Ways to make the most of South Africa’s public holidays in 2025
Use these helpful tips to make the most of the public holidays in 2025 and get a whole month off work. After all, you deserve it!
Mzansi is already focusing on the New Year and all the available public holidays in 2025. With the handy tips we’ll share below, you’ll be able to secure one-month off from work by using just 13 of your mandated leave days. Because you’re worth maximising your time off to recharge your batteries properly, reports Business Tech.
Curiously enough, there will be fewer public holidays in 2025 than this year. Just 12 in 2025. However, unlike this year, 2025’s dates fall more favourably for taking advantage of long weekends. 2025 does offer up one ‘extra’ public holiday by observing Freedom Day on Monday 28 April 2025. However, we effectively lose Women’s Day on 9 August 2025 because it falls on a Saturday. Nevertheless, let’s get into the nitty gritty of it …
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN 2025
| DATE | DAY | HOLIDAY | LEAVE POTENTIAL |
| 1 January | Wednesday | New Year’s Day | Nil |
| 21 March | Friday | Human Rights Day | Long weekend |
| 18 April | Friday | Good Friday | Long weekend |
| 21 April | Monday | Family Day | Long weekend |
| 27 April | Sunday | Freedom Day | Observed on 28/04 |
| 1 May | Thursday | Workers’ Day | Yes |
| 16 June | Monday | Youth Day | Long weekend |
| 9 August | Saturday | National Women’s Day | Nil |
| 24 September | Wednesday | Heritage Day | Nil |
| 16 December | Tuesday | Day of Reconciliation | Yes |
| 25 December | Thursday | Christmas Day | Long weekend |
| 26 December | Friday | Day of Goodwill | Long weekend |
*data from calendar.com
BOOK YOUR 2025 LEAVE NOW
To fully exploit public holidays in 2025, in our opinion, employees should focus their efforts on the Easter and December holiday periods. Taking off from Tuesday 22 April 2025 to Friday 2 May 2025 creates a 17-day vacation spanning three weekends for just seven days of leave.
Likewise, you’ll be able to join the Day of Reconciliation Tuesday 16 December 2025 to Christmas Day on Thursday 25 December 2025 by using six-days leave, to enjoy 13-days off over two weekends. There you have it: 30-days off from just 13-days leave. Make it happen before your other colleagues do and you’re stuck in the office all alone …