What Are The Public Holidays in Iraq in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Iraq (2026)

Iraq’s public holidays combine fixed national dates and Islamic religious holidays that follow the lunar calendar. Below is an indicative list of key public holidays in 2026 to help you plan staffing and leave for your team in Iraq.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, under Iraqi labour practice, public holidays that are officially declared and fall on an employee’s normal working day are generally treated as paid days off. Employees who do not work on an official public holiday are typically entitled to their normal basic pay for that day, provided they would ordinarily have worked.

If your employees are required to work on a public holiday, they are usually entitled to premium pay on top of their normal wage. While exact multipliers can vary by sector, contract, and any applicable collective agreements, it is common for work on official holidays to attract higher‑than‑normal rates, and in some cases compensatory time off in lieu.

Part‑time employees should receive public holiday pay on a pro‑rata basis where the holiday falls on a day they are normally scheduled to work. If the holiday falls on a non‑working day for that employee, there is typically no separate entitlement unless your contract or policy provides otherwise.

Islamic holidays such as Eid al‑Fitr, Eid al‑Adha, the Islamic New Year, and Ashura are confirmed by government announcement based on moon sightings. If a holiday falls on a weekend, authorities may declare an observed day on the preceding or following working day. You should always check the latest government circulars each year and update your internal holiday calendar accordingly.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Iraqi labour law is enforced primarily by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and, in the Kurdistan Region, by the regional labour authorities. Failure to respect official public holidays or to pay employees correctly for holiday work can expose your company to administrative fines, back‑pay orders, and, in serious or repeated cases, potential suspension of operations or licence‑related issues.

Labour inspectors may review payroll records, timesheets, and employment contracts to verify that public holiday entitlements have been honoured. If they find that employees were required to work on holidays without appropriate premium pay or compensatory rest, they can order retroactive payment of wages and apply penalties under the applicable labour regulations.

Common employer mistakes include treating government‑declared holiday extensions as “optional,” failing to update calendars when Islamic holiday dates are officially confirmed, and applying public holiday rules inconsistently between local and expatriate staff. To reduce risk, you should document your public holiday policy clearly, align it with current Iraqi law and official announcements, and keep accurate records of who worked on each holiday and how they were compensated.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In Iraq, public holidays are generally treated as rest days, and any work performed on those days is usually considered exceptional. As a result, hours worked on an official public holiday are typically paid at a premium rate, regardless of whether the employee has exceeded their normal weekly hours. In practice, this means that holiday work is often compensated at a higher rate than standard overtime on a regular working day.

Overtime rules and thresholds can vary depending on whether your employees are covered by the federal Labour Law, public‑sector rules, or specific regulations in the Kurdistan Region. However, a common approach is that overtime on a normal working day is paid at a premium over basic pay, and work on weekly rest days and public holidays attracts an even higher premium or additional rest days in lieu.

To stay compliant, you should define in your contracts and internal policies how overtime and holiday work are calculated, ensure that your payroll system can distinguish between normal hours, overtime, and holiday hours, and regularly reconcile timesheets with pay slips. Where there is any doubt, it is safer to treat hours worked on an official public holiday as premium hours and to provide clear written confirmation of the rate applied.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing public holidays in Iraq can be tricky, especially when Islamic dates shift each year and different regions observe different days. Playroll helps you stay ahead of these changes so your team in Iraq is paid correctly and your company stays compliant.

Our platform keeps an up‑to‑date calendar of official public holidays for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including government‑announced holiday extensions and observed days when holidays fall on weekends. When a holiday is confirmed, Playroll automatically reflects it in your employees’ schedules and pay calculations.

With Playroll, you can:

• Set country‑specific and region‑specific public holiday calendars for your Iraqi workforce
• Apply the right premium pay rules when employees work on public holidays
• Pro‑rate holiday entitlements for part‑time and flexible workers
• Keep clear records of hours worked and pay applied on each holiday
• Generate reports that show your compliance position across all locations

Because Playroll combines local expertise with automated workflows, you do not have to track every legal update or government circular yourself. Our in‑country specialists monitor changes to Iraqi labour rules and holiday announcements and feed them into the platform, so your policies, contracts, and payroll stay aligned with current requirements.

If you are hiring or scaling a team in Iraq, Playroll gives you a single, reliable system for handling public holidays, leave, and pay, while you focus on growing your business.