The Punjab government notified 30 gazetted holidays for 2026 on 26 November 2025, and 23 of them fall on weekdays. This guide lists every date, explains who the list actually binds, shows the long weekends, and covers what private employers must do.
Most “Punjab holiday list” pages mix three different things: the state government list, restricted holidays, and bank holidays. They are not the same, and HR teams that treat them as one end up with payroll disputes.
As of 29 September 2026, 11 gazetted holidays are still to come this year, starting with Gandhi Jayanti on Friday, 2 October.
Key Takeaways
- For employees: 30 gazetted holidays are listed, but 7 land on a Saturday or Sunday, so 23 are extra days off.
- For HR teams: The state list binds government offices. Private employers are governed by their own Punjab labour laws and policy, so do not copy the list blindly.
- For everyone: Lunar dates such as Eid can shift by a day, and the Guru Gobind Singh Ji birth anniversary is still to be announced.
Which Holidays Apply in Punjab?
Three lists exist, and each applies to different people.
- Gazetted holidays: The 30 days below, notified on 26 November 2025 for state government offices, boards, corporations and educational institutions. Saturdays and Sundays are weekly holidays on top of these.
- Restricted holidays: Optional days. Reports say state employees can choose any 2 from a list of about 26 to 30 observances, including New Year’s Day, Lohri, Basant Panchami, Buddha Purnima, Muharram and Eid-e-Milad. Sources disagree on the exact count.
- Bank holidays: Set separately by the RBI and banks, not by this notification.
The Punjab government reportedly issued the list under Notification No. 06/01/2025-2PP3/781. I could not open the official PDF, so the table below follows two news reports that list identical dates. Check it against the official notification before circulating it. [VERIFY]
Punjab Gazetted Holidays 2026, Month by Month
The list has 30 dates; 7 fall on a weekend, marked below.
| Month | Holidays (date, weekday) |
|---|---|
| January | 26 Mon: Republic Day |
| February | 1 Sun: Guru Ravidas Jayanti; 15 Sun: Maha Shivratri |
| March | 4 Wed: Holi; 21 Sat: Eid-ul-Fitr; 23 Mon: Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru Martyrdom Day; 26 Thu: Ram Navami; 31 Tue: Mahavir Jayanti |
| April | 3 Fri: Good Friday; 8 Wed: Guru Nabha Dass Ji Birthday; 14 Tue: Vaisakhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti; 19 Sun: Parshuram Jayanti |
| May | 1 Fri: May Day; 27 Wed: Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) |
| June | 18 Thu: Guru Arjun Dev Ji Martyrdom Day; 29 Mon: Kabir Jayanti |
| July | 31 Fri: Shaheed Udham Singh Martyrdom Day |
| August | 15 Sat: Independence Day |
| September | 4 Fri: Janmashtami |
| October | 2 Fri: Gandhi Jayanti; 11 Sun: Maharaja Agrasen Jayanti; 20 Tue: Dussehra; 26 Mon: Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti |
| November | 8 Sun: Diwali; 9 Mon: Vishwakarma Day; 16 Mon: Shahidi Divas of S. Kartar Singh Sarabha; 24 Tue: Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab |
| December | 14 Mon: Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Martyrdom Day; 25 Fri: Christmas; 28 Mon: Shaheedi Sabha, Fatehgarh Sahib |
Weekend holidays: 1 Feb, 15 Feb, 21 Mar, 19 Apr, 15 Aug, 11 Oct and 8 Nov. Holi is on 4 March in the notified list, though some websites show 3 March. The Guru Gobind Singh Ji birth anniversary is to be announced later.
Long Weekends and Leave Planning
The list creates 13 long weekends in 2026: twelve of three days and one of four.
Six are still ahead as of 29 September:
- 2 to 4 October: Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.
- 24 to 26 October: Valmiki Jayanti on Monday.
- 7 to 9 November: Diwali on Sunday, with Vishwakarma Day on Monday.
- 14 to 16 November: Sarabha Shahidi Divas on Monday.
- 12 to 14 December: Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom Day on Monday.
- 25 to 28 December: Christmas on Friday and Shaheedi Sabha on Monday, a four-day break.
Two Tuesday holidays reward a single leave day. Taking Monday 19 October gives a four-day break through Dussehra on Tuesday 20 October. Taking Monday 23 November gives four days through Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Tuesday 24 November.
For employers, these are also the dates when attendance drops and approvals pile up, so set leave limits early.
What Must Private Employers in Punjab Give?
The gazetted list does not bind private employers. Your obligation comes from the Punjab labour laws that apply to your establishment.
For industrial establishments, the Punjab Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays and Casual and Sick Leave) Act, 1965 is the key law. Summaries of it state:
- Workers get 3 national holidays: 26 January, 15 August and 2 October.
- They also get 4 festival holidays from the Act’s schedule, or two half-days each if at least 10% of workers ask for that.
- Holiday wages are paid at the average daily wage, subject to a qualifying period.
- A worker who works on a holiday is reportedly paid double the average daily wage, or the normal wage plus a substitute holiday within 90 days. [VERIFY]
Shops and commercial establishments fall under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, which sets weekly closing rules. Which Act covers you depends on your business type and size, so confirm it with a labour-law professional.
Many private companies choose to follow the state list as company policy. That is a choice, not a legal default, so write it into your holiday policy.
Checklist for HR Teams
- Decide whether your company follows the state list, a subset, or its own calendar.
- Confirm the legal minimum (national and festival holidays) for your establishment type.
- Publish one holiday calendar, and say how weekend holidays are treated.
- Set a rule for restricted holidays, such as how many an employee may pick.
- Define pay or a substitute day for staff who work on a holiday.
- Load the calendar into attendance and payroll before the year starts.
- Recheck lunar dates, especially Eid, a few days before they fall.
How Waggex Helps
Holiday errors usually appear in payroll: a paid holiday marked as absent, or holiday work paid at the normal rate. Waggex HRMS keeps attendance, leave and payroll in one system, so salary follows the days actually worked. Field and multi-site teams can use face recognition attendance with no extra hardware. Plans start at ₹2 per employee per day, and you can start free.
The Takeaway
Punjab’s 2026 list has 30 gazetted holidays, 23 of them on weekdays. For private employers, the list is a benchmark, and the legal minimum comes from the Punjab labour laws that cover your business.
FAQs
Q1. How many gazetted holidays does Punjab have in 2026? The notified list has 30 dates, and Saturdays and Sundays are weekly holidays. Some websites report 31, which appears to count the Guru Gobind Singh Ji anniversary still to be announced.
Q2. Is Lohri a holiday in Punjab in 2026? It is a restricted holiday on 13 January, not a gazetted one, according to the reports I reviewed.
Q3. When is Diwali in 2026? Sunday, 8 November, with Vishwakarma Day on Monday, 9 November.
Q4. Do private companies have to follow the Punjab government list? Not automatically. The legal minimum comes from the labour law that applies to the establishment, so check which one covers you.
Q5. What happens if a holiday falls on a Sunday? The reports I reviewed do not mention a substitute day, so follow your written policy. Seven 2026 holidays fall on weekends.
Q6. Which holidays are still left in 2026? After 29 September: 2, 11, 20 and 26 October; 8, 9, 16 and 24 November; and 14, 25 and 28 December.
Sources
- Daily Jagran: Punjab gazetted holidays 2026
- Sakshi Post: Punjab state holidays 2026
- SGC Services: notification reference
- Punjab Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays and Casual and Sick Leave) Act, 1965
- Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958