December 25, 2016

Public Holidays in the Czech Republic in 2017: Less Working Days and 6 Long Weekends

2017 brings mere 250 working days and 6 long weekends.

Find here a complete list of Czech national holidays in 2017, spring holidays for children in regions of the Czech Republic, and basic information about remuneration of work during public holidays.

There are 12 bank holidays in the Czech Republic. The dates of the holidays are fixed, except for Good Friday and Easter Monday. The “sliding holiday” concept is not recognized in the Czech Republic, i.e. when a holiday falls on a Saturday/Sunday, the following Monday is a business day.

Only 3 public holidays match the weekends in 2017 – New Year, Independent Czechoslovak State Day (Oct 28), and Christmas Eve. This cuts the number of working days to 250 in 2017 (for example, we had 252 working days in 2016).

The best dates for vacation in 2017 are in the weeks beginning with Mondays of May 1st and 8th; or in the first week of July 2017 – only 3 days off your work schedule will make you a long holiday of a week plus two weekends.

You can start making plans for 4 free days in a row in April or at the Christmas time. In November and December 2017, there are two long weekends – one begins with the Day of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy (Nov 17) and the other is followed by New Year’s Monday of 2018.

Daylight saving time (Central European Summer Time or in Czech letní čas) starts on March 26, 2017 when at 02:00 AM clocks are turned forward 1 hour, and ends on October 29, 2017 at 03:00 AM when the clocks are turned backward.

Don’t forget the new law entered into force in fall 2016 and limits the sales during public holidays in the Czech Republic. All stores bigger than 200 m² stay closed on New Year’s Day (Jan 1), Easter Monday (Apr 17), Liberation Day (May 8), St. Wenceslas Day (Sept 28), Independent Day (Oct 28), and Christmas (Dec 25 and 26).

Remuneration for Work on Public Holiday and Weekends

An employee is entitled to the regular wages and (paid) time off (one hour of work on a holiday = one hour of time off) for working on a public holiday, or when an employee and company agree, such employee receives an extra payment for work on a public holiday in the amount of at least his/her average earnings (100%).

According to the Czech Labor Code, an employer can request overtime work when there are serious operational reasons for it. A total scope of overtime work required by the employer may not exceed 8 hours per week and 150 hours in the calendar year. In excess of this scope, the employer is allowed to require further overtime work only with a consent of an employee. Learn more about rules and laws regarding overtime work in the Czech Republic.

Czech Public Holidays in 2017

Date	Weekday	Holiday Name	Description	Czech
1-Jan	Sunday	New Year’s Day, Restoration of the Czech Independence Day	Czechoslovakia ceases to exist and a new, independent Czech state is established	Den obnovy samostatného českého státu; Nový rok
14-Apr	Friday	Good Friday	Friday before Easter Sunday	Velký pátek
17-Apr	Monday	Easter Monday	Monday after Easter Sunday	Velikonoční pondělí
1-May	Monday	Labor Day / 1st of May	International Labor Day; May 1st is also celebrated as a day of love in the Czech Republic	Svátek práce
8-May	Monday	Liberation Day	End of second world war	Den vítězství or Den osvobození
5-Jul	Wednesday	Saints Cyril and Methodius	Slavic missionaries Cyril arrive in Great Moravia bringing a new alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic	Den slovanských věrozvěstů Cyrila a Metoděje
6-Jul	Thursday	Jan Hus Day	Anniversary of martyrdom of Jan Hus	Den upálení mistra Jana Husa
28-Sep	Thursday	St. Wenceslas Day	St. Wenceslas Day (Czech Statehood Day)	Den české státnosti
28-Oct	Saturday	Independent Czechoslovak State Day	Czechoslovakia is established in 1918	Den vzniku samostatného československého státu
17-Nov	Friday	Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day	Commemoration of students’ protests in 1939 and 1989 leading to “Velvet Revolution”	Den boje za svobodu a demokracii
24-Dec	Sunday	Christmas Eve	Christmas Eve	Štědrý den
25-Dec	Monday	First Christmas Day	First Christmas Day	1. Svátek vánoční
26-Dec	Tuesday	St. Stephen’s Day, Second Christmas Day	St. Stephen’s Day, Second Christmas Day	2. Svátek vánoční

Spring Holiday in Cities and Regions in the Czech Republic in 2017

February 6 – 12, 2017	Praha 6 až 10, Cheb, Karlovy Vary, Sokolov, Nymburk, Jindřichův Hradec, Litoměřice, Děčín, Přerov, Frýdek-Místek
February 13 – 19, 2017	Kroměříž, Uherské Hradiště, Vsetín, Zlín, Praha-východ, Praha-západ, Mělník, Rakovník, Plzeň-město, Plzeň-sever, Plzeň-jih, Hradec Králové, Teplice, Nový Jičín
February 20 – 26, 2017	Česká Lípa, Jablonec nad Nisou, Liberec, Semily, Havlíčkův Brod, Jihlava, Pelhřimov, Třebíč, Žďár nad Sázavou, Kladno, Kolín, Kutná Hora, Písek, Náchod, Bruntál
February 27 – March 5, 2017	Mladá Boleslav, Příbram, Tábor, Prachatice, Strakonice, Ústí nad Labem, Chomutov, Most, Jičín, Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Olomouc, Šumperk, Opava, Jeseník
March 6 – 12, 2017	Benešov, Beroun, Rokycany, České Budějovice, Český Krumlov, Klatovy, Trutnov, Pardubice, Chrudim, Svitavy, Ústí nad Orlicí, Ostrava-město, Prostějov
March 13 – 19, 2017	Praha 1 až 5, Blansko, Brno-město, Brno-venkov, Břeclav, Hodonín, Vyškov, Znojmo, Domažlice, Tachov, Louny, Karviná

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