What Are The Public Holidays in Martinique in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Martinique (2026)

Martinique broadly follows the French public holiday calendar, with some local observances. Use this 2026 holiday list to plan staffing, leave approvals, and payroll adjustments for your team on the island.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, in Martinique, which follows French labour law as an overseas department, employees are generally entitled to a paid day off when a statutory public holiday falls on a day they would normally work, with specific protections for Labour Day on 1 May. For most other public holidays, pay and time off are governed by the French Labour Code together with any applicable collective bargaining agreement or company policy.

When a public holiday falls on a Sunday or on a day the employee does not usually work, there is typically no additional statutory paid day off, unless a collective agreement or company practice provides for an observed day on the closest weekday. Many employers choose to align with sector norms to stay competitive and avoid employee relations issues.

Part‑time employees are usually treated on a pro‑rata basis: if the holiday falls on a scheduled working day, they are entitled to pay as if they had worked that day, subject to any qualifying service conditions set out in the Labour Code or collective agreements. Where employees are required to work on a public holiday, they are normally entitled to compensatory rest and/or premium pay, with the exact rate and conditions driven by the applicable collective agreement. In all cases, 1 May is highly protected: work is generally prohibited except in essential sectors, and employees who do not work must receive their normal pay.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Because Martinique is an integral part of France, non‑compliance with public holiday rules exposes your company to the same enforcement framework as in mainland France. Labour inspectors can investigate complaints about unpaid public holidays or unlawful work on 1 May, and may order corrective measures, including back‑pay of wages and holiday entitlements.

Failure to comply can lead to administrative fines and, in serious or repeated cases, criminal penalties for the employer or legal representative. Courts can also award damages and interest to affected employees, and non‑compliance can complicate future inspections or audits. Common employer mistakes include treating all holidays as optional company benefits rather than statutory rights, misclassifying part‑time or fixed‑term staff so they miss out on paid holidays, and ignoring more generous provisions in sector‑level collective agreements.

To reduce risk, you should document your holiday policy, align it with the French Labour Code and any applicable convention collective, and keep clear records of who worked on each holiday, what they were paid, and when compensatory rest was granted.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In Martinique, overtime rules follow French law, which calculates overtime based on hours actually worked in relation to the legal or contractual working time. Public holidays that are not worked do not count as hours worked for overtime purposes, but they are still paid as normal working days when they fall on a scheduled workday.

When employees do work on a public holiday, those hours are treated as actual working time and can trigger overtime once weekly thresholds are exceeded. In addition, many collective agreements provide premium rates for work performed on public holidays, which apply on top of any statutory overtime premium. For example, an employee might receive a higher hourly rate for the holiday hours themselves, and if those hours push them over the weekly limit, the overtime uplift is calculated on the increased base rate.

Because premium rates and thresholds can vary significantly by sector, you should always check the relevant collective agreement for your employees in Martinique and configure your payroll system so that public holiday hours are coded separately from standard hours. This helps you correctly apply both holiday premiums and overtime calculations.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Navigating French labour law in an overseas department like Martinique can be tricky, especially when you are managing teams across multiple countries. Public holidays, collective agreements, and local practices all interact, and a small mistake can quickly turn into back‑pay claims or penalties.

Playroll helps you hire and pay talent in Martinique without needing in‑house French legal expertise. Our platform keeps track of the local public holiday calendar, applies the right pay rules for each employee, and updates automatically when regulations or collective agreements change.

When you onboard someone in Martinique through Playroll, we help you:

• Classify the role correctly for French labour law
• Apply the right convention collective and its holiday rules
• Configure public holiday calendars and observed days
• Calculate premium pay and overtime for holiday work
• Generate compliant payslips and records for inspections

You stay in control of day‑to‑day management, while Playroll handles the complexity of contracts, payroll, and leave compliance in Martinique. That means fewer manual calculations, less risk, and a smoother experience for your team on the ground.