What Are The Public Holidays in Malawi in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Malawi (2026)

Malawi recognises a set of nationwide public holidays each year, many of which are tied to fixed calendar dates. Below is an overview of the key public holidays in Malawi for 2026 to help you plan staffing and leave for your team.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, under Malawian labour practice, public holidays are generally treated as paid days off for employees who would normally be scheduled to work on those days. In other words, if a public holiday falls on a day that is part of an employee's regular working week, you should pay their normal daily wage even if they do not work.

Where a public holiday falls on a non-working day, such as a Saturday or Sunday, it is common for the government to declare an observed day on the nearest weekday. You should follow official government notices for each year and treat any declared observed day as the paid holiday for payroll and scheduling purposes.

Part-time employees are usually entitled to paid public holidays on a pro rata basis, aligned with their normal work schedule. If a public holiday falls on a day when a part-time employee is not normally required to work, there is typically no additional entitlement, but if it falls on a scheduled workday, you should pay their usual wages for the hours they would have worked.

If your employees are required to work on a public holiday, they are generally entitled to both their normal pay for the day and additional compensation for the holiday work. The exact rate should be set out clearly in employment contracts or collective agreements, and you should ensure it is at least as favourable as any minimum standards set by Malawian labour legislation or common practice.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failure to respect public holiday entitlements in Malawi can expose your company to complaints to the Ministry of Labour and potential enforcement action. Labour officers can investigate non-compliance, order corrective payments of unpaid wages or holiday pay, and in some cases recommend fines or prosecution under applicable labour laws.

Common employer mistakes include treating public holidays as ordinary working days without premium pay, failing to pay employees who are off on an official holiday, and ignoring government notices that shift the observed day when a holiday falls on a weekend. These issues can lead to back-pay liabilities, penalties, and reputational damage with both employees and regulators.

Because enforcement practice and specific penalty amounts can change, you should monitor official guidance from the Malawian authorities and obtain local legal advice before implementing or changing your holiday policies. Keeping clear written records of work schedules, payslips, and holiday payments is essential if you ever need to demonstrate compliance.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In Malawi, public holidays interact with overtime in two main ways. First, hours worked on a public holiday are typically treated as premium hours, paid at a higher rate than ordinary time. Second, those hours may also count toward weekly overtime thresholds, meaning an employee could be entitled to both holiday premium pay and overtime pay if their total hours exceed the standard workweek.

In practice, many employers in Malawi pay at least time-and-a-half or double time for work performed on a public holiday, depending on industry norms and any collective agreements. You should set out your holiday and overtime rates in employment contracts and ensure they are consistent with Malawian labour standards and any sector-specific rules that apply to your business.

To stay compliant, track hours worked on public holidays separately in your timekeeping system, apply the correct premium rate, and check whether those hours push an employee over the weekly limit for ordinary hours. When in doubt, applying the more generous interpretation of overlapping entitlements is usually the safest approach from a compliance perspective.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing Malawian public holidays across a distributed team can be tricky, especially when you are also juggling different time zones, contracts, and overtime rules. Playroll helps you stay on top of all of this by combining local expertise with automated workflows.

With Playroll, you can rely on up-to-date calendars for Malawi's public holidays, including observed days and variable religious holidays such as Eid al-Fitr. Your team’s leave requests, approvals, and balances are synced with payroll, so employees are paid correctly for public holidays and any holiday work premiums.

Playroll’s in-country specialists monitor changes in Malawian labour law and practice, helping you interpret how new rules affect your policies on paid holidays, overtime, and weekend work. Instead of manually updating spreadsheets or chasing local advisors, you get a single, reliable source of truth for compliance.

Whether you are hiring your first employee in Malawi or scaling a larger team, Playroll gives you the tools to:

• Align contracts with Malawian public holiday and leave standards
• Automate public holiday pay and premium calculations
• Track working hours and overtime on holidays in real time
• Reduce the risk of underpayments and labour disputes
• Provide a consistent, transparent leave experience for your team

By centralising your global employment operations with Playroll, you can focus on growing your business while knowing your Malawian holiday and leave obligations are handled accurately and on time.