Annual leave and public holidays in India 2026

How many paid days off you get in India depends on the legal minimum, your contract and the public holidays that fall on working days. The calculator above counts them for your own case. Below you will find the legal minimum, the 2026 public holidays and the family leave rules.

Your annual leave

The legal minimum in India is 24 working days a year on a five-day week. In 2026, 3 public holidays fall on working days (national, on working days). In the example (18 days of leave in the contract) that makes 27 paid days off in all.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code gives 1 day of paid annual leave for every 20 days worked once you have worked 180 days in a year (about 12 days on a 5-day week, 15 on a 6-day week). In Maharashtra the Shops and Establishments Act adds 8 days of casual leave and 8 paid festival holidays: 26 January, 1 May, 15 August, 2 October and 4 you agree with your employer, so the leave figure there includes the casual leave and those 4 holidays. Other states: only the national minimum and the 3 national holidays (Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti) are shown; state laws and contracts usually add casual leave and festival holidays.

Public holidays 2026 in India

Family leave

• Maternity leave: 26 weeks (12 weeks from the third child) · Pay: Full pay (after 80 days of work in the last year)
• Paternity leave: None by law in the private sector · Pay: By employer policy
• Sick leave: Set by state law and contracts (often 7–12 days a year) · Pay: ESIC pays 70% of wages for up to 91 days if your pay is up to ₹21,000

Frequently asked questions

Rules and official sources: see “Rules applied (2026)” above. Last checked: October 2026. The amounts are estimates for information, not financial or legal advice.