Public holidays in Moroccan labour law

Article 217 : public holidays must not be worked

Employers are prohibited from employing employees on paid public holidays, the list of which is determined by regulation.

Article 218 : payment for public holidays

It may be decided that the public holiday will be paid as actual working time.

Article 219 : compensation for employees paid by the hour or by the day

An employee paid by the hour or by the day receives compensation for the paid holiday equal to the remuneration he would have received if he had remained at his workstation, with the exception of risk compensation or reimbursement of costs and expenses incurred by him in the course of his work.

The employee is entitled to paid holiday rest if he is employed immediately before the holiday or during the thirteen days of the month preceding the holiday.

Article 220 : compensation for employees paid by task

The holiday pay due to an employee whose salary is fixed by task, output or piecework is equal to one twenty-sixth of the remuneration received for the twenty-six days of actual work immediately preceding the paid holiday.

Article 221 : compensation for flat-rate employees

Where pay is fixed on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis, the corresponding remuneration may not be subject to any reduction as a result of unemployment on a paid holiday or public holiday, even where that day is not declared as paid.

Article 222 : coincidence of public holiday and weekly rest day

Where rest on a paid public holiday or a declared paid public holiday is given on the day on which the employee referred to in Articles 219 and 220 above benefits from his weekly rest by rotation, the employer must pay him compensation for this day under the conditions provided for in article 219 above.

Article 223 : opportunities to work on a public holiday

In establishments whose operation is necessarily continuous due to the nature of their activity or which have adopted the weekly rest period in rotation, work may not be interrupted on a paid holiday or public holiday.

The same provisions may be applied in food retail establishments or, where they have not adopted a weekly rest period in rotation, in cafés, restaurants, hotels, entertainment establishments or establishments where materials liable to deteriorate rapidly are used.

Article 224 : payment for public holiday worked

In the cases provided for in article 223 above, the employer must pay his employees who work on a paid public holiday or declared paid public holiday, with the exception of the employees referred to in the 2nd paragraph below, in addition to the salary corresponding to the work performed, an additional indemnity equal to the amount of this salary.

Employees paid in full or in part by tips are entitled to one day’s paid compensatory rest, even if they are guaranteed a minimum wage by the employer. This rest day is in addition to the paid annual leave.

Article 225 : compensatory rest for public holiday worked

By agreement between the employer and any employee referred to in the first paragraph of article 224 above who has been employed on a paid public holiday or public holiday, the additional indemnity provided for in the said article may be replaced by paid compensatory rest, granted to the employee under the conditions provided for in the second paragraph of the said article.

Article 226 : additional compensation

Where the employer has caused all or some of his employees to work in breach of the provisions of article 217, he must pay them, in addition to the pay for that day, compensation equal to 100% of the pay for that day.Compensation due in the event of breach of the provisions concerning work on a paid public holiday.

Article 227 : recovery of working hours lost as a result of the public holiday

Working hours lost due to a public holiday may, after consultation with the employees’ representatives and, where applicable, the trade union representatives in the company, be recovered during the thirty days following the said day, without the recovery being carried out on the day on which the employee must benefit from his weekly rest, and without it having the effect of increasing the working time beyond ten hours per day.

Recuperation may be carried out on the day of the weekly rest period in use at the establishment. However, recuperation may not be carried out when the weekly rest day coincides with a paid public holiday.

The employer must inform the Labour Inspectorate in writing of the dates on which the time off will be taken.

Article 228 : payment of recuperation time

Recuperated hours are paid under the same conditions as normal working hours.

Article 229 : recovery of hours for local public holidays

Where, by virtue of the collective labour agreement, the internal rules of an establishment or custom, employees are granted a rest period on public holidays other than those paid and fixed by article 217 or on public holidays, in particular on the occasion of local festivals or events, the hours lost must be recovered in accordance with the conditions laid down in article 227, whether or not the rest period is paid.

Article 230 : sanctions

The following are punishable by a fine of between 300 and 500 dirhams :

• the employment of employees on paid public holidays and bank holidays ;
• failure to pay for public holidays declared to be remunerated as actual working time under article 218 ;
• compensation not assessed in accordance with the provisions of post 219 ;
• failure to pay the indemnity provided for in article 224 to employees of the establishments referred to in Article 223 who have worked on a paid public holiday ;
• compensatory rest provided for in article 224 (2nd paragraph), and in article 225 not granted or granted in breach of the provisions of the said articles ;
• failure to pay the indemnity provided for in article 226 ;
• the recovery of working hours lost as a result of the public holiday under conditions that do not comply with the provisions of the 1st and 2nd paragraphs of article 227 ;
• failure to inform the Labour Inspectorate of the dates on which recovery will take place, or failure to do so in accordance with the provisions of the last paragraph of article 227 ;
• payment for hours recovered not in accordance with the provisions of article 228.

The fine is applied as many times as there are employees in respect of whom the provisions of this chapter have not been complied with, without however the total of the fines exceeding the amount of 20,000 dirhams.