Canceled holidays may give you the right to paid leave, while those not taken may provide additional compensation in your pay slip: here are the differences, how many hours you are entitled to and what to know for your employment contract.
In the Italian holiday calendar, some anniversaries have been cancelled over the years, while others were born as new days of rest. This is the case of October 4, dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, which has become a new national holiday since 2026. But what happens to holidays when they don’t result in the closure of offices and factories? AND how they are managed on the payroll? To answer we need to distinguish between holidays suppressed And holidays not taken: the first are anniversaries that have lost the character of a public holiday and which, in many collective agreements, give the right to paid leave, generally indicated on the pay slip as former holidays; the latter, however, are holidays recognized by law that the worker was not actually able to enjoy, for example because they coincided with the weekly rest day or because he worked. Two different situations, which follow specific rules: in the first case, hours of leave can accrue to be used or monetized according to the CCNL applied; in the second case, an additional salary or an increase for working on holidays may be due, depending on the circumstances. Both therefore affect the hours of leave accumulated and the economic treatment of workers.
What are the 4 suppressed holidays and how paid leave works
The suppressed holidays (or former holidays) are civil and religious occasions which in the past were recognized as public holidays, but which have lost this status following legislative interventions, in particular with Law no. 54 of 5 March 1977, subsequently supported by Law no. 937/1977. The four religious occasions commonly identified as former holidays are:
- March 19, Saint Joseph;
- Ascension (movable holiday);
- Corpus Domini (movable feast);
- June 29: Saints Peter and Paul.
Former holidays also play a role in managing absences from work and pay. In fact, based on the national collective labor agreement (CCNL) applied, employees can accrue a certain amount number of hours of paid leave to be used throughout the year. These permits allow you to be absent from work without losing your pay, but they follow precise rules: the collective agreement establishes how many hours you are entitled to, when they can be requested and what happens to those not used within the established deadlines.
Also recently intervened on the topic of suppressed holidays Court of Cassation with sentence no. 5051/2026, bringing attention back to the four days linked to the former holidays. The ruling clarifies that, under certain conditions, these days can be considered paid “holidays”.. The principle is relevant because the protection of annual rest must also concern the economic aspect: the worker must not suffer salary penalties for the sole fact of exercising his right to rest.
How many hours of leave are due for former holidays? The answer depends on national collective labor agreement applied. Many contracts, including those in the Commerce and Tertiary sectors, provide for 32 hours of paid leave per year, equivalent to 4 8-hour working days. These are permits recognized following the suppression of some civil and religious holidays, which took place with law no. 54 of 1977. In other sectors, such as the metalworking or credit sectors, the amount of hours and the related conditions may be different.
Permits are generally granted accrued during the year and, in many cases, calculated on a monthly basis. If the contract recognizes 32 hours per year, for example, the worker accrues one twelfth of the total for each useful month. The hours actually due may vary based on the working period and the contractual hours: in part-time relationships, for example, the number of hours can be re-proportioned. The methods of use also depend on the contract applied and any company agreements. Permissions can be requested together with holidays or in other times of the yearfor whole days or, when applicable, even for single hours. The CCNL or company provisions may also establish notice periods and specific rules for planning absences.
What are unused holidays and when are they paid in the pay slip
After seeing how permits for former holidays work, let’s move on to holidays not enjoyedwhich according to the provisions of the Law no. 260 of 27 May 1949and subsequent amendments, occur when a festive occasion coincides with a day in which the worker is already offfor example on Sunday. In these cases, it is not certain that you will be entitled to an additional day off, but you may be entitled to one additional salary amount on the pay slip (generally equal to 1/26 of the monthly salary for fixed-wage workers).
The regulatory reference is law no. 260 of 27 May 1949, which regulates the treatment of holidays. If the employee works on a public holiday, they may also be entitled to increases for holiday workin accordance with the collective agreement. To understand whether additional compensation is due and how it is calculated, it is therefore necessary to consider the day on which the holiday falls, any work activity carried out and the provisions of the CCNL applied.
To understand if an unused holiday has been paid correctly, the first step is check your pay slip. In fact, the salary can change based on the national collective labor agreement, the organization of the employee’s working hours and the method of remuneration. For those who earn a fixed monthly salary, the pay for holidays that fall on working days is generally already included in the regular pay. However, when an anniversary coincides with a Sunday or Saturday, specific rules may apply, which determine the possible recognition of additional amounts.
But where to find this information? Items relating to holidays may appear in the dedicated section of the payslip attendance and salary componentstogether with the hours worked and any allowances. Their name and location are not the same for all companies: to verify the amounts, it is therefore important to compare what is reported on the pay slip with the provisions of your CCNL. In this way it is possible to understand if the economic treatment applied is correct and if further sums are due in relation to the holiday.
