Public Holidays Tanzania: What Employers Pay, How Eid Dates Are Set, and the 2027 Calendar

This guide covers public holidays Tanzania employers must plan for: the Cap. 35 schedule, how Eid and Maulid dates are announced, the 2027 calendar as far as it can be known today, holiday pay, annual leave, overtime, shift workers and the separate Zanzibar rules. It ends with a payroll example for a security guard in Dar es Salaam.

Who should read this

• Payroll and HR teams that build the 2027 payroll calendar and pay holiday premiums.
• Employers running shifts: hotels, hospitals, security firms, factories, mines, telecoms, ports and retail.
• Founders and finance leads who budget labour cost for a twelve-month plan.
• Employers with staff in Zanzibar, where a different statute and a different pay rule apply.
• Employees and supervisors who want to check a payslip for a holiday shift.

New employers should first read our guide to employment contracts and workplace policies.

What the law says

Three statutes govern public holidays at work. The Public Holidays Act, Cap. 35 R.E. 2023 names the days. The Employment and Labour Relations Act, Cap. 366 R.E. 2023 sets what a Mainland employer pays. The Zanzibar Employment Act No. 11 of 2005 sets the Zanzibar rule.

Section 26 is s.25 in the Revised Edition 2019. Older payroll manuals and the TanzLII text of the Act as enacted still use s.25. The wording did not change in the renumbering.

Which days are in the Cap. 35 schedule?

The Schedule to Cap. 35 lists fourteen entries. We read the Revised Edition 2023 text published by the National Prosecutions Service and the TanzLII consolidation as at 31 December 2023.

Karume Day on 7 April and Saba Saba on 7 July are not in the printed Schedule, yet both appear on the Bank of Tanzania's 2025 public holiday list and on diplomatic mission calendars. We could not find the proclamation that adds them. Treat them as public holidays in payroll and record the point as one to confirm.

Revolution Day on 12 January is a Zanzibar anniversary, but it sits in the Mainland Schedule. It is a holiday on both sides of the Union.

How are Eid and Maulid dates announced?

The Schedule names Id-ul-Fitr, Id-el-Haj and Maulidi Day without a date. Each follows the Islamic lunar calendar, so the day depends on the sighting of the new moon.

In practice, the Mufti and Chief Sheikh of Tanzania, through the National Muslim Council (BAKWATA), announces whether the moon has been sighted. The Daily News has reported BAKWATA giving an expected Eid date that "depends on the sighting of the moon". Employers follow that announcement and watch for any Government statement on the holiday.

In March 2026 the Mufti announced on 19 March that the crescent had not been sighted, so Ramadan ran a thirtieth day. The Citizen reported on 20 March 2026 that some communities still celebrated on 20 March.

For payroll, roster for the expected day and the day after, and pay the premium for the day observed, not the printed estimate.

The Schedule gives Id-ul-Fitr two days and Id-el-Haj one. Follow it unless a proclamation under s.3 changes it.

What is the 2027 public holiday calendar?

As at 31 October 2026 we found no official 2027 list from the Government. The fixed days below follow the Schedule and the calendar. The moon-sighting days are estimates from published calendars and remain subject to government announcement.

The expected Islamic dates match the CalendarLabs 2027 Tanzania list. One local site prints Eid el-Fitr on 31 March 2027, which does not fit the lunar cycle: the date moves about eleven days earlier each year from around 20 March 2026.

A day the President proclaims under s.3, such as election day 2020 under GN No. 578 of 2020, is a public holiday "as if it were set out in the Schedule". Section 26 double pay applies to it.

What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?

Cap. 35 has no rule moving a weekend holiday to a Monday. In 2027, Workers' Day, Nane Nane, Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday, and the expected Id-el-Haj and Maulidi Day do too. No substitute day follows unless the President proclaims one under s.3.

A worker who works a Saturday holiday is still paid double under s.26.

A harder case is a holiday on the worker's weekly rest day. Section 25(4) of Cap. 366 pays "double the employee's hourly basic wage" for agreed work in a weekly rest period. The Act does not say whether the two premiums stack. Our working position is to pay double once and record the basis in the policy.

How is holiday pay calculated on the Mainland?

1. Find the basic wage. Section 26 uses the "basic wage", not total pay. Allowances that are not part of basic wage do not double unless the contract says so.
2. Convert it to an hourly rate. Section 27(2) requires wage rates to be calculated using the table in the First Schedule to Cap. 366. Use that table for monthly and weekly earners.
3. Count every hour worked on the holiday. The day runs from midnight to midnight. A night shift that crosses into or out of a holiday is split at midnight.
4. Pay double for those hours. Add any night-work allowance under s.21 for hours after 20:00 and before 06:00.

