Slovakia's working year in 2027 is shaped by a recovery, not a reform. Under Act No. 241/1993 Coll. on state holidays, days of rest and memorial days, the full list of 13 days of rest returns in 2027 because the transitional suspension introduced for 2026 expires automatically. The Zákonník práce (Labour Code, Act No. 311/2001 Coll.) and the Ministerstvo práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny SR (MPSVR SR, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family) have both confirmed this reading: 2027 is back to normal, and the dates are already fixed by statute rather than by any annual government decree.

Of those 13 days of rest, 8 fall on a weekday and 5 land on a Saturday or Sunday. That compares well to 2026, when the public-finance consolidation package suspended 8 May and 15 September as days off for that year only, leaving just 7 weekday days of rest. Two planning rules hold firm for 2027: weekend holidays do not migrate to a weekday, and three state holidays remain ordinary working days regardless of what you see on commercial calendars.

All 13 days of rest in Slovakia in 2027

The list follows Act No. 241/1993 Coll. as last amended by Act No. 261/2025 Coll. (Zákon, ktorým sa menia a dopĺňajú niektoré zákony v súvislosti s konsolidáciou verejných financií), in force since 1 November 2025, as published on the official Slov-Lex legal portal and confirmed by the Government Office of the Slovak Republic's statutory holiday list.

• 1 January (Friday): Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic
• 6 January (Wednesday): Epiphany (Three Kings' Day and Orthodox Christmas)
• 26 March (Friday): Good Friday
• 29 March (Monday): Easter Monday
• 1 May (Saturday): Labour Day
• 8 May (Saturday): Day of Victory over Fascism
• 5 July (Monday): Saints Cyril and Methodius
• 29 August (Sunday): Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising
• 15 September (Wednesday): Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows (Sedembolestná Panna Mária)
• 1 November (Monday): All Saints' Day
• 24 December (Friday): Christmas Eve
• 25 December (Saturday): First day of Christmas
• 26 December (Sunday): Second day of Christmas

Three further dates carry the status of state holidays but are not days of rest. Under § 2(3) of Act No. 241/1993 Coll., 1 September (Wednesday, Constitution Day), 28 October (Thursday, Day of the Establishment of the Independent Czecho-Slovak State) and 17 November (Wednesday, Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy) count neither as days of rest nor as public holidays for the purposes of the Labour Code. For most employees, those three dates look and function like any other working day. Unless your contract or a collective agreement adds something, there is no wage premium and no substitute day off.

Why 2027 has one more weekday day off than 2026

Act No. 261/2025 Coll., which entered into force on 1 November 2025, inserted a transitional § 4b into Act No. 241/1993 Coll. stating that 8 May and 15 September were not days of rest in 2026. In its official guidance dated 13 April 2026, the MPSVR SR stated that the purpose of § 4b was to change the legal position temporarily, for 2026 only, so that 8 May and 15 September had a different status in 2026 than in 2025 and in 2027. Because the suspension names only 2026, both dates revert to their normal day-of-rest status in 2027 without any new legislation being required.

In 2026, that produced 11 named holidays, four of them on a weekend, leaving 7 weekday days of rest. In 2027 the count rises to 8 weekday days off. The real practical gain is 15 September returning as a Wednesday off, since 8 May falls on a Saturday and is therefore missed anyway. As of 8 October 2026, the Slov-Lex version history of Act No. 241/1993 showed no amendment extending or repeating the suspension for 2027. The Government Office's statutory holiday list also lists 8 May and 15 September among days of rest, each qualified as applicable unless § 4b of Act No. 241/1993 provides otherwise, and § 4b contains no 2027 restriction.

At the tripartite Hospodárska a sociálna rada SR (HSR SR, the Economic and Social Council, established under Act No. 103/2007 Coll.), government representatives told social partners in March 2026 that any further consolidation package would not contain measures affecting employees or employers. Monika Uhlerová, president of the KOZ SR (Konfederácia odborových zväzov Slovenskej republiky, Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic) and vice-chair of HSR SR for the employee side, confirmed that the 2027 consolidation should not touch employees or employers. That statement is political, not law, so the prudent approach is to read the 2027 calendar as it stands under the current text of Act No. 241/1993 Coll.

