Cambodia: Another day off if public holiday falls on Sunday

Not all holidays allow workers to take paid leave. Only public holidays are paid days off in Cambodia. Every year, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training issues a Prakas setting public holidays for workers of all enterprises. For example, the Ministry issued Prakas dated December 3, 2020 on the paid holiday in 2021.

Article 162, paragraph 1 of the Labor Law stipulates that in the event that the public holiday falls on Sunday, the worker will be given one more day off. This might be due to the fact that, in principle, Sunday is a weekly day off for all workers. (Article 147, paragraph 2 of the Labor Law) Weekly day off and public holiday are two different types of days off, and if a worker is not allowed to take another day off when public holiday falls on Sunday, he or she will lose his or her right to enjoy the weekly day off on Sunday.

Pursuant to Article 162, paragraph 1 of the Labor Law, if a holiday falls on Sunday, the worker is given another day off, that is, on Monday. In this case, it is not difficult to understand because holiday is only a day. But if there are three holidays and the first or second holiday falls on Sunday, is the worker still entitled to one more day off? Based on the above mentioned concept enshrined in Article 162 of the Labor Law, we can say that in the above case, the worker has four days off, in which one more day off is given if the first or second public holiday day falls on Sunday.

The above interpretation is made due to the fact that this Article 162 only stipulates that if the holiday falls on Sunday, the worker is entitled to “one more day off”, and this Article does not specify that “one more day off” is Monday. Accordingly, if there are 3 holidays starting from Saturday to Monday, the workers must be entitled to one more day off, which is Tuesday.

Please note that this text is not legal opinion or legal advice. If you experience any issues mentioned above, please seek legal advice from a lawyer.

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