Public Holidays in Chile (2026): Complete List and Employer Rules

Chile observes 16 national public holidays in 2026, and employers owe a 50% pay surcharge plus one full compensatory rest day for any hours worked on one. Five of the 16 dates carry irrenunciable (non-renounceable) status that forces mandatory commerce-sector closures, and six fall on a weekend, which cuts the real weekday impact to 10 lost business days. The table below lists every 2026 holiday with its paid and mandatory status; the rest of this guide covers Chile’s strictest holiday rules and the payroll math for every worker type.

Sources: Ley 2.977 and its later amendments; Código del Trabajo Article 35 for May 1; Ley 20.299 for October 31; Ley 21.357, published June 19, 2021, which declares the day of the southern winter solstice a national holiday and puts it on Sunday, June 21 in 2026; Ley 19.973 as amended by Ley 20.215 and Ley 20.918 for the irrenunciable classification.

What Are Chile’s 16 National Holidays in 2026?

Chile’s 2026 holiday calendar at a glance: 16 national holidays, 5 irrenunciable.

June 24 is a separate national day for indigenous peoples created by Decreto 158 of 1998, and it carries no holiday status. The holiday is the solstice date set by Ley 21.357, which moves between June 20 and June 21 from year to year.

Chilean law does not automatically shift holidays that land on a weekend to the nearest Monday or Friday. Two midweek holidays do move: Ley 19.668 sends San Pedro y San Pablo (June 29) and Encuentro de Dos Mundos (October 12) to the preceding Monday when they fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and to the following Monday when they fall on a Friday. Both already sit on a Monday in 2026, so neither shifts. May 21 (Navy Day) falls on a Thursday and is a standard holiday, so it triggers no mandatory-closure rule. Many workers treat Friday, May 22 as a bridge day, which turns the week into a four-day weekend.

Which Chile Holidays Fall on Weekends in 2026?

Six of Chile’s 16 national holidays land on a weekend in 2026: April 4 (Saturday), June 21 (Sunday), August 15 (Saturday), September 19 (Saturday), October 31 (Saturday), and November 1 (Sunday). No automatic Monday carryover applies to any of them. Salaried employees on monthly contracts still receive their full remuneración mensual regardless, since Chilean labor law treats monthly pay as inclusive of every calendar day, so no payroll adjustment is required. The net effect of 2026’s weekend clustering is that the real productivity impact drops to 10 weekday holidays.

How Does 2026 Compare to 2025 in Working-Day Impact?

Chile’s 16 national holidays in 2026 land on 10 weekdays. That is two fewer weekday holidays than 2025 and three fewer than 2024.

Counts computed from the statutory calendar: Ley 2.977 and its amendments, Ley 21.357 (winter-solstice holiday), Ley 19.668 (Monday transfer for June 29 and October 12), Ley 20.299 (October 31), and Código del Trabajo Article 35 ter, which produced the extra Friday, September 20 holiday in 2024.

Chile loses 10 weekdays to national holidays in 2026, two fewer than in 2025.

For sprint planning, May and December each carry two weekday holidays (May 1 and May 21, then December 8 and December 25), and April loses a Friday to Good Friday on April 3. September carries a single mandated weekday holiday on September 18, and it still costs the most because of the bridge days teams take around it. Companies that use a Chile hiring plan to staff engineering teams should build these months into onboarding and sprint calendars from day one.

Which Chile Holidays Are Irrenunciable in 2026?

Ley 19.973, Article 2, as amended by Ley 20.215 and Ley 20.918, designates exactly five feriados irrenunciables for 2026: January 1, May 1, September 18, September 19, and December 25. No sixth irrenunciable date has been enacted. Four of the five fall on a weekday in 2026, since September 19 is a Saturday.

Which Five Dates Are Irrenunciable and Who Do They Affect?

The five irrenunciable dates target employees in commerce and related retail services, and they require mandatory closure of malls, supermarkets, and large-format retail from 9:00 PM on the eve of the holiday through 6:00 AM the following day (Ley 19.973, Art. 2; Ley 20.918). Exempt establishments include standalone restaurants and pubs outside malls, entertainment venues, pharmacies on emergency-shift rotation, fuel stations, owner-only micro-enterprises, and airport businesses serving travelers in transit.

For US tech companies: software development and professional services firms sit outside the commerce-sector closure mandate. Even so, Código del Trabajo Articles 35 and 38 still apply, and these remain paid non-working days for every Chilean employee, regardless of sector.

How Do Irrenunciable Holidays Differ from Standard Holidays?

Irrenunciable holidays ban commerce-sector work outright, while standard holidays only require a surcharge and compensatory rest when work happens.