Working on a public holiday in Slovakia: what you are owed

Holiday work is the exception, not the rule. Under § 94 of the Labour Code (Act No. 311/2001 Coll.), an employer can order it only exceptionally, after consulting employee representatives, and only for tasks such as urgent repairs, loading and unloading, stocktaking, essential services, continuous operations or guarding the premises. On a public holiday specifically, the employer may assign only the categories of work that may be ordered on an employee's weekly rest days, work in continuous operations, and work needed to guard the employer's premises (§ 94(4)).

Retail is subject to a stricter rule. Under § 94(5) of the Labour Code, neither ordering nor agreeing consumer-facing sales work is permitted on 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, 24 December from 12:00 onwards, 25 December and 26 December. The exceptions listed in Annex 1a to the Labour Code cover petrol stations, pharmacies, airports, ports, other public transport facilities and hospitals, plus ticket sales and souvenir sales.

If you are rostered on a day of rest, § 122 of the Labour Code sets out what you are entitled to:

• Wage premium: on top of the wages you earn for the hours worked, at least 100% of your average earnings, even when the holiday coincides with your weekly rest day. The MPSVR SR restates this entitlement on its official guidance page on holiday pay.
• Time off in lieu instead: by agreement, one hour off for each hour worked on the holiday, paid at average earnings. If the time off is not granted within three calendar months after the month in which the holiday work was performed, or another period you both agree in advance, the 100% premium becomes payable.
• If you are not working: a holiday that falls on your usual working day is compensated at average earnings. For monthly-paid staff, the holiday counts as a worked day already covered by your salary. Missing the shift directly before or after the holiday without a valid excuse cancels that entitlement.

Managerial staff should check their contract: under § 122(5) of the Labour Code, an employer and a senior employee may agree a salary that already accounts for possible holiday work, in which case neither the premium nor time off in lieu applies.

The three state holidays that are ordinary working days in 2027 (1 September, 28 October, 17 November) fall outside the Labour Code's definition of holidays altogether under § 2(3) of Act No. 241/1993 Coll., so no holiday wage premium arises on those dates unless your contract or higher-degree collective agreement (kolektívna zmluva vyššieho stupňa, KZVS) provides otherwise. Employers that breach wage obligations, including failure to pay a lawfully owed holiday premium, face fines of up to 100,000 EUR from the Národný inšpektorát práce (NIP, the National Labour Inspectorate) under Act No. 125/2006 Coll. on labour inspection, § 19(1)(a).

If you work a shift that falls on a Saturday or Sunday public holiday, two premium rules may stack. The Labour Code already provides a Saturday supplement of at least 50% of the minimum hourly wage under § 122a, and a Sunday supplement of at least 100% of the minimum hourly wage under § 122b. Whether and how the holiday premium and the weekend premium combine is worth checking with your employer before you accept the shift, particularly if the arrangement is governed by a collective agreement.

Before accepting a holiday shift, it is worth calculating what the premium adds to your take-home pay. Salary comparison data published by Profesia.sk and Platy.sk can help you gauge whether what you are being paid for your role is in line with the market in your sector and region before you have that conversation with your employer.

Annual leave and school holidays

Under § 103 of the Labour Code, basic annual leave entitlement is at least four weeks per calendar year. Employees who reach 33 years of age by the end of the calendar year, or who permanently care for a child, are entitled to at least five weeks. Teachers and certain university and research staff receive at least eight weeks. A public holiday that falls on one of your normal working days during a period of annual leave is not deducted from your entitlement under § 112(3) of the Labour Code. That rule is what makes the bridge plans in the next section work: a Wednesday holiday inside a four-day bridge means you use two or four leave days, not three or five.

