Key Takeaways
Summary | |
Definition | Paid holidays are employer-designated days off that employees receive with full pay. |
Typical Amount | Most private-sector employees receive an average of eight paid holidays per year. |
Common Holidays | The most widely offered holidays include New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. |
Employer Flexibility | There is no federal requirement to offer paid holidays, allowing employers to customize schedules. |
Purpose | Paid holidays support employee well-being, competitiveness, and talent retention. |
Any good employer knows that there are certain days each year in which employees should receive paid time off (PTO), but what should a paid holiday schedule look like? Here’s how to put it together for your small business.
The bigger PTO picture
Let’s start with the main question on your mind: How much time off do people normally get? More than three in four civilian workers (aka workers who are not in the military but span jobs in private industry and state and local government) get an average of eight paid holidays per year, according to the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Civilian workers also get an average of 11 paid vacation days after a year, 15 after five years, 18 after 10 years, and 20 after 20 years.
Think about these benchmarks as you decide on the number that will work best for your business, because there are no federal laws requiring employers to give PTO, nor does the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) require employers to provide premium pay (i.e., overtime pay) for when an employee works regular hours during holidays. Some companies might offer extra pay for holidays simply to be competitive within their industry. And most companies offer PTO as part of their employee benefits, because it’s a must to attract and retain great employees, especially in the private sector.
Now, onto the next layer of the paid holiday puzzle: Choosing the actual holiday pay days you give off.
What paid holidays are normally handed out?
Most employers offer the paid holidays listed below:
Holiday | Date |
New Year’s Day | January 1st |
Memorial Day | May 26th, 2025May 25th, 2026 |
Fourth of July | July 4th |
Labor Day | September 1st, 2025September 7, 2026 |
Thanksgiving Day | November 27th, 2025November 26th, 2026 |
Friday after Thanksgiving | November 28th, 2025November 27th, 2026 |
Christmas Day | December 25th |
Is Easter a paid holiday?
Easter isn’t a federal holiday, but many companies include Easter as part of their paid holidays. As a religious holiday, Easter always falls on a Sunday, which works for certain businesses (like retail) but not others (like those typically run from an office).
What else can I do?
There’s a grab bag of other possibilities when offering a paid day off. They include:
Holiday | Date | |
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day) | January 19th, 2026January 18th, 2027 | |
President’s Day/Washington’s Birthday | February 16th, 2026February 15th, 2027 | |
Good Friday | April 3rd, 2026March 26th, 2027 | |
Juneteenth | June 19 | |
Day before Fourth of July | July 3rd | |
Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day | October 13th, 2025October 12th, 2026October 11th, 2027 | |
Veterans Day | November 11th | |
Christmas Eve | December 24th | |
Day after Christmas | December 26th | |
New Year’s Eve | December 31st |
If you offered all these holidays above, it would come out to 14, which is double the norm.
How to mix and match (and think about all of this)
Here are three approaches to mixing and matching your holiday stash:
1. Offer two floating holidays in addition to the first list
That would bring an employee to nine paid holiday days. They can choose which two of the potential floating holiday options (largely the second list) make the most sense for them, their beliefs, their family’s vacation time, their work schedule, and other factors.
2. Work from home (WFH) days
Turn some of those holidays into WFH (or WFH-optional) days where employees are expected to be online but don’t have to come to the office during the workweek. This is not a reduction in work time, but it is a reduction in the necessity of seat time.
3. Contextualize the time of year
If you sell children’s toys, yes, perhaps the period right around Christmas might be very busy for you. If you sell insurance, it’s probably less so. So keep your busy seasons in mind when crafting your holiday schedule.
There are also some parts of the year where the natural cadence of your business will slow down—and the corresponding need for family time will ramp up. At these times, it’s okay to take your foot off the gas and offer up some more days if it works for your bottom line.
What paid holidays should I offer?
One thing HR experts agree on—offer the big six for sure. That’s a must for most small businesses. At a bare minimum, you want to offer those most common paid holidays to keep your team happy. After that? It’s your call.
The day after Thanksgiving is a must.
If you want to be better than average, throw in Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Now you’re at nine.
If a holiday falls on a Thursday, Friday, Monday, or Tuesday, consider adding an extra day to turn it into a four-day weekend.
When a holiday is on a Saturday or Sunday, consider offering the following Monday off, as in the Monday right after that weekend. Or if a holiday falls on another non-workday for your company, if not the weekend, consider offering the preceding or following workday off. You may choose to offer or not offer that to part-time employees. Whatever you decide, clearly outline your policies in your employee handbook for not only your full-time employees but for your entire company.
Want to take it to the next level? Consider giving all your holiday time as PTO and letting your employees pick the days they want to take. This gives your team some freedom over how they take their PTO and how they want to use it for their own religious observance.
If you go that route, just make your employees pick the holidays up front. Only allow them to change once per year, on the same date you do your benefits open enrollment. Otherwise, you’re dealing with a human resources nightmare.
The next step? It’s your call. Slot the holidays that matter into your company calendar and share it with the team. Now, there won’t be any more shrugs when a holiday swings around.
FAQ
Are employers required by law to offer paid holidays?
No, employers aren’t required by law to offer paid holidays. There are no state or federal laws that mandate paid holiday time. However, just because offering paid holidays isn’t legally required doesn’t mean you’re off the hook as a business owner. Employees need and deserve time off—paying them for certain holidays off is part of running a humane, sustainable business.
Do part-time employees get paid holidays?
Whether or not part-time employees get paid holidays depends on the employer and the place of business. Some businesses don’t offer part-time workers paid holidays, while others do.
Can employers require employees to work on paid holidays?
Yes. Because there’s no federal law requiring private-sector employers to provide paid holidays, employers can decide whether or not to require employees to come in on days that would typically be considered paid holidays. However, there’s one state that offers special protection for workers.
Rhode Island requires employers to pay their employees a premium rate—1.5x their normal pay—for working on Sundays or holidays.
How many paid holidays do most companies offer?
Most private sector companies offer, on average, eight paid holidays per year. Federal employees usually get 11 paid holidays a year. However, many start-ups and other forward-thinking businesses offer even more time.
