What Are The Public Holidays in Gabon in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Gabon (2026)

Gabon has a mix of fixed-date and movable public holidays, combining secular and religious observances. Use this table to plan staffing, leave, and payroll for your Gabon-based team in 2026.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, in Gabon employees are generally entitled to a paid day off on statutory public holidays that fall on a normal working day. In practice, most employers treat these days as fully paid rest days, with no deduction from the employee's annual leave balance.

Public holidays are set nationally, so there is no regional variation in the list of statutory holidays, although some sectors or employers may grant additional company-specific days off. When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is commonly observed on the following Monday so that employees still benefit from a weekday off; you should confirm this practice in your local contracts and policies and reflect it in your payroll calendar.

For part-time staff, pay for a public holiday is usually pro-rated according to their normal working schedule. If a part-time employee is not normally scheduled to work on the day a public holiday falls, there is typically no additional paid entitlement for that day unless your company policy provides more generous treatment.

When employees are required to work on a public holiday, Gabonese practice is to provide premium pay in addition to the normal wage, often at a higher hourly rate or with a compensatory rest day. Because specific multipliers and conditions can depend on sectoral agreements or individual contracts, you should check any applicable collective bargaining agreement and set clear internal rules in writing.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failure to respect public holiday entitlements in Gabon can expose your company to labour inspections, administrative fines, and potential claims from employees. The labour authorities are empowered to review working time and pay records and to order corrective measures where employees have not received the correct pay or rest on public holidays.

In disputes, employees may seek back pay for unpaid or underpaid holidays, plus any applicable penalties or damages. Repeated or intentional non-compliance can increase the risk of higher sanctions and reputational damage, especially for multinational employers expected to follow best practices.

Common mistakes include treating public holidays as unpaid leave, failing to apply premium pay when staff work on a holiday, not adjusting schedules when a holiday is observed on a Monday after a Sunday, and inconsistent treatment of part-time or shift workers. Keeping accurate timekeeping and payroll records and aligning your internal policies with Gabonese labour law and any collective agreements is essential.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

Public holidays in Gabon interact with working time and overtime rules, even though the exact thresholds and multipliers can vary by sector and contract. As a general principle, hours worked on a public holiday are treated more protectively than ordinary hours, and many employers apply a premium rate for those hours in addition to any standard overtime premium that may be due.

If your employees normally work a fixed weekly schedule, a public holiday that is taken as a paid day off does not usually count as worked time when calculating overtime thresholds, but the employee still receives their normal pay. When an employee actually works on the holiday, those hours may both trigger overtime (if they exceed daily or weekly limits) and attract a specific holiday premium. Because practices can differ, the safest approach is to spell out in contracts and policies how holiday work is compensated and to ensure that your payroll system can distinguish between regular, overtime, and holiday hours.

For shift workers and employees with irregular schedules, you should pay particular attention to how rest periods are preserved around public holidays and how any additional compensation is calculated. When in doubt, seek local legal advice to confirm the correct treatment for your industry.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing Gabonese public holidays across a distributed team can be tricky, especially when you are juggling different time zones, contracts, and collective agreements. Playroll helps you stay ahead of compliance by tracking Gabon's public holidays, flagging observed days, and syncing them directly with your payroll and scheduling workflows.

With Playroll, you can centralise employment contracts, define clear rules for public holiday pay and compensatory rest, and ensure that part-time and shift workers are treated consistently. Our in-country experts monitor changes to Gabonese labour rules so your policies and pay calculations stay up to date without you having to chase legal updates.

Whether you are hiring your first employee in Gabon or scaling a larger team, Playroll gives you the tools to automate holiday calendars, avoid underpayment risks, and provide a transparent, fair experience for your employees. You stay focused on growing your business while we help you handle the complexity of local leave and public holiday compliance.