Annual Leave and Holidays
Paid Vacation / Annual Leave
The Labour Code provides for annual leave to all workers on completion of one year of service. A full-time worker is entitled to 18 working days of paid annual leave (one and a half working days for one month of service). If a worker works less than 45 hours a week, his annual leave is determined on the pro-rata basis. A young worker (16-18 years) is entitled to two working days per month (24 working days per year) of annual leave.
Annual leave also increases with the length of service with the same employer. The increase in annual leave is one day of extra leave for every 3 years of continuous service. Annual leave may not exceed 21 working days in any case.
A worker can enjoy his annual leave within two years of its entitlement. Payment in lieu of annual leave is prohibited except in the case of contract termination or expiry before the worker benefited from their annual leave. The payment for annual leave is based on worker’s average actual earnings inclusive of all the benefits he/she is entitled, during the year prior to taking leave.
Public holidays are not part of the annual leave. Compensatory leave is granted if a public holiday falls during annual leave or a worker has to work during annual leave. The days of incidental leave may be deducted from annual leave upon mutual consensus between the worker and the employer.
The employer sets the annual leave schedule, considering the employee’s preference and business needs. Employees must request leave in writing, and employers must respond in writing. Once approved, leave cannot be postponed or preponed by more than 3 months unless both agree.
The labour legislation allows for splitting of the annual leave in two parts. Considering the work needs of the enterprise, the employer may require a worker to come back to work and resume the remainder of the annual leave within six months.
Source: §46-50 & 62 of the Law regulating Labour in Rwanda, 2018 (No. 66/2018)
Pay on Public Holidays
Workers are entitled to fully paid holidays during the Festival (public and religious) holidays. These holidays, determined under the Presidential Order, are usually 15 in number.
Public holidays include; New Year’s Day (January 01), Day after the New Year’s Day (January 02), National Heroes’ Day (February 01), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Tutsi Genocide Memorial Day (April 07), Labour Day (May 01), Rwandan Independence Day (July 01), Rwandan Liberation Day (July 04), Umuganura Day (first Friday of August), Eid-el-Fitr, Assumption Day (August 15), Eid-al-Adha, Christmas Day (December 25) and Boxing Day (December 26).
Dates of Muslim festivals are subject to sighting of moon and thus are liable to change. If a public holiday falls on a non-working day, the next or previous working day may be appointed as a public holiday.
Except the public holiday on 7th April (Genocide against the Tutsi Memorial Day), if an official holiday falls on the weekend, the following working day is declared an official holiday. If two consecutive official holidays fall on a day of the weekend, the two official holidays are compensated by giving a holiday on the one working day that follows. In case of a coincidence of two official holidays, the following working day is an official holiday. An employee who works on an official public holiday is entitled to a rest day equivalent to an official public holiday on which he/she has worked within the next thirty (30) days.
Source:§53 of the Law regulating Labour in Rwanda, 2018 (No. 66/2018); §27 & 28 of the Presidential Order N° 062/01 of 19/10/2022 on official mission, delegation of powers and public holidays
Weekly Rest Days
Workers are entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest per week. Under the 2009 Labour Code, the weekly rest day used to be Sunday for all workers. The 2018 Labour Law has no such provision.
According to the 2023 amendment to the Labour Code, an employee is entitled to 1 hour of daily time off, scheduled by the employer.
Whereas, the time for weekly rest is 24 hours and is not counted in the working hours provided under the minimum hours of work in a week.
Source: §43-44 of the Law regulating Labour in Rwanda, 2018 (No. 66/2018); §12 of the Ministerial Order N° 01/MIFOTRA/23 OF 13/06/2023 on working hours and public servants governed by employment contracts
Regulations on Annual Leave and Holidays
- Law regulating Labour in Rwanda, 2009 (Labour Code) / Itegeko rigenga umurimo mu Rwanda, 2009
- Presidential Order N° 54/01 of 24/02/2017 Determining Official Holidays
