid. If she works on other days, no additional claim arises.
What if a Holiday Falls Within Vacation?
What if a Holiday Falls Within Vacation?
Example: a vacation week Monday-Friday - and right in the middle sits a statutory public holiday.
Public holidays do NOT count as vacation days - the day stays in the balance.
The reason: vacation is for rest and recovery (CO Art. 329a) - a statutory holiday is free anyway. So if August 1st falls within your employee's summer vacation, you may only deduct four vacation days from her balance for that week.
And Vacation Pay? Two Legal Models
The law knows two ways to compensate vacation correctly - depending on the working arrangement:
Payslip - Model A
The surcharge must be shown separately on every payslip - otherwise it counts as unpaid.
Payslip - Model B
No surcharge needed: the employee takes real weeks off at full pay.
You'll find the percentages in detail (8.33% / 10.64% / 13.04%), worked examples and common mistakes in our guide on holiday compensation on hourly wages. To work out your employee's exact entitlement, use the vacation calculator.
All 26 Cantons at a Glance
New Year's Day, Ascension, August 1st and Christmas are statutory holidays throughout Switzerland. Almost everything else is cantonal - from Aargau, where many holidays only apply per district, to Ticino with 15 statutory holidays. The table shows the number of canton-wide statutory holidays in 2026 and each canton's specialities.
Important: customary days off such as Berchtold's Day in Zurich, Easter Monday in Lucerne or Zurich's Sechseläuten are not statutory holidays - they only apply to your household employee if the employment contract says so.
Holiday map: statutory public holidays by canton (2026)
How many paid public holidays does your canton have? Catholic cantons have clearly more. Pick your canton.
Zurich
9 statutory holidays 2026
On top of the 4 nationwide ones:
Nationwide: New Year, Ascension, 1 August, Christmas.
Full calendar above| Canton | Holidays 2026 | Cantonal specialities |
|---|---|---|
| Aargau (AG) | 5 (+8*) | Berchtold's Day * · Good Friday · Easter Monday * · Whit Monday * · Corpus Christi * · Assumption Day * · All Saints' Day * · Immaculate Conception * · St Stephen's Day * |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI) | 12 (+1*) | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · Corpus Christi · Assumption Day · St Maurice Day * · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception · St Stephen's Day |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR) | 8 | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · St Stephen's Day |
| Bern (BE) | 9 | Berchtold's Day · Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · St Stephen's Day |
| Basel-Landschaft (BL) | 9 (+2*) | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Labour Day · Whit Monday · Corpus Christi * · Assumption Day * · St Stephen's Day |
| Basel-Stadt (BS) | 9 | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Labour Day · Whit Monday · St Stephen's Day |
| Fribourg (FR) | 5 (+4*) | Good Friday · Corpus Christi * · Assumption Day * · All Saints' Day * · Immaculate Conception * |
| Geneva (GE) | 9 | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · Geneva Fast · Restoration of the Republic |
| Glarus (GL) | 10 | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Näfels Pilgrimage · Whit Monday · All Saints' Day · St Stephen's Day |
| Graubünden (GR) | 8 (+7*) | Epiphany * · St Joseph's Day * · Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · Corpus Christi * · Sts Peter and Paul * · Assumption Day * · All Saints' Day * · Immaculate Conception * · St Stephen's Day |
| Jura (JU) | 13 | Berchtold's Day · Good Friday · Easter Monday · Labour Day · Whit Monday · Corpus Christi · Jura Independence Day · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day |
| Lucerne (LU) | 10 (+2*) | St Joseph's Day * · Good Friday · Corpus Christi · Sts Peter and Paul * · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception · St Stephen's Day |
| Neuchâtel (NE) | 7 (+1*) | Republic Day · Good Friday · Labour Day · Corpus Christi * |
| Nidwalden (NW) | 10 | St Joseph's Day · Good Friday · Corpus Christi · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception |
| Obwalden (OW) | 10 | Good Friday · Corpus Christi · Assumption Day · St Nicholas of Flüe Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception |
| St. Gallen (SG) | 9 | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · All Saints' Day · St Stephen's Day |
| Schaffhausen (SH) | 9 | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Labour Day · Whit Monday · St Stephen's Day |
| Solothurn (SO) | 5 (+7*) | St Joseph's Day * · Good Friday · Easter Monday * · Whit Monday * · Corpus Christi * · Assumption Day * · All Saints' Day * · St Stephen's Day * |
| Schwyz (SZ) | 14 | Epiphany · St Joseph's Day · Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · Corpus Christi · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception · St Stephen's Day |
| Thurgau (TG) | 10 | Berchtold's Day · Good Friday · Easter Monday · Labour Day · Whit Monday · St Stephen's Day |
| Ticino (TI) | 15 | Epiphany · St Joseph's Day · Easter Monday · Labour Day · Whit Monday · Corpus Christi · Sts Peter and Paul · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception · St Stephen's Day |
| Uri (UR) | 14 | Epiphany · St Joseph's Day · Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · Corpus Christi · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception · St Stephen's Day |
| Vaud (VD) | 9 | Berchtold's Day · Good Friday · Easter Monday · Whit Monday · Monday after Federal Fast |
| Valais (VS) | 9 | St Joseph's Day · Corpus Christi · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception |
| Zug (ZG) | 9 (+1*) | St Joseph's Day * · Good Friday · Corpus Christi · Assumption Day · All Saints' Day · Immaculate Conception |
| Zurich (ZH) | 9 | Good Friday · Easter Monday · Labour Day · Whit Monday · St Stephen's Day |
* applies only in parts of the canton. Simplified overview (full statutory holidays) - cantonal law prevails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay my cleaner on public holidays?+
On a monthly salary, yes - pay continues on statutory holidays. On an hourly wage there is no general legal obligation: if the session is cancelled, it doesn't have to be paid. The only exception is August 1st. Your contract can of course be more generous.
Is August 1st a paid holiday?+
Yes. The Federal Constitution (Art. 110 para. 3) makes Swiss National Day equivalent to a Sunday and paid. If August 1st falls on one of your employee's normal working days, you must pay the wage even on an hourly basis.
Does a public holiday during vacation count as a vacation day?+
No. If a statutory holiday falls within vacation, it does not count as a vacation day - it stays in the balance. A vacation week containing a holiday only uses up four vacation days.
Which public holidays apply in my canton?+
Only New Year's Day, Ascension, August 1st and Christmas apply throughout Switzerland. All other holidays are set by the cantons - between 5 and 15 statutory holidays depending on the canton (and sometimes the district or commune). The interactive calendar above shows the list for each canton.
Does my household employee have to work on a public holiday?+
Only if agreed. Private households aren't covered by the Labour Act, but the employment contract and the cantonal NAV set the frame. The usual practice: holidays are free, and sessions are moved to another day by mutual agreement.
Clino calculates wages and vacation surcharge correctly - every month, automatically.
Payslips, contract, AHV and insurance for your household employee. All included for CHF 19.90/month.
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