Holidays (Employees) Act, 1961

PART II

Public holidays

Public Holidays in respect of all workers.

8.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, each of the following days shall, in respect of all workers, be for the purposes of this Act, a public holiday;

(a) Christmas Day when it falls on a weekday or, when it falls on a Sunday, the 27th day of December,

(b) St. Stephen's Day when it falls on a weekday or, when it falls on a Sunday, the next following Monday,

(c) St. Patrick's Day when it falls on a weekday or, when it falls on a Sunday, the next following Monday,

(d) Easter Monday, Whit Monday, and the first Monday in August,

(2) Whenever in any year a day is appointed under the Public Holidays Act, 1924, to be a bank holiday instead of a day mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, the day so appointed shall in that year be deemed to be substituted throughout that subsection for the day so mentioned.

(3) The employer of any worker may substitute for any public holiday (other than Christmas Day or St. Patrick's Day) falling in a calendar year either—

(a) the Church holiday falling in the calendar year immediately before the public holiday by giving to the worker not less than fourteen days before the Church holiday notice of his intention to effect the substitution, or

(b) the Church holiday falling in that calendar year immediately after the public holiday or, if the public holiday is a day which is a public holiday by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, the 1st day of January next following by giving to the worker not less than fourteen days before the public holiday notice of his intention to effect the substitution,

and whenever such notice is given, the substituted Church holiday shall in respect of the worker be a public holiday for the purposes of this Act instead of the day for which it is so substituted.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section each of the following days shall be a Church holiday:

(i) the 1st day of January, except when it falls on a Sunday,

(ii) Ascension Thursday,

(iii) the Feast of Corpus Christi,

(iv) the 15th day of August, except when it falls on a Sunday,

(v) the 1st day of November, except when it falls on a Sunday,

(vi) the 8th day of December, except when it falls on a Sunday.

(5) The Minister may by order declare any of the days mentioned in subsection (1) of this section not to be a public holiday for the purposes of this Act and may appoint any day to be a public holiday for the purposes of this Act and, on such order being made, the day so appointed shall be deemed to be a public holiday for the purposes of this Act.

(6) The Minister may by order appoint a day to be a Church holiday for the purposes of this Act either in substitution for or in addition to a day mentioned in subsection (4) of this section and, on such order being made, the day so appointed shall be deemed to be a Church holiday for the purposes of this Act.

(7) The notice mentioned in subsection (3) of this section shall be in writing and may be given to any person by handing a copy thereof to him personally or by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous position in the place where he is employed.

(8) In this Act “public holiday”, when used in relation to any worker, shall be construed in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section.