Last updated on January 16, 2024.

Public Holidays in Uganda for 2024

If employees have to work on a public holiday, they are entitled to 200% of the normal rate of wages within a month after a public holiday. However, employees can either receive a compensatory holiday or receive higher compensation for working on a public holiday.

If an employee performs work for part only of a public holiday, an employer pays the proportion of the remuneration for a full day’s work on that day if that day had not been a public holiday, represented by the number of hours for which the employee has performed work.

PTO

Vacation/Annual Paid Leave

An employee is entitled to at least 21 consecutive days of paid annual leave. National and religious holidays are not included. Collective agreements must provide at least one day of annual leave on full remuneration for every 17 days on which the employee worked or was entitled to be paid.

All workers on completion of at least six months of service are entitled to annual leave. An employee, working weekly for sixteen or more hours, is entitled to 21 working days paid annual leave at the rate of 7 days for each period of continuous 4 months of service on completion of 12 months of continuous service. The time to take annual leave has to be agreed upon between the parties.

Use-it-or-lose-it policy 

Not specified by law.

PTO payout at the termination

A worker is entitled to paid holidays proportionate to the length of service for which he/she has not received such a holiday or compensation for any of the unused annual leave in the event of employment termination.

Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave

During pregnancy and maternity leave, a female employee is entitled to medical and midwife care without any additional cost.

During pregnancy and while breastfeeding, an employee is exempt from work that might bring harm to the mother or her baby.

The total maternity leave should last at least 14 weeks. During maternity leave, an employee’s income amounts to at least two-thirds of her preceding salary.

During pregnancy and maternity leave, a female employee is protected from dismissal or any other discriminatory treatment.

Employees have the right to return to the same or equivalent position after availing of maternity leave.

After childbirth and on re-joining work, a female employee must be allowed paid nursing breaks for breastfeeding the child.

Female employees are entitled to 60 working days (eight and a half weeks) of fully paid maternity leave. The compulsory leave is four weeks after childbirth or miscarriage. The employer must give written notice of at least 7 days (or even a shorter period under certain circumstances) before proceeding on maternity leave on a specific date and to return to work thereafter. The employee may also have to provide a certificate of her medical condition from a qualified medical practitioner or midwife if required by the employer.

Maternity leave may be extended in case of sickness arising out of pregnancy or confinement, affecting either the mother or the baby, and making the mother’s return to work inadvisable, the right to return is available to the worker within eight weeks after the date of childbirth or miscarriage (thus adding 4 more weeks of maternity leave).

Paternity Leave

A male employee, after the birth of a child or miscarriage of a wife, is entitled to fully paid 4 working days of paternity leave in a year.

Sick Leave

An employee, working at least sixteen hours a week, is entitled to paid sick leave on completion of one month of service with the employer. When an employee is incapable of work because of sickness or injury, he/she is entitled to fully paid sick leave for the first month of illness, and the worker and his/her family avails all other benefits mentioned in the employment contract.

To avail sickness benefits, Uganda leave laws state the employee must notify the employer about the reason for absence as early as possible and an employer may request the worker to provide a certificate of incapacity to work and duration of incapacity, signed by a qualified medical practitioner.

Jury Duty Leave and Voting Leave

Not specified by law.

Bereavement Leave

Employees are entitled to up to 14 days of paid leave due to a death of a family member, or to care for a seriously ill family member.

Military Leave

Not specified by law.

Please consult your local legal counsel to learn more about Uganda Leave Laws.

To learn more about laws in various countries, check out our Leave Laws page.