Boxing Day in Zimbabwe
Boxing Day is listed as a Zimbabwe public holiday on 26 December. The law names Christmas Day and the day following it as public holidays; Boxing Day is the name used for that following day.[1][3]
Date and legal status
Zimbabwe’s Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Act includes “Christmas Day and the day following” in its schedule of public holidays. Boxing Day is observed on 26 December.[1][3]
The Act provides that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday. It also specifically says that if 26 December falls on a Monday, the following Tuesday is a public holiday. These rules explain how the law treats certain calendar alignments; they do not establish a separate annual Boxing Day date.[1]
Leave for employees
The Labour Act says an employee is to be granted leave of absence during every public holiday and paid their current remuneration for that day if it falls on a day they would otherwise have worked. If an employee consents to work on a public holiday, the Act provides for pay of at least twice their current remuneration for that day.[2]
This employment provision describes leave and pay entitlements. It does not by itself establish that every worker has the day off in every circumstance: the law expressly addresses employees who consent to work, and employment arrangements can affect whether the date would otherwise have been a workday.[2]
Business and practical arrangements
The holiday law gives the President power, by statutory instrument, to prohibit business or require specified institutions or premises to close on particular days. That is a separate power; the Act’s listing of a public holiday alone does not state that every shop, bank, office or service must close.[1]
Check opening hours and transport arrangements directly with the office, shop, bank or transport operator you plan to use.[1][2][3]
The Act provides that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday. It also specifies a Tuesday public holiday when 26 December falls on a Monday.[1]
Boxing Day in Zimbabwe: questions and answers
Is Boxing Day a public holiday in Zimbabwe?
Do employees get the day off?
The Labour Act provides leave during public holidays, with current remuneration when the holiday falls on a day the employee would otherwise have worked. It also provides for at least twice current remuneration if an employee consents to work that day.[2]
Are shops, banks and transport services open?
The Act allows separate statutory instruments to prohibit business or require specified premises to close, so check directly with the service you plan to use.[1]
What happens when Boxing Day falls on a Sunday?
The Act says that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday. Its separate rule for 26 December applies when that date falls on a Monday.[1]
Sources and references
Sources used for Boxing Day in Zimbabwe:
- Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Act- Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute (ZimLII)
- Labour Act (Chapter 28:01)- Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute (ZimLII)
- Embassy Holidays- Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United States