2026 work calendar: these are the public holidays there will be

The good news (for those who work Monday to Friday) is that very few public holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday, so there will be more opportunities for long weekends and bank holidays. The 2026 working calendar has already been published in the Official State Gazette and regulates national, regional and local public holidays set by the Autonomous Communities and Local Councils. Below, we analyse the national public holidays, the public holidays in the Community of Madrid and the days of holiday you are entitled to as an employee.

Public holidays throughout Spain

The following days are public holidays throughout Spain:

January

• Thursday 1 (New Year's Day)
• Tuesday 6 (Epiphany)

April

• Friday 3 (Good Friday)

May

• Friday 1 (Labour Day)

August

• Saturday 15 (Assumption of the Virgin)

October

• Monday 12 (Spanish National Day)

November

• Sunday 1 (All Saints' Day)

December

• Tuesday 8 (Immaculate Conception Day).
• Friday 25 (Nativity of the Lord).

In addition to these nine public holidays, there are another three that are decided by the autonomous communities and another two that are chosen by local councils or corporations.

The autonomous communities have the option of replacing the Monday following national holidays that fall on a Sunday with other traditional local holidays. They can also choose between celebrating 19 March (St Joseph's Day) or 25 July (St James the Apostle's Day) as a public holiday.

Public holidays in the Community of Madrid

In the Community of Madrid, in addition to the national holidays we have seen, there are others, which are as follows:

• Thursday 2 April, which is Maundy Thursday.
• Saturday 1 May, which is the Community of Madrid holiday.
• Monday 2 November, All Saints' Day has been moved from Sunday to Monday.
• Monday, 7 December (Constitution Day, which falls on Sunday, 6 December, has been moved to Monday).

Long weekends in 2026 in the Community of Madrid

With the public holidays we have seen, there will be several long weekends in the Community of Madrid, which are as follows:

• Easter: from 2nd (Thursday) to 5th (Sunday).
• In October-November: from 30 October (Friday) to 2 November (Monday).
• In December: from Friday 4 December to Monday 7 December.

Non-working days for the purposes of calculating deadlines

When dealing with the administration, it is important to take the working calendar into account when calculating deadlines. The general rule is as follows:

• Saturdays, Sundays and national public holidays are non-working days.
• Days defined by the Autonomous Community as public holidays in its territory.
• Public holidays in local entities established by the Autonomous Community.

How many days of holiday am I entitled to as an employee?

If you use some of your holiday days together with the public holidays we have seen, you can have a few days off. Holiday days are those set aside for the employee to rest and are different from public holidays or days off for moving house and other similar reasons.

Annual holidays are regulated by Article 38 of the Workers' Statute, which establishes the following:

• These are paid annual holidays that cannot be replaced by financial compensation. There are two exceptions to this rule:
  o The termination of the employment contract (due to resignation or dismissal, for example) prevents the employee from taking their holidays. In this case, the holiday days will be paid.
  o In the case of temporary workers, if the holiday cannot be taken because the period of activity in the company does not coincide with the holiday period, they must be paid for those holiday days.
• The holiday period shall be that established in the collective agreement or in the individual contract and may not be less than 30 calendar days. Therefore, collective agreements may improve and establish more days of holiday, but they may not reduce the rights established in the Workers' Statute.
• The specific periods during which holidays will be taken shall be established by agreement between the employer and the employee, and if no agreement is reached, the matter may be referred to the labour court, which shall set the date for taking holidays, and its decision shall be final.
• The holiday calendar shall be set by each company, and the employee must be informed of the dates at least two months in advance.
• If the holiday period set in the calendar coincides with a period of temporary incapacity due to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding, or with the period of suspension of the contract, as regulated in sections 4, 5 and 7 of Article 48, the holidays shall be taken on a different date once the period of suspension has ended, even if the calendar year to which they correspond has ended.
• If the holiday coincides with temporary incapacity due to contingencies other than those mentioned above, such that the employee is unable to take it during the calendar year to which it corresponds, they may do so once their incapacity has ended, provided that no more than 18 months have elapsed since the year in which the holiday originated.

Therefore, holiday entitlement is a right that workers have under the law and cannot be replaced by financial compensation, except in the cases we have mentioned.

If you have any questions about holidays at work or need employment advice, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will analyse your case, explain the options available to you in a clear and transparent manner, and advise you on all the necessary procedures. Contact our team of expert labour lawyers.