Parents planning around their children's schedule should note the school calendar set by the Ministerstvo školstva, vedy, výskumu a športu SR (Ministry of Education) in Annex 1 to its pedagogical-organisational instructions for 2025/2026, which also fixes the 2026/2027 term dates:

• Autumn break: 29-30 October 2026
• Christmas holidays: 23 December 2026 to 7 January 2027
• Semester break: 1 February 2027
• Spring break: 15-19 February 2027 (Banská Bystrica, Žilina and Trenčín regions); 22-26 February 2027 (Košice and Prešov regions); 1-5 March 2027 (Bratislava, Nitra and Trnava regions)
• Easter holidays: 25-30 March 2027
• Summer holidays: 1 July to 31 August 2027

For the 2027/2028 school year, the Ministry's schedule sets the autumn break on 28-29 October 2027 and Christmas holidays from 23 December 2027 to 7 January 2028.

Long weekends in 2027: bridge plans that stretch your leave

The Friday and Monday holidays in 2027 give you cost-free long weekends. The two Wednesday holidays are the ones where spending two leave days buys you a five-day run. Slovakia has no substitute weekday when a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, so the five weekend holidays simply disappear from the effective calendar for most employees.

1. New Year (Friday 1 January): a free three-day weekend, Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January, zero leave days. Alternatively, take Monday 28 to Thursday 31 December 2026 (4 leave days) for 11 consecutive days off from Thursday 24 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
2. Epiphany (Wednesday 6 January): take Thursday 7 and Friday 8 January (2 leave days) for 5 days off, Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 January. Adding Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 January (4 leave days in total) extends the break to 10 days from Friday 1 to Sunday 10 January.
3. Easter (Good Friday 26 March and Easter Monday 29 March): a free four-day weekend from Friday 26 to Monday 29 March, zero leave days. For 10 days off, take either Monday 22 to Thursday 25 March (4 leave days, off from Saturday 20 to Monday 29 March) or Tuesday 30 March to Friday 2 April (4 leave days, off from Friday 26 March to Sunday 4 April). Note that school Easter holidays run 25-30 March 2027, so the four-day bank holiday falls within the school break for families.
4. Saints Cyril and Methodius (Monday 5 July): a free three-day weekend, Saturday 3 to Monday 5 July. Take Tuesday 6 to Friday 9 July (4 leave days) for 9 days off from Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 July.
5. Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows (Wednesday 15 September): take Thursday 16 and Friday 17 September (2 leave days) for 5 days off, Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 September. Adding Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 September (4 leave days in total) gives 9 days off from Saturday 11 to Sunday 19 September. This is the bridge that simply did not exist in 2026: 15 September was an ordinary working day that year under § 4b of Act No. 241/1993 Coll.
6. All Saints' Day (Monday 1 November): a free three-day weekend, Saturday 30 October to Monday 1 November. Take Tuesday 2 to Friday 5 November (4 leave days) for 9 days off, Saturday 30 October to Sunday 7 November.
7. Christmas (Friday 24 December): a free three-day weekend, Friday 24 to Sunday 26 December. Take Monday 20 to Thursday 23 December (4 leave days) for 9 days off from Saturday 18 to Sunday 26 December.

There is nothing to bridge on 1 May, 8 May, 29 August, 25 December or 26 December: all five fall on a Saturday or Sunday in 2027, and no substitute weekday is provided under Slovak law.

What 2027's holiday calendar means in practice

The return of 8 May and 15 September as full days of rest in 2027 ends the uncertainty that ran through much of 2026, when TASR reported in April of that year that employers had no common approach to how to treat 8 May: some gave staff the full day off voluntarily, others kept a normal working day, and some offered a combination. That patchwork was the direct consequence of the 2026-only suspension under § 4b. With § 4b having no further scope, employees in 2027 can plan on the basis of the full statutory list.

Submit leave requests for the Wednesday bridge weeks early, particularly around 6 January and 15 September, as colleagues will identify the same gaps. The quieter periods around long weekends are also a practical time to review your current role: check how your salary sits against independently collected benchmark data, and if you reach an interview stage with a new employer, asking how they handle public holiday shifts and whether any additional leave is offered is a straightforward, professional question. The answers tell you something real about how that workplace is run.