Public Holidaysसार्वजनिक बिदा
Public holidays are the days off an employer must grant in addition to the weekly rest day. The Labour Act 2074 sets thirteen days a year, with one additional day for female employees, and the specific dates follow the government's annual calendar.
Also called: sarbajanik bida, national holidays Nepal, festival holidays Nepal
Key facts
- Entitlement
- 13 days a yearIn addition to the weekly rest day.
- Additional
- 1 day for female employeesPer the Labour Act 2074.
- Dates
- Government calendarPublished annually; companies select accordingly.
The entitlement and the calendar are two different things
The Act sets how many days. Which days they fall on comes from the government's annual calendar and from the company's own selection, which is why two Nepali companies can publish different holiday lists and both be compliant.
Publishing the list at the start of the fiscal year, rather than announcing holidays as they approach, is what lets teams and clients plan around them.
Working on a holiday
Where operations require someone to work on a public holiday, the arrangement should be defined in advance: a substitute day off, or payment at the applicable rate. Deciding it afterwards, case by case, is how a policy stops being a policy.
Holidays and the weekly rest day
Public holidays are in addition to the weekly day off, not a substitute for it. A public holiday that falls on the weekly rest day does not consume the entitlement automatically, and the company policy should say what happens in that case.
Public Holidays, answered
Thirteen days a year under the Labour Act 2074, with one additional day for female employees, in addition to the weekly rest day.
Not necessarily. The Act fixes the number of days; the specific dates come from the government calendar and the company's own selection, so published lists differ.
- Labour Act 2074, provisions on public holidays and the weekly day of rest.
This page explains general practice in Nepal. It is not legal or tax advice, and statutory figures are revised from time to time. Check the current Act, rule or notice before acting on it.
Related terms
- Home Leaveघर बिदाHome leave is Nepal's annual paid leave entitlement. Under the Labour Act 2074 an employee earns one day of home leave for every twenty days worked, and unused days accumulate up to a ceiling of ninety.
- Working Hoursकामको समयNepal's Labour Act 2074 sets working hours at eight a day and forty-eight a week, with at least one day of rest each week. Time worked beyond that is overtime and carries the higher rate.
- Labour Act 2074श्रम ऐन २०७४The Labour Act 2074 is Nepal's principal employment statute, in force since 2074 BS (2017 AD) and applied together with the Labour Rules 2075. It sets employment types, working hours, overtime, leave entitlements, probation and notice, and the funded gratuity and social security model.
- Shift Rosterपालो तालिकाA shift roster is the published schedule of who works which shift on which day. It is what attendance is measured against: without a roster, a punch at 14:00 cannot be classified as on time or late.
- Mourning Leaveकिरिया बिदाMourning leave is thirteen days of leave granted to an employee who has to perform funeral rites, under Nepal's Labour Act 2074. It is commonly called kriya bida.
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