Sources: Ley 19.973 Art. 2; Ley 20.918; Código del Trabajo Arts. 32, 35, 38; Ley 21.220 Art. 22; Dirección del Trabajo Dictamen Ord. N° 3.532/52 (2017). Peso amounts use the December 2024 UTM of CLP 67,294 (Servicio de Impuestos Internos); dollar figures convert at the SII average observed rate for December 2024 of CLP 982.30 per USD. The UTM is reset monthly, so recheck both figures before quoting an exposure.

Ley 21.220 brought remote work and teleworking inside the Código del Trabajo, and the holiday rules in Articles 35 and 38 reach any worker on a Chilean employment contract whatever address the employer holds. Scheduling mandatory work on a Chilean public holiday exposes the employer to surcharge obligations and potential DT complaints.

How Should HR Teams Plan for Fiestas Patrias 2026?

Fiestas Patrias 2026 costs one mandated business day and as many as three once bridge days are taken, and the aguinaldo custom adds a September payroll line item most foreign employers do not anticipate.

What Bridge-Day Scenarios Are Likely Around September 18-19?

September 18 (Independence Day) lands on a Friday and September 19 (Army Day) on a Saturday in 2026, which creates a natural long weekend with no legislative intervention needed. The “Día Sándwich” mechanism does not apply, since no workday sits trapped between two non-working days.

Thursday, September 17 is the most likely casualty. Chilean companies commonly grant this day as a día administrativo or approve PTO requests for it. Wednesday, September 16 carries moderate bridge-day risk for teams with flexible PTO policies.

Source: Código del Trabajo, Article 35 ter, added by Ley 20.215 (2007): “En cada año calendario que los días 18 y 19 de septiembre sean días martes y miércoles, respectivamente, o miércoles y jueves, respectivamente, será feriado el día lunes 17 o el día viernes 20 de dicho mes, según el caso.” Ley 20.983 adds Friday, September 17 when September 18 and 19 fall on a Saturday and Sunday, a rule in force since 2017.

How Much Staffing and Productivity Impact Should You Expect?

One business day is mandated; three is the prudent planning ceiling. Friday, September 18 is the only weekday national holiday in the 2026 Fiestas Patrias window. Thursday, September 17 goes onto most teams’ calendars as a bridge day, and Wednesday, September 16 follows it for teams with flexible PTO. Fiestas Patrias functions as Chile’s emotional equivalent of Thanksgiving through New Year’s compressed into a single week, and engineering output degrades before the formal holiday begins.

Sprint planning recommendation: close the sprint on Wednesday, September 16 or earlier. Do not schedule sprint reviews, architecture decisions, or production deployments for September 14-20.

What Is the Aguinaldo and Is It Legally Required?

The aguinaldo is a lump-sum Fiestas Patrias bonus that is legally mandated for public-sector workers but only customary for private-sector workers, and DT precedent can convert that custom into a binding obligation. For public-sector employees, the annual public-sector pay legislation sets the amount and differentiates it by income tier, so the 2026 figure has to be read off that year’s law. For private-sector employees, no statute requires it, but the obligation becomes legally binding through collective bargaining agreements, individual contracts, or established custom (cláusula tácita). Per DT Dictamen Ord. N° 4.360/174 (2003), paying an aguinaldo for two or more consecutive periods creates a binding implied term that the employer cannot remove unilaterally.

Chilean workers treat the aguinaldo as a baseline indicator of employer goodwill, and the amount is modest against a developer’s monthly salary. If you paid an aguinaldo in September 2024 and 2025, you have likely triggered cláusula tácita and should budget for September 2026 accordingly.

Tax treatment: aguinaldos are subject to standard income tax withholding and social security contributions (cotizaciones previsionales) unless the total falls within a narrow annual exemption threshold that the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) updates each year. Most private-sector aguinaldos land within taxable territory once added to that month’s regular compensation, so payroll teams should budget for the withholding.

How Much Must Employers Pay When Staff Work on Chile Holidays?

Employers owe two simultaneous obligations when holiday work is lawfully required: a 50% pay surcharge on every hour worked, and one full compensatory rest day within seven days.

What Do Código del Trabajo Articles 35-40 Require?

Article 35 establishes Sundays and holidays as mandatory rest days, and two obligations activate the moment holiday work happens lawfully.

Obligation 1, the 50% surcharge. Each hour worked on a holiday earns 1.5x the worker’s ordinary hourly rate. The surcharge applies to every hour worked, not merely overtime hours, so an engineer working a standard 8-hour day on a holiday earns 12 hours’ worth of pay.

Obligation 2, compensatory rest. The employer must grant one full calendar rest day within seven days. A half-day or a late start does not satisfy the requirement.

Weekly hour ceiling: Ley 21.561 (the “40-hour law”) cut the ordinary workweek to 44 hours in April 2024 and to 42 hours in April 2026, and it drops to 40 hours in April 2028. Employers scheduling holiday work must keep total weekly hours within the 42 ordinary hours now in force plus a maximum of 2 overtime hours per day.

