What Are The Public Holidays in Burkina Faso in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Burkina Faso (2026)

Burkina Faso observes a mix of fixed-date and religious public holidays. Islamic holidays follow the lunar calendar, so the dates below for those days are indicative and should be confirmed closer to 2026.

*Islamic holidays are based on the lunar calendar. Actual dates will be confirmed by local religious authorities and may shift by one or more days.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, under Burkinabè labour practice, public holidays are generally treated as paid non-working days for employees with a regular work schedule. If a public holiday falls on a day the employee would normally work, they are usually entitled to their normal pay even if they do not work that day.

When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is common for the following Monday to be treated as the observed day, especially for major national holidays. You should check each year's official government decree to confirm which holidays are carried over and how they are observed in practice.

Part-time employees are typically entitled to paid public holidays on a pro-rated basis when the holiday falls on a day they are normally scheduled to work. If a part-time employee is not scheduled on the holiday, there is usually no additional entitlement, unless a more generous rule is set out in a collective agreement or company policy.

If employees are required to work on a public holiday, they are usually entitled to either premium pay for the hours worked or compensatory time off in lieu, according to the Labour Code, applicable collective agreements, or company policy. Many employers in Burkina Faso apply at least a higher hourly rate for work performed on public holidays to reflect the special nature of the day.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failure to respect public holiday rules can expose your company to administrative and financial penalties. Labour inspectors under the Ministry of Labour are responsible for monitoring compliance with working time and public holiday provisions. They can conduct inspections, request payroll and timekeeping records, and order corrective measures.

Where violations are found, employers may face fines calculated per offence or per affected employee, and may be ordered to pay back wages, including unpaid public holiday pay and any applicable premium rates. Repeated or intentional non-compliance can lead to higher fines and, in serious cases, temporary closure orders or referral to the courts.

Common employer mistakes include treating public holidays as unpaid leave, failing to apply premium pay when employees work on a holiday, not granting an observed day when a holiday falls on a Sunday after the government has declared a substitute day, and inconsistent treatment of part-time or fixed-term staff. Keeping clear written policies and aligning them with the annual official holiday calendar is essential to reduce risk.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In Burkina Faso, public holidays interact with general working time and overtime rules rather than creating a completely separate regime. Hours worked on a public holiday typically count as working time and may attract both overtime and public holiday premiums, depending on how your employees' schedules are structured.

If an employee works beyond the normal daily or weekly limits set by the Labour Code or by a collective agreement, those excess hours are usually treated as overtime and must be paid at the applicable overtime rate. When those overtime hours occur on a public holiday, they may be subject to a higher combined rate or an additional premium, depending on the sector and any collective bargaining agreement in force.

Because practice can vary by industry, the safest approach is to confirm the applicable collective agreement for your employees and to document in writing how you calculate pay for hours worked on public holidays, including how those hours count toward weekly overtime thresholds. This helps avoid disputes and makes it easier to demonstrate compliance during an inspection.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing public holidays, paid leave, and overtime in Burkina Faso can be challenging, especially when you are coordinating teams across multiple countries and time zones. Islamic holiday dates shift each year, government decrees can introduce observed days, and local practice may differ from what you are used to in other markets.

Playroll helps you stay ahead of these complexities by keeping country-specific rules and calendars up to date for you. When you hire in Burkina Faso through Playroll, your employment contracts, payroll calculations, and leave policies are aligned with local labour law and common practice, including public holiday entitlements and premium pay where required.

Our platform centralises time off data so you can see, at a glance, who is off and why, and how that time is being paid. That means fewer manual calculations, fewer surprises on payday, and a much lower risk of non-compliance with Burkinabè labour inspectors.

Whether you are onboarding your first employee in Ouagadougou or scaling a larger team across West Africa, Playroll gives you a single, compliant way to manage:

• Employment contracts and statutory benefits
• Public holiday calendars and observed days
• Paid annual leave and sick leave tracking
• Holiday and overtime pay calculations
• Local payroll, tax, and social security filings

By outsourcing the complexity to Playroll, you can focus on building your team and your business, while we handle the details of Burkina Faso's public holiday and leave regulations in the background.