Fewer working days — lower holiday pay

In January, Russians will have 12 days off

Yesterday, the Russian Ministry of Labour revealed a draft calendar of holidays and days off for next year. During the New Year holidays, Russians will have 12 days off. In February, Russians will have three days off in a row — from 21 to 23 February.

“In months with a large number of non-working holidays (January, May, June), the number of working days is minimal, which leads to a decrease in accrued wages if payment is made based on the actual days or hours worked (Article 136 of the Labour Code). This is especially true for employees who receive payment in proportion to the time worked, and not a fixed salary,” hh.ru labour law lawyer Daria Yerzina told Realnoe Vremya.

SuperJob company explained to us that employees are guaranteed decent pay for work on non-working holidays.

“Article 112 of the Labour Code provides for a guarantee — if employees (who do not receive a salary) are involved in work on non-working holidays, the employer must pay them additional remuneration. Its amount is determined by the employer himself,” said Alexander Yuzhalin, head of legal practice at SuperJob.

According to the calendar, in March citizens will also have a three-day weekend — from 7 to 9 March. In May, the holiday will be divided into two periods: twice three days — from 1 to 3 May and from 9 to 11 May. In June, the weekend will last from Friday to Sunday — from 12 to 14 June. In November, Russians will have one holiday day off — 4 November. And on 31 December, the New Year holidays will begin.

Which month is the most profitable for holiday?

In 2026, there are only 118 weekends and holidays and 247 working days, which is comparable to the previous year, but due to transfers, the workload in individual months may change. “Employees have the opportunity to plan their vacation more effectively, combining it with long weekends (Articles 114, 120 of the Labour Code), but for employers this may create difficulties in ensuring the continuity of production,” said Yerzina.

If an employee is faced with the task of “extending” the weekend (non-working) days established by law, the most attractive months in this regard will be January and May. Thus, if you use part of your vacation in the first half of January (from 12 January), the total rest period will be quite long.

“An attractive option would be to use part of your vacation during the “break between May holidays” — from 4 to 8 May,” said Yuzhalin.

At the same time, if the priority is maximum financial compensation, it is least profitable to take vacation in January, May and June.

“The fewer working days in a month, the less the amount of holiday pay will be. The most advantageous months for vacation in terms of compensation are April, July and October, when there are no additional holidays and the maximum number of working days,” the company hh.ru said.

January, May and June are the worst months for dismissal

The least painful period for dismissal or job change falls on months with a minimum number of working days, such as January, May and June. At this time, there is usually a decrease in the workload, and long weekends simplify the process of agreeing on the date of dismissal with the employer. In addition, this is a favourable time to use the remaining vacation days, which can be effectively combined with holidays and weekends.

“When resolving this issue, firstly, it is worth assessing the financial side (for example, receiving a quarterly, annual bonus, etc.). It is important to estimate the date of dismissal so as not to lose out on bonus payments. Secondly, you should assess the situation on the labour market: namely, in which months there are more offers on the market, and when there are fewer. For example, it can be traditionally noted that in many areas January is not the best month to change jobs,” SuperJob shared.