The change is contained in the Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (N.A.B 76/2026), which is set to be presented in Parliament by Vice President Mutale Nalumango.
If passed, the amendment will remove a long-standing provision under the Public Holidays Act that allows citizens to observe a public holiday on the following Monday whenever it falls on a Sunday.
The current system has, for decades, created extended weekends for holidays such as Independence Day, Labour Day, Heroes Day, Unity Day and Christmas.
Under the proposed reform, such automatic extensions would be discontinued, effectively ending what many workers have come to know as “bonus Mondays.”
Government argues that the move is aimed at streamlining the holiday framework and improving productivity.
Legal experts have begun weighing in on the proposal. Prominent lawyer Dickson Jere described the amendment as long overdue, saying the current arrangement lacks clear logic.
“Personally, I have never understood the logic behind automatically turning Mondays into holidays just because a public holiday has fallen on a Sunday. This amendment is a step towards clarity and productivity,” Jere said.
However, the proposal is expected to spark mixed reactions, with some welcoming the potential boost to economic activity while others may view it as a loss of additional rest days.
The Bill is scheduled for debate in Parliament in the coming days.
An employee who works Monday to Friday with weekends off would not get the holiday. They couldn’t take the holiday on the weekend so they will lose the holiday and are forced to go to work. In developed countries, the standard is most holidays are scheduled during the week (usually monday) so employees can get the benefit of a paid holiday and for holidays that fall on a specific day (like Chirstmas-the 25th), if it falls on a weekend they get the following Monday off. This attempt to take paid holidays away from workers shows the govt is not supporting Zambian workers.
Imagine! They are trying to do the opposite .Trying to rob workers even more by denying them a hard earned holiday. Very anti-workers these UPND. Do they know governments of the 1st world are preparing for a four day workweek?
Yes workers in Europe will work four days a week.
You are very correct .Let them try something else.These holidays don’t come everydayon a sunday.Let the people rest so that they can be productive.
A good welcomed move
There is just too many holidays in this country. Even the recent KK day should be scrapped as well as the so called national day of prayer. They can still be commemorated without being declared a public holiday just like world aids day, mother’s day, father’s day, valentines day etc which are commemorated without a public holiday.
The government should be more concerned about making the lives of its citizens better and not harder,why introducing things that don’t add any value to poor citizens but to the employers,let people rest and enjoy yourselves when they have to,we work too much to be soo worried about a holiday, we work all our lives to just be denied a holiday,bupuba yama.