ORANJESTAD (AAN): Aruba’s DAO (Department of Labor and Research) has announced the compensation rules for working on official holidays and commemorative days, as outlined in Article 22 of the 2013 Labor Ordinance.
On April 3, 2026, ‘Bierna Santo’, and April 6, 2026, ‘Easter Monday’, are considered official holidays and commemorative days. According to these regulations, working on these dates entitles workers to special compensation.
For workers in sectors like horeca, casinos, and continuous operations (companies operating 24/7, known as ‘shift work’), a holiday or commemorative day is typically treated as a regular working day. However, if a worker is scheduled to work on one of these days, they are entitled to 200% of their regular salary. In cases where the worker exceeds their regular working hours (for example, 9 hours in the horeca/casino sector and 8 hours in the continuous sector), the additional hours are considered overtime, and workers are entitled to 250% of their regular pay.
For other sectors that use shift work (such as kiosks, tour operators, cleaning services, car rentals, and tourist attractions), workers can be scheduled to work on these 6 days of holidays. The worker is entitled to 200% of their regular salary for those scheduled days. If the employee cannot be given time off on the remaining 5 days and has to work overtime, they are entitled to 250% for their regular hours and additional hours worked.
For other sectors such as supermarkets and general commerce, where holidays are considered rest days, any work on these days is treated as overtime, and employees are entitled to 250% of their salary.
These regulations aim to ensure that employees are fairly compensated for their time, especially during public holidays or commemorative days, which have a special significance in Aruba.
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