Working Days – Bulgaria
Bulgaria has 12 official non-working days per year, including national holidays and religious dates. The standard working week is 40 hours, and employers must provide paid time for all public holidays, regardless of the day of the week.
Annual summary
| Other year | Working days | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 252 | |
| 2026 | 252 | |
| 2027 | 252 | |
| 2028 | 252 |
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Holiday rules and practice in Bulgaria
How public holidays work in Bulgaria, and what that means when you count working days.
- Standard work week
- Monday–Friday
- 40 hours per week
- Substitute days
- Yes
- Article 154(2) of the Labour Code makes the first working day after an official holiday non-working when that holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Bulgaria therefore rarely loses a holiday to the weekend.
- Regional variation
- No
- Public holidays apply uniformly across the whole country.
Bank holidays
Bulgarian law recognises only официални празници (official holidays). There is no separate bank-holiday category.
Local terminology
| Working day | работен ден |
|---|---|
| Public holiday | официален празник |
| Non-working day | почивен ден |
Worth knowing
- Bulgaria follows the Orthodox Easter calendar, so Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday move independently of the Western Easter observed across most of the EU.
- Because of the substitute-day rule, a holiday landing at a weekend is normally compensated with the following Monday — and with Monday and Tuesday where two holidays fall together.
- 3 March (Liberation Day), 6 May (St George’s Day and Army Day), 24 May (Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture), 6 September (Unification Day) and 22 September (Independence Day) are the fixed national holidays.
- Christmas is observed over three days: 24, 25 and 26 December.
About this data
Two caveats apply to the counts on this site. The underlying dataset lists 26 December as an observance rather than a public holiday, so December may show one holiday fewer than Bulgarian practice; and the substitute-day rule is not applied, so weekend holidays appear as lost rather than moved.
Frequently asked questions
How are salaries calculated on a public holiday in Bulgaria?
Public holidays are paid at the employee's standard rate as a regular working day. If an employee is required to work on an official non-working day, they are entitled to paid rest time or additional compensation as provided for in the collective agreement or employment contract.
Which are the movable religious holidays in Bulgaria?
Good Friday, Easter, Easter Monday, and Christmas Eve are determined by the Orthodox calendar and are observed each year on different dates. The exact dates must be confirmed annually in accordance with the Orthodox Easter cycle.
Do regions in Bulgaria have different official non-working days?
No, Bulgaria does not have regional or local public holidays. All official non-working days are uniform at the national level and apply across all regions and cities in the country.
How is work treated on an official non-working day that falls on a weekend?
Bulgaria does not apply a compensatory day system for public holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday. The non-working day is not moved and additional working days are not added. The holiday counts as an official non-working day regardless of the day of the week.
How should I document public holidays for working time records?
Public holidays are recorded in the working time schedule as official non-working days (coding depends on the company's internal regulations). Hours on official non-working days are excluded from calculations of overtime or undertime against the standard 40-hour weekly schedule.