What Are The Public Holidays in Tanzania in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Tanzania (2026)

Below is an overview of the main public holidays in Tanzania for 2026 so you can plan staffing, leave, and payroll for your team throughout the year.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, Tanzanian labour law generally requires that public holidays be treated as paid days off for employees who would normally work on those days. In practice, if a public holiday falls on a day when an employee is scheduled to work, they are entitled to their normal daily wage for the day even if they do not work. Where a holiday falls on a Sunday, the government commonly declares the following Monday as an observed public holiday, and employers are expected to treat that observed day as a paid holiday as well.

Part-time and fixed-term employees are usually entitled to public holiday pay on a pro rata basis if the holiday falls on a day they would ordinarily work. If your operations require staff to work on a public holiday, they are typically entitled to both their normal pay for the day and additional premium or overtime pay under their contract, collective agreement, or applicable labour regulations. Because Islamic holidays such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Maulid are based on the lunar calendar and confirmed by official announcements, you should monitor government notices each year and update your holiday calendar accordingly.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failure to respect public holiday entitlements in Tanzania can expose your company to labour inspections, orders to pay arrears, and financial penalties. The Ministry of Labour and related authorities can investigate complaints from employees and trade unions, review your time and pay records, and require you to compensate staff for unpaid holiday wages or underpaid holiday work. Persistent or serious non-compliance can lead to fines and, in some cases, additional sanctions under employment and occupational safety legislation.

Common employer mistakes include treating public holidays as unpaid leave, not paying staff who are required to work on a holiday at the correct premium rate, and failing to recognise an officially declared observed day when a holiday falls on a Sunday. To reduce risk, keep clear written policies on public holidays, document work schedules and attendance, and ensure your payroll system correctly flags public holiday dates and observed days for all locations where you operate, including Zanzibar-specific holidays where relevant.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

Public holidays in Tanzania interact with overtime in two main ways: hours worked on a public holiday are typically treated as overtime or premium hours, and they are not supposed to reduce an employee's normal weekly wage. If an employee works on a public holiday, they should receive their standard daily pay plus an additional premium, often at a higher rate than ordinary overtime, as set out in their employment contract, collective agreement, or applicable wage orders. These hours also count toward weekly working time limits, so if public holiday work pushes an employee over the normal weekly threshold, further overtime obligations may arise.

Because specific overtime multipliers and thresholds can vary by sector and contract, you should review the written terms you have with employees and any sectoral wage regulations that apply to your business. A cautious approach is to treat public holiday work as both a paid holiday and overtime, ensuring that employees are not worse off than they would have been if they had taken the day off. When in doubt, seek local legal advice or guidance from Tanzanian labour authorities to confirm the correct rates.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing Tanzanian public holidays across multiple teams and locations can be challenging, especially when you factor in Zanzibar-specific holidays and Islamic dates that shift each year. Playroll helps you stay ahead of these changes by maintaining up-to-date country and region-specific holiday calendars, automatically applying the right public holidays to each employee based on their work location.

With Playroll, you can build compliant leave and holiday policies into your employment contracts, track public holiday entitlements alongside annual leave and sick leave, and ensure that holiday work is paid at the correct rate. Our platform supports accurate time and attendance records, integrates with payroll to calculate premium pay for public holiday work, and provides clear audit trails if you are ever asked to demonstrate compliance to Tanzanian labour authorities.

If you employ people in multiple countries, Playroll gives you a single source of truth for public holidays, overtime rules, and leave entitlements, so your HR and finance teams do not need to manually update spreadsheets every time a new observed day is announced. That means fewer errors, less compliance risk, and a smoother experience for your employees in Tanzania and beyond.