Under Venezuelan labour legislation, holidays and rest days are paid as follows:

1.         Holidays

The following days and dates are holidays for the purposes of the Labor Law (Article 184):

  • Sundays,
  • January 1,
  • Monday and Tuesday of Carnival,
  • Maundy Thursday and Good Friday,
  • May 1st,
  • December 24th, 25th, 30th and 31st;
  • The days listed in the Law of National Holidays, including April 19th, June 24th, July 5th, July 24th, and October 12th; and
  • Those days declared holidays either by the Government or the State or Municipal authorities, up to a maximum of three days per year.

Holidays are compensated by the payment of one working day’s salary. When a monthly salary has been agreed upon, the payment of holidays and the required weekly rest days are included in the salary.

When an employee works on a Holiday, she or he will be entitled to be paid for that day of work plus a 50% surcharge.

2.         Rest Days

The general working schedule in Venezuela shall not exceed five (5) days a week and the employees are entitled to two (2) consecutive days of rest.

The Regulations to the Labor Law on working hours establish that employees are entitled to rest for two consecutive and remunerated days a week, which must include Sundays, either Saturday and Sunday or Sunday and Monday.

However, the Regulations establish some exceptions to the general rule, as follows:

  • In the case of work that cannot be interrupted for reasons of public interest, technical reasons and unforeseen circumstances , rest days other than Sunday may be established, provided that the two days are continuous; and
  • In the case of continuous and shift schedules , rest days other than Sunday may be established, with no obligation that they be continuous. When only one rest day per week is established, this must be compensated with an additional day of vacation in the vacation period for that year.

Weekly rest days are compensated by the payment of one working day’s salary. When a monthly salary has been agreed upon, the payment of holidays and the required weekly rest days are included in the salary.

When an employee works on one or both of the days that correspond to her/his weekly rest period, she/he will be entitled, within the following week, to have one or two consecutive days of paid compensatory rest, which may not be replaced by a benefit of any other nature. If the work is rendered on a holiday, the employee is not entitled to compensatory rest, but only to the surcharge specified above.