How this works
The Labour Code (article 234) sets 13 mandatory national holidays: ten have fixed dates and three are movable, calculated from Easter. On top of those, Carnival Tuesday and each municipality’s own holiday may be observed optionally (article 235). The working-days calculator counts Monday-to-Friday days between two dates, both included, and removes the holidays that land on weekdays.
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The 13 mandatory holidays
Article 234 of the Labour Code sets 13 mandatory national holidays: New Year, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, 25 April, 1 May, Corpus Christi, 10 June, 15 August, 5 October, 1 November, 1 December, 8 December and Christmas. On those days work is suspended with no loss of pay.
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The movable holidays and Easter
Three holidays change date every year because they depend on Easter: Good Friday (2 days before), Easter Sunday itself and Corpus Christi (60 days after). Carnival Tuesday is 47 days before Easter. This page computes Easter with the Computus algorithm, so it works for any year.
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Carnival: a customary day off
Carnival Tuesday is not a mandatory holiday — it is an optional one (article 235). In the public sector, the Government decides each year, by decree, whether to grant the day off; in the private sector it depends on the company or the collective agreement. Many people do get it, but it is not an automatic right.
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The municipal holiday
Each municipality may observe one municipal holiday, also optional (article 235). In Lisbon it is Santo António, on 13 June; in Porto it is São João, on 24 June. Check your own municipality with the local council.
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How we count working days
The calculator counts Monday-to-Friday days between the two dates, both included, and removes national holidays that land on a weekday. With the options on, it also removes Carnival and the Lisbon or Porto municipal holiday. Holidays that fall on a Saturday or Sunday are never subtracted twice.
Frequently asked
Is Carnival a mandatory holiday?
No. Carnival Tuesday is an optional holiday (article 235 of the Labour Code). It is only a day off if your employer grants it, if it is in the collective agreement or, in the public sector, if the Government decrees it that year. That is why the calculator only removes it when you tick the option.
If a holiday falls on a weekend, is it moved to Monday?
No. Portugal has no substitute holidays: one that lands on a weekend is simply lost. In 2026 that happens to four of the 13 — Easter (Sunday), 25 April (Saturday), 15 August (Saturday) and 1 November (Sunday) — leaving 9 holidays on weekdays.
What is the municipal holiday and which is mine?
It is an optional holiday specific to each municipality, usually the patron saint’s day or a local historic date. In Lisbon it is Santo António (13 June) and in Porto São João (24 June). Not every employer observes it — check with your employer and the local council.
If I work on a holiday, what am I owed?
In a company that is not required to close, working on a mandatory holiday entitles you to compensatory rest equal to half the hours worked or a 50% pay uplift — the employer chooses (article 269 of the Labour Code). Collective agreements can set better terms.
What is a "ponte" (bridge day)?
It is the working day squeezed between a holiday and the weekend — for example, the Friday after a Thursday holiday. It is not a holiday: in the private sector you use a vacation day or the company grants it; in the public sector the Government sometimes decrees a day off. In 2026, Corpus Christi (Thursday 4 June) creates a bridge on Friday the 5th.
How many working days are there in 2026? And 2027?
2026 has 252 working days: 261 Monday-to-Friday days minus the 9 national holidays that land on weekdays. 2027 has 253 (only 8 holidays land on weekdays). The municipal holiday, where observed and on a weekday, removes one more.
DISCLAIMER
An informational tool. National holidays follow the Labour Code (articles 234 and 235); Carnival and the municipal holiday are optional — confirm with your employer or local council. It does not include the regional holidays of Madeira and the Azores, nor one-off days off decreed by the Government. The working-day count is a calendar count: legal, tax and court deadlines have their own counting rules. Not legal advice.