How many public holidays are there in Spain in 2026?

Each worker can receive up to 14 paid, non-recoverable public holidays (festivos laborales) in 2026 under Workers' Statute Article 37.2. Nine are nationwide; the rest are regional and local days set by the autonomous community and municipality. The exact mix depends on the employee's place of work.

What happens when a public holiday falls on a weekend in Spain?

There is no single national automatic substitute day. Many autonomous communities formally transfer observance to the following Monday (for example for All Saints' Day and Constitution Day in 2026 in most regions). Always confirm the decree for each community where you employ people.

Are public holidays the same across all regions of Spain?

No. There are 9 nationwide holidays, up to 3 extra regional days per autonomous community, and 2 local municipal holidays. A worker in Catalonia and one in the Basque Country will typically differ beyond the shared national dates.

Spain public holidays 2026: what employers need to know

Q: Are employees in Spain legally entitled to paid time off on public holidays?

Yes. Article 37.2 of the Workers' Statute treats recognised public holidays as paid and non-recoverable (retribuidos y no recuperables) within the 14-day framework. Employers cannot require staff to make up ordinary hours simply because a festivo was observed.

Q: As a foreign employer, do I need to observe Spain's regional public holidays?

Yes. The calendar for each employee's place of work applies in full, including regional and local holidays. You must also prepare and consult on the annual work calendar (calendario laboral anual) under Article 34.6. Many companies without a Spanish entity use an EOR to manage convenio rules, registro horario, and multi-region calendars.

Key takeaways

Workers are entitled to up to 14 paid, non-recoverable public holidays (festivos laborales) per year under the Workers' Statute. 9 are nationwide, plus regional and local days.
Unlike the Netherlands, Spain requires holidays to be paid and non-recoverable by law when they form part of the recognised calendar for that workplace.
Calendars differ by autonomous community and municipality; payroll must follow each employee's place of work, and you must publish an annual work calendar (ET Art. 34.6).

Introduction

Spain uses a three-tier public holiday system: up to 14 paid public holidays per worker in 2026 under Article 37 of the Workers' Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores). That total comprises 9 nationwide dates common to all 17 autonomous communities, up to 3 additional regional holidays fixed by each community, and 2 local holidays per municipality. The 2026 calendar was published by the Directorate-General of Labor (Resolution of 17 October 2025, BOE-A-2025-21667).

For international employers, an employee in Barcelona and one in Madrid can lawfully have different holiday sets; payroll and HR systems must track the correct regional and local calendar for each worksite.

Key facts at a glance

Topic	Detail
Country	Spain
Public holidays per worker (max.)	Up to 14 (paid and non-recoverable)
Nationwide holidays (2026)	9
Governed by	Workers' Statute (ET) Art. 37.2, Royal Decree 2001/1983, autonomous community decrees
Paid time off on public holidays?	Yes for recognised festivos per ET Art. 37.2 (retribuidos y no recuperables)
2026 calendar	BOE-A-2025-21667 · administracion.gob.es

How the calendar is built

The four layers

National non-substitutable (7): Fixed by the state; communities cannot replace them.
National substitutable (2 in 2026): Epiphany and Holy Thursday. In 2026 all communities retained them.
Autonomous community (up to 3): Additional days set by each of the 17 communities.
Local (2): Set by each municipality; not listed in national tables; verify locally.

Nationwide public holidays 2026 (all communities)

The following nine dates apply across Spain in 2026 per BOE-A-2025-21667.

Date	Day	Holiday (English)	Local name	Notes
1 Jan	Thursday	New Year's Day	Año Nuevo	Non-substitutable
6 Jan	Tuesday	Epiphany / Three Kings' Day	Epifanía del Señor / Día de Reyes	All communities retained
3 Apr	Friday	Good Friday	Viernes Santo	Non-substitutable
1 May	Friday	Labour Day	Fiesta del Trabajo	Non-substitutable
15 Aug	Saturday	Feast of the Assumption	Asunción de la Virgen	Non-substitutable
12 Oct	Monday	Spain's National Day	Fiesta Nacional de España / Día de la Hispanidad	Non-substitutable
1 Nov	Sunday	All Saints' Day	Todos los Santos	Falls on Sunday (see regional transfer)
8 Dec	Tuesday	Immaculate Conception	Día de la Inmaculada Concepción	Non-substitutable
25 Dec	Friday	Christmas Day	Natividad del Señor	Non-substitutable

Sunday holidays in 2026: All Saints' Day (1 November, Sunday) and Constitution Day (6 December, Sunday) fall on weekends. Most autonomous communities formally move observance to the following Monday (often 2 November and 7 December). Confirm the published decree for each region where you employ staff.