Documentation requirement: payroll settlement receipts (liquidaciones de sueldo) must itemize the holiday surcharge as a separate line item, not buried within base salary or bonuses, per DT Dictamen Ord. N° 2.936/73 (2008). An inspector who cannot identify the surcharge on the payslip treats it as unpaid until the employer produces supporting documentation, so payroll systems should generate this line automatically rather than relying on a manual note.

How Do You Calculate Holiday Pay for Fixed vs. Variable-Commission Workers?

Fixed-salary workers already have their holiday pay embedded in the monthly rate, while variable-commission workers require a separate semana corrida calculation for every holiday worked.

Do Regional Holidays in Chile Create Paid-Leave Obligations for Remote Workers Based Elsewhere?

Two local holidays affect headcount planning in 2026, and each statute attaches its holiday to a territory. Día de Arica (June 7) comes from Ley 20.663, whose single article reads “Declárase feriado el día 7 de junio de cada año para la Región de Arica y Parinacota.” It falls on a Sunday in 2026, so it creates no business-day impact. The August 20 holiday in Chillán and Chillán Viejo marks the birth of Bernardo O’Higgins. Ley 16.535 created it as a school holiday and Ley 20.768 raised it to a full holiday for both communes from 2014. August 20, 2026 is a Thursday, so it costs one business day for anyone working there. Neither statute addresses an employee who works remotely from outside the territory it names, so treat that case as unsettled and confirm the position with Chilean counsel before writing it into a policy.

The practical step is a work-location register. Record which Chilean employees work in the Región de Arica y Parinacota or in the two Chillán communes, add those dates to their individual calendars, and update the register when someone relocates.

How Do You Build a Compliant Chile Holidays 2026 Policy?

A compliant policy starts with a work-location inventory and ends with payroll automation.

1. Inventory where every Chilean employee works to identify applicable regional and communal holidays.
2. Map all 16 national public holidays onto the company calendar, noting irrenunciable vs. standard classification.
3. Layer local holidays by each employee’s work location.
4. Flag irrenunciable dates for any commerce-adjacent operations, noting closure windows.
5. Identify bridge-day risks (for example, September 17) and set internal policies for reduced operations.
6. Distribute the calendar to all Chilean employees and managers at least 30 days before the calendar year.
7. Integrate into payroll systems to ensure automatic surcharge calculations for any holiday work.

The four most common compliance mistakes foreign employers make: missing the local holidays that apply where an employee actually works, withholding the mandatory 50% surcharge for holiday work, allowing commerce-sector employees to work on irrenunciable dates, and paying the surcharge while failing to grant the mandatory compensatory rest day, which counts as a separate labor violation.

Managing 16 national holidays, employee-specific local dates, five irrenunciable classification rules, two surcharge calculation methods, and a cláusula tácita aguinaldo obligation is the kind of compliance surface an Employer of Record in Latin America is built to absorb, so distributed teams do not have to track Chilean labor law changes in-house or reconcile public holidays across Latin America on their own.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chile Holidays

Do employees get paid extra if a holiday falls on a Sunday?

No additional payment applies. Sundays and holidays receive the same rest-day protection under Código del Trabajo Article 35, so a holiday landing on a Sunday does not trigger a separate surcharge on its own.

Are software and SaaS companies exempt from the irrenunciable closure rules?

Yes, for the closure mandate itself. Ley 19.973’s mandatory shutdown targets commerce and retail operations specifically. Software firms still owe the standard paid non-working day and surcharge rules under Código del Trabajo Articles 35 and 38.

Do part-time or contract workers receive holiday pay in Chile?

Yes. Chilean labor law does not carve out part-time or fixed-term contract workers from holiday rest and surcharge protections; the same 50% surcharge and compensatory rest obligations apply proportionally to their contracted hours.

Can an employer substitute extra pay for the compensatory rest day?

No. The DT treats the 50% surcharge and the compensatory rest day as two independent obligations. Paying more money does not excuse the employer from granting a full calendar rest day within seven days.

Does Chile add one-off bridge holidays by law each year?

No new law is needed. Article 35 ter of the Código del Trabajo, added by Ley 20.215 in 2007, makes Monday, September 17 a holiday when September 18 and 19 fall on a Tuesday and Wednesday, and Friday, September 20 a holiday when they fall on a Wednesday and Thursday. That standing rule is what made Friday, September 20, 2024 a holiday. Ley 20.983 adds Friday, September 17 when the two dates fall on a Saturday and Sunday. Neither rule fires in 2026, because September 18 is a Friday.

What happens if a Chilean employee is required to work an irrenunciable date in the commerce sector?

The employer faces fines of 5 to 20 UTM per affected employee (CLP 336,470 to CLP 1,345,880, about USD $343 to $1,370 per worker at the December 2024 UTM value and exchange rate), and repeat violations within 12 months can trigger municipal-level enforcement, including temporary business-license suspension.

Building a Chile hiring calendar that survives its first DT audit takes more than a spreadsheet.

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