May bank holidays: key facts about May 1st pay and the May 8th working day
By: Redacción ECIJA Costa Rica
May 1st Holiday
On Friday, May 1st, Costa Rica commemorates International Labour Day, a date that the Labour Code recognises as a holiday of mandatory payment, in accordance with the provisions of article 148.
"May 1st is a holiday of compulsory pay and its wage treatment depends on the type of remuneration of the worker. In all cases, if work is performed on that day, the regulations require the corresponding double payment," explains Daniel Valverde, partner and labour law expert at ECIJA Costa Rica.
What is the correct way to pay for this holiday?
This day is called a holiday of mandatory payment, as established in article 148 of the Labour Code. That is to say:
- Companies with monthly or fortnightly salary: they must recognise the salary of all days of the month, whether they are weekly breaks or holidays, in that case, the full salary of the fortnight or month must be paid. If a holiday is worked, an extra day's salary must be added to the pay in order to comply with the double payment required by the regulations.
- Companies with weekly, daily, hourly, hourly or time-based wages: must pay for the time worked and add the value of one day's pay for the mandatory holiday. If the holiday is worked, another single wage is added to complete the double payment.
However, if overtime is worked on the holiday, it must be paid at time and a half, i.e. triple pay. Moreover, regardless of whether the company is national, transnational or international, all companies are obliged to grant this holiday. Similarly, workers are entitled to public holidays, regardless of the type of work they do.
"No worker is obliged to work on an obligatory paid holiday and, if he or she chooses not to do so, he or she cannot be subject to any sanction for that reason," Valverde emphasises.
Transfer of power 2026: is Friday 8 May a public holiday?
Friday 8 May 2026 marks the beginning of the constitutional presidential term of president-elect Laura Fernández, which has raised doubts about its working nature.
"But although 8 May is of institutional importance for the country, it is not a public holiday for the private sector, so the working day should be carried out as normal," clarifies Daniel Valverde.
In the public sector, on the contrary, a political-administrative practice has been consolidated whereby the outgoing government grants public servants a holiday to facilitate their participation in the democratic transfer of power. This year has been no exception, since by Executive Decree No. 45680-MGP, published on 16 April, the executive branch granted a national holiday for Friday 8 May.
Excluded from this measure are public sector workers who work in emergency services, police forces and those in the Ministry of Health who carry out health inspection and control functions, such as vector control, oversight of popular festivities and direct care of children in CENCINAI programmes.
The decree may lead to a temporary suspension of the ministries' attention. Although the decentralised public sector - such as the CCSS, ICE, INS and public universities - are invited to grant the holiday, each institution must define it autonomously. In any case, this holiday does not constitute compulsory rest and is not applicable to the private sector.