The national holidays
Every employer gives paid holidays on Republic Day (26 January), Independence Day (15 August) and Gandhi Jayanti (2 October). Each state’s national and festival holidays Act (or its shops and establishments Act) then adds a number of festival holidays — typically five to nine in all — which the employer chooses from the state’s list and notifies to employees at the start of the year.
Working out the calendar
- Holidays follow the state of the workplace: an employer with offices in several states publishes a calendar for each.
- Many employers add optional (restricted) holidays: a list from which each employee picks a fixed number.
- An employee who works on a national or festival holiday is paid extra — typically twice the wages for the day, or the day’s wages plus a substituted holiday — as the state’s Act provides.
- Most states require the year’s list to be displayed at the workplace and sent to the inspector.
WebHR keeps holidays by region, marks optional ones, and can limit a holiday to certain departments. Employees see their own calendar on the web and in the mobile app, and pick optional holidays against the yearly cap you set.
Due dates
| What | When | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Publish the year’s holiday list | Before the year starts (state rules often say by December) | Annual |
If a due date falls on a holiday, the authority’s own rule for the next working day applies. Full compliance calendar
References
Related
Plain-language guidance for HR teams, not legal advice. Checked against the sources above on 29 September 2026; the notification or your authority’s portal is final. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.