The Act does not say in so many words whether the monthly salary already covers one times the holiday hours. One reading pays one extra times the hourly rate on top of salary, giving double in total. The other pays two extra times on top of salary. FB Attorneys (12 April 2021) restate the statutory words without resolving the point.

Our working position is the second reading, because it is the safe one in a dispute at the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration. Write the chosen method into the contract and the payroll policy.

How do holidays interact with annual leave and sick leave?

Annual leave. Section 32(1) of Cap. 366 gives at least 28 consecutive days' leave in each leave cycle. The same subsection says the leave "shall be inclusive of any public holiday that may fall within the period of leave". A worker on leave over Christmas does not get two extra leave days back. Our guide to annual leave entitlements covers leave cycles and pay in lieu.

Sick leave. Section 33 gives at least 126 days of sick leave in a cycle, the first 63 on full pay. The Act does not say how a public holiday inside a sick-leave period is counted. We treat it as a day of sick leave, because the worker was unfit to work in any case. Confirm the approach in your policy. Our guide to sick leave covers certification and half pay.

Zanzibar. Section 67 of the Zanzibar Act gives seven days' leave for each four months of service. It is silent on holidays inside leave.

How does holiday work interact with overtime?

Section 20 of Cap. 366 caps ordinary hours at 45 a week and nine a day. Overtime is paid at "not less than one and one-half times the employee's basic wage", with no more than 12 hours in a day and 50 overtime hours in a four-week cycle.

The Act does not say whether an hour that is both a holiday hour and an overtime hour earns both premiums. Our working position is to pay the higher rate, double, for every holiday hour, and to count holiday hours toward the daily and four-week overtime limits.

Our guide to overtime pay and working hours covers the overtime agreement and the four-week cap.

What about shift and essential-service workers?

Hospitals, power, security, hotels and transport cannot close on a holiday, and the statute does not exempt them from s.26.

Limits on strikes in essential services do not change holiday pay. A worker in an essential service is paid the same premium as anyone else.

Minimum wage orders set floors for basic wage by sector. Holiday pay is calculated on the worker's actual basic wage, which cannot be below the floor. Our guide to the minimum wage in Tanzania covers the sector orders.

Which holidays are Union-wide and which are Zanzibar-specific?

Labour is not a Union matter, and Cap. 35 is a Mainland statute. Zanzibar sets its own list. Section 67(9) of the Zanzibar Act says "The Minister shall by order published in the Gazette specify the days which shall be considered as public holidays for the purposes of this section".

We could not obtain the current Zanzibar Minister's order. Employers with Zanzibar staff should get it from the Zanzibar Labour Commission before fixing the 2027 roster.

How does Zanzibar pay for work on a public holiday?

The Zanzibar Employment Act No. 11 of 2005 works differently from the Mainland Act. Section 67(1)(b) gives every employee "a day's holiday with full pay on every public holiday". A worker who works the holiday gets a paid day off on another working day.

Section 67(2) gives the employer a second route. An employee who receives "pay at not less than double the rate payable for work on a day that is not a public holiday" is not also entitled to the substitute day.

Overtime on a holiday is higher. Section 63(8)(b) pays "not less than double and half the rate payable per hour" for overtime on holidays and public holidays, with the formula monthly salary times overtime hours times 2.5, divided by 30, divided by 8. Section 63(8)(c) pays three times for overtime hours beyond eight.

The Zanzibar Act defines night as 22:00 to 06:00 in s.66(3) but 19:00 to 06:00 in its interpretation section; apply the wider window. Our guide to Zanzibar payroll taxes and ZSSF covers the contribution side.

Worked example: a security guard works Union Day 2027 in Dar es Salaam

Neema is a hypothetical security guard employed by a hypothetical Dar es Salaam security company. Her basic wage is TZS 600,000 a month, paid monthly. On Monday 26 April 2027, Union Day, she works an eight-hour shift from 14:00 to 22:00. Two of those hours, 20:00 to 22:00, are night hours.

Step 1: hourly basic wage. The First Schedule to Cap. 366 governs the conversion. For this example we assume 45 hours a week for 52 weeks, divided by 12, which is 195 hours a month. TZS 600,000 divided by 195 is TZS 3,076.92 an hour. Check the First Schedule factor before you use it.

Her April gross becomes TZS 649,539 before any other allowances. The extra pay goes through PAYE as employment income at her marginal band. Confirm with NSSF whether the premium forms part of the wage on which the 20% contribution is due (F0279). SDL applies only if the company has ten or more employees.