Holy Thursday (2 April): A public holiday in nearly every region except Catalonia and the Valencian Community. It usually counts toward the 14-day autonomous allocation. Check each community's official calendar.

Selected regional holidays by autonomous community (2026)

Examples from BOE-A-2025-21667 and community decrees. This list is not exhaustive; always verify local and municipal days.

Date	Holiday (English)	Local name	Communities
2 Apr	Holy Thursday	Jueves Santo	All except Catalonia and Valencian Community
6 Apr	Easter Monday	Lunes de Pascua	Balearic Islands, Castile-La Mancha, Catalonia, Navarre, Basque Country, La Rioja, Valencian Community
23 Apr	St. George's Day / Castile and León Day	San Jorge / Día de Castilla y León	Aragón, Castile and León
2 May	Community of Madrid Day	Fiesta de la Comunidad de Madrid	Community of Madrid
30 May	Canary Islands Day	Día de Canarias	Canary Islands
9 Jun	La Rioja Day / Murcia Region Day	Día de La Rioja / Día de la Región de Murcia	La Rioja, Murcia
24 Jun	St. John's Day	Día de San Juan	Catalonia, Galicia, Valencian Community
25 Jul	St. James / Galicia National Day	Santiago Apóstol / Día Nacional de Galicia	Basque Country, Galicia
8 Sep	Extremadura Day / Asturias Day	Día de Extremadura / Día de Asturias	Extremadura, Asturias
11 Sep	National Day of Catalonia	Diada Nacional de Catalunya	Catalonia
2 Nov	Monday substitute for All Saints	Traslado de Todos los Santos	Most autonomous communities
7 Dec	Monday substitute for Constitution Day	Traslado del Día de la Constitución	Most autonomous communities
26 Dec	St. Stephen's Day	Sant Esteve	Balearic Islands, Catalonia

Employer and payroll obligations

Are paid public holidays legally required?

Yes. ET Article 37.2 treats recognised public holidays as paid and non-recoverable (retribuidos y no recuperables) within the 14-day framework. Employers cannot routinely claw back hours for festivos, and must reflect them in the annual work calendar (calendario laboral anual) under Article 34.6.

This differs from purely contractual systems: once a date is part of the applicable calendar for that workplace, statutory pay protection applies alongside collective agreements (convenios colectivos), which may improve terms.

Legal reference: ET Art. 37.2 (14 paid non-recoverable festivos) · RD 2001/1983 Art. 47 (minimum 75% premium if work on a festivo is required, unless compensatory rest) · ET Art. 34.6 (annual calendar, consultation with representatives) · Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social) enforces breaches.

Weekend holidays and transfers

Spanish law does not create a single automatic national substitute day when a holiday falls on Saturday or Sunday; many communities transfer observance by decree (as with All Saints and Constitution Day in 2026 in most regions). Always read the formal regional publication.

Working on a public holiday

If work on a festivo is exceptionally required, Article 47 of RD 2001/1983 requires at least a 75% wage supplement on hours worked unless equivalent compensatory rest is agreed. Many convenios set higher rates or additional rest.

Annual leave and puentes

Statutory annual leave is 30 calendar days (often quoted as 22 working days), separate from public holidays. When a holiday falls on Tuesday or Thursday, employees often book the adjacent day to form a puente (long weekend). In 2026, plan around Epiphany (Tuesday 6 January), the Easter weekend, 12 October (Monday), and the December cluster.

What this means for international employers

Seventeen regional calendars plus municipal local days make Spain one of the more complex EU holiday regimes. Obligations attach to the employee's place of work, not the employer's registered office.

You must compile, display, and agree the annual work calendar per workplace. Since 2019, registro horario (daily time records) is mandatory. Misclassification of contractors (falso autónomo) can trigger back pay for holiday entitlements and social security. Many foreign companies use an EOR or outsourced payroll to manage convenio rules, calendars, and inspections risk.

Hiring in Spain?

Jackson & Frank provides EOR, visa support, and outsourced HR and payroll across Spain. Contact our team to map calendars and compliance for your workforce.

Sources

BOE-A-2025-21667, public holidays 2026: boe.es
BOE-A-2025-23702, non-working days calendar 2026: boe.es
administracion.gob.es, working hours and leave: administracion.gob.es
Estatuto de los Trabajadores (RDL 2/2015) on boe.es
Garrigues, Spain work calendar 2026 (summary from BOE): garrigues.com

Spain public holidays 2026: dates, pay rules & employer guide