Overview: Public Holidays on Remote

Remote recognizes a list of official holidays for each country. For most countries, this list encompasses both national holidays, recognized by the entire nation, and regional holidays, recognized at a regional level within the nation.

In this article, we will cover the following: 

• Where to find public holidays on Remote
• Manage public holidays and time off
• Edit a public holiday (direct employees)
• Request an additional local holiday

Where to find public holidays on Remote

National holidays (Employees)
On the Remote platform, employees can view national holidays that Remote recognizes directly on their calendar. Here’s how to find them:

1. Log into the Remote platform.
2. Navigate to the Time off tab.
3. Public holidays will be marked with the following flag on your calendar:
   
   

Regional holidays (Employees)

For a complete list of public holidays, including those beyond national holidays, Click See holiday list to the right of the calendar. If Remote recognizes regional holidays that are relevant to your location, you will see them listed there. However, regional holidays are not automatically marked on your calendar — you need to make sure you request them as days off, selecting the Additional public holiday time off type.

Manager and company admins

On the Remote platform, Customers can find the public holidays list in the Time off section.

1. Log into the Remote platform.
2. Go to the Time off tab.
3. From the Time off summary, you can see upcoming public holidays in the countries you employ in.
4. To view all public holidays, click View all. A drawer will open, providing more details about public holidays for each country.
   
   
   
   
5. From the drawer, you can navigate to previous or future years using the arrows in the drawer.

Note: National holidays are automatically assigned to employees. However, for regional holidays visible in the holiday drawer, employees need to submit a time off request and choose Additional public holiday as the leave type.

Managing public holidays and time off

If employees want to book time off that overlaps with a public holiday, there are a few points to keep in mind.

Paid time off overlapping a public holiday

The Remote system automatically recognizes January 1 as a National Holiday, so this day will not be deducted from the employee’s paid time off balance.

Example: An employee wants to take a full week off around New Year’s day and the public holiday falls on Wednesday (January 1). To request this correctly: 

1. From the Time off calendar, select December 30.
2. Set the days off to cover your holiday. In this case, until Friday, January 3.
3. Set the Time off type to Paid time off.
4. Submit the request.

Paid time off overlapping other leave types

Different leave types have different behaviors when they overlap with Public Holidays. For instance, public holidays do not override leaves such as unpaid leave. This means that employees on unpaid leave during a public holiday cannot reclaim that public holiday in the future.

Leave types that override public holidays

• Bereavement leave
• Sick leave
• Family leave (Parental, Maternity, Paternity)

Leave types overridden by public holidays

• Unpaid leave
• Military leave
• Extended leave
• In lieu time

Edit a public holiday (direct employees)

Remote provides employees with the flexibility to reschedule a public holiday if they prefer to observe it on a different day. From the Time off tab:

1. Find the public holiday you'd like to reschedule then click on the flag.
2. From the modal, choose Reschedule holiday.
3. This will be sent to your manager for approval.
   
   

As an employee, if you work on a public holiday and don't plan to reschedule it, it's essential that you log your hours using our Time Tracking tool. The timesheet, including holiday hours, will be sent to your manager for approval. This could lead to additional compensation, depending on the company's compensation policies.

Request an additional local holiday

For employees, it is no longer necessary to request the national holidays Remote recognizes. Employees automatically see these holidays on their calendars and no further action is needed.

For regional holidays, as well as local or city holidays not listed on the Remote platform, employees need to request the holidays as follows:

1. Go to the Time off section.
2. On the calendar, click on the day you want to request as additional public holiday.
3. Select the Additional public holiday leave type.
   
   
4. Complete the time off request form then submit it.

The request will be sent to your manager for approval or rejection, just like any other time-off request. For the additional public holiday request to be correctly accounted for (as paid time off) during payroll processing, it needs to be approved by the employee's manager.

Disclaimer: Please be advised that the information provided is for general guidance only and should not be considered legal advice. Clients are strongly encouraged to contact the Lifecycle - Time & Attendance team for expert guidance and assistance in navigating the intricate landscape of time off requirements in a country. Consulting with our team is imperative to ensure compliance with local employment standards legislation and clearly understand the stipulated time off and attendance related requirements. Your proactive engagement with the Time & Attendance team is vital to making informed decisions and adhering to all relevant regulations.