What Are The Public Holidays in Madagascar in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Madagascar (2026)

Madagascar recognises a set of nationwide public holidays that your company should plan around when scheduling work, leave, and payroll. The dates below reflect the main national holidays commonly observed in 2026.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, under Malagasy labour practice, public holidays are generally treated as paid rest days for employees, meaning your team should not lose pay when a holiday falls on a normal working day. In most sectors, full‑time employees receive their usual daily wage for statutory public holidays, and part‑time staff are paid if the holiday falls on a day they would ordinarily have worked.

Where operations must continue on a public holiday, it is common for employees who work to receive both their normal holiday pay and an additional premium or compensatory rest, based on individual contracts, collective agreements, or company policy. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is typically observed on that calendar date without an automatic shift to Monday, so you should check local practice and any applicable collective bargaining agreements to decide whether to grant a substitute day off.

Because detailed entitlements can vary by sector and contract, international employers should confirm specific obligations with a local labour adviser in Madagascar and reflect the agreed approach clearly in employment contracts and internal policies.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Madagascar’s labour legislation is enforced by the labour inspectorate, which can investigate complaints from employees about unpaid public holidays or unlawful refusal to grant time off. If your company fails to respect public holiday rules, you may face administrative fines, orders to pay back wages, and, in more serious or repeated cases, additional sanctions set out in the Labour Code.

Common employer mistakes include treating public holidays as unpaid leave, not paying staff who work on a holiday any premium or compensatory rest agreed in contracts, and applying inconsistent rules between local and expatriate staff. To reduce risk, keep clear records of working time and holiday pay, document any exceptions in writing, and ensure your local HR or payroll provider understands current Malagasy requirements. When in doubt, the safest approach is to treat nationally recognised public holidays as paid days off for eligible employees.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In Madagascar, public holidays interact with working time and overtime rules in two main ways. First, hours worked on a public holiday are typically treated as exceptional and may attract a higher pay rate than ordinary hours, depending on the sector, collective agreement, or employment contract. Second, if an employee works on a public holiday in addition to their normal weekly schedule, those hours can count toward weekly overtime thresholds, triggering overtime premiums under the Labour Code.

In practice, many employers in Madagascar pay both a holiday premium and, where applicable, an overtime premium for hours that exceed normal daily or weekly limits. Because the exact percentage uplift is often set by collective agreements or company policy, you should define your holiday‑work and overtime rules clearly in contracts and employee handbooks, and configure your payroll system to flag public‑holiday hours separately from regular time.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Navigating Malagasy public holidays, overtime rules, and local labour inspections can be challenging if your team is based outside the country. Playroll helps you hire and pay employees in Madagascar compliantly, without needing to build a local legal or payroll team from scratch.

Through Playroll’s employer‑of‑record platform, you can onboard talent in Madagascar, issue locally compliant contracts, and apply the correct treatment for public holidays, annual leave, and overtime. Our in‑country experts track changes to Malagasy labour law, so your policies and payslips stay aligned with current requirements.

Playroll also centralises global leave management, giving you a single view of who is off and when across all countries. That means you can plan around Madagascar’s 2026 public holidays, coordinate coverage across time zones, and avoid last‑minute surprises for critical projects.

If you are scaling a distributed team and want confidence that your Malagasy employees are receiving the right public holiday pay and protections, Playroll can handle the complexity while you focus on building your business.