End-of-year and New Year holidays: what every employer should bear in mind
Written by ECIJA Costa Rica.
The upcoming 25 December and 1 January 2026, public holidays that will be observed on Thursdays, are days to celebrate the end and beginning of the year, and all workers are entitled to enjoy them.
According to Article 148 of the Labour Code, these dates are considered mandatory paid holidays, which means:
- Workers with monthly or biweekly salaries: Payment for the day is already included in their salary. If they work on the holiday, they must be paid an additional single day, thus complying with the double payment required by the regulations.
- Workers with weekly, daily, hourly or time-based wages: If they do not work, they are still paid for the day as if they had worked. If they work, they must be paid double.
Daniel Valverde, partner at ECIJA Costa Rica, advises the following: "It is important to review internal policies and communicate in advance if there will be a closure or collective holidays in the company." Some companies have a practice of closing for the last two weeks of the year, which would be from 22 December to 3 January 2025. If so, they should verify whether they grant those days as holidays or whether they send staff on holiday during that period, if they have accumulated balances to use.
"In cases where there are no collective closures, this year, as Christmas and New Year's Day fall on a Thursday, some workers may request holidays or leave on Friday to extend the weekend. At this point, we must remember that employers have the power to approve or reject these requests according to their operational needs," explained Valverde.