Under the other reading of s.26. If the employer treats the monthly salary as covering one times her holiday hours, the premium is 8 × 3,076.92 × 1, or TZS 24,615, plus the same night allowance. The gap is TZS 24,615 for one shift. If 30 guards each work an eight-hour shift on fifteen holidays, the choice is worth about TZS 11 million a year, which is why it belongs in the written policy.

The same shift in Zanzibar. Under s.67(1)(b), Neema would get a paid day off on another working day. Under s.67(2), the employer can instead pay at least double. Using the s.63(8) formula base of monthly salary divided by 30 and by 8, her hourly rate is TZS 2,500, so double is TZS 40,000 for eight hours. The night premium is 5% of the daily wage, TZS 1,000. Zanzibar SDL is 4% for employers with four or more employees (F0278).

What to do now

1. Build the 2027 roster now. Load the fixed days, then mark the three moon-sighting days and the day after each as possible holidays.
2. Write the method down. State in the payroll policy how s.26 is applied to monthly staff, how night hours are added and how a holiday on a rest day is paid.
3. Check the hourly conversion. Apply the First Schedule to Cap. 366 and keep the factor on file.
4. Separate Zanzibar. Run Zanzibar staff on their own calendar and decide, per worker, between a substitute day and double pay.
5. Track the announcements. Assign one person to capture the Mufti's moon-sighting statement and the Government notice for each Islamic holiday.
6. Record every holiday hour. Keep timesheets and rosters with the payroll record. Our note on payroll record retention sets out how long.
7. Review contracts. Make sure contracts and the written statement of particulars under s.16 describe holiday working and pay.
8. Escalate disputes early. A claim for unpaid holiday pay goes to the CMA. Referral carries no published fee (F0452), but representation belongs with an advocate.

Key dates and deadlines

How Zatra helps

Zatra's payroll compliance service builds the 2027 holiday calendar into your payroll, writes the holiday pay method into your policy, checks the hourly conversion and runs Mainland and Zanzibar staff on separate rules.

Costs come in two separate buckets. Statutory contributions and any government charges are paid at the official amount to TRA, NSSF, WCF or ZRA, against each authority's GePG control number. Zatra's professional fee is quoted on its own line and never mixed with them.

The CMA, the Labour Court and the Labour Commissioners decide disputes. Zatra prepares and coordinates, but does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. CMA referrals, Labour Court matters and formal legal opinions go to an advocate.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 31 October 2026.

• Public Holidays Act, Cap. 35 R.E. 2023: National Prosecutions Service, 2025. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Public Holidays Act, Cap. 35, consolidation: TanzLII, as at 31 Dec 2023. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Employment and Labour Relations Act, Cap. 366 R.E. 2023: Office of the Attorney General, 2023. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Employment and Labour Relations Act, s.25 as enacted: TanzLII, 11 Jun 2004. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Public Holidays (Declaration of Election Day as a Public Holiday) Proclamation, GN No. 578 of 2020: Government Gazette via Laws.Africa, 24 Jul 2020. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Zanzibar Employment Act No. 11 of 2005: Zanzibar Government Gazette via Gazettes.Africa, 7 Oct 2005. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Public holidays 2025: Bank of Tanzania, 2025. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Working on a public holiday: FB Attorneys, 12 Apr 2021. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Eid el-Fitr celebrations and the Mufti's announcement: The Citizen, 20 Mar 2026; and Bakwata on the Idd-ul-Fitr date: Daily News, undated. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• 2027 Tanzania holidays: CalendarLabs, 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Zatra fee register, fees at 26 Sep 2026; line IDs as cited in the text. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• 2027 Islamic holidays: Id-ul-Fitr about 9 and 10 March, Id-el-Haj about 16 May and Maulidi Day about 14 August are estimates; the Government announces the days
• Karume Day and Saba Saba: observed as holidays, but we found no proclamation adding them to the Cap. 35 Schedule
• First Schedule to Cap. 366: the factor for converting a monthly wage to an hourly rate; the example assumes 195 hours
• Section 26 on monthly salary: whether the premium is one or two times the hourly rate on top of salary
• Stacking: whether s.26 combines with s.25(4) rest-day pay or s.20 overtime pay
• NSSF base: whether holiday premiums form part of the wage for the 20% contribution
• Zanzibar: the current Minister's order under s.67(9), any amendments to the 2005 Act, and its two night definitions

This article is general information based on official sources available at the date of publication. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and notices change. Verify with the issuing authority or consult Zatra before acting.