Free annual leave planner · 2027
Turn 15 days of leave into 49 days off in 2027, around holidays in South Africa.
Maximise your annual leave: say how many days you get, and it finds the days that bridge weekends and holidays into the longest breaks, then puts them on your calendar.
Where you work
Year
A couple of real vacations, plus long weekends with the rest.
Your 2027 plan
10 breaks, 34 extra days off from weekends and holidays.
January
4 days offFebruary
March
10 days offApril
4 days offMay
June
9 days offJuly
August
4 days offSeptember
4 days offOctober
November
3 days offDecember
9 days offNew Year long weekend
Fri, Jan 1 – 4
4.0×4 days
for 1 day of leave
Human Rights Day & Easter week
Sat, Mar 20 – 29
3.3×10 days
for 3 days of leave
Freedom Day long weekend
Sat, Apr 24 – 27
4.0×4 days
for 1 day of leave
Youth Day week
Sat, Jun 12 – 20
2.3×9 days
for 4 days of leave
National Women's Day long weekend
Sat, Aug 7 – 10
4.0×4 days
for 1 day of leave
Heritage Day long weekend
Fri, Sep 24 – 27
4.0×4 days
for 1 day of leave
Long weekend in November
Fri, Nov 5 – 7
3.0×3 days
for 1 day of leave
Day of Reconciliation long weekend
Thu, Dec 16 – 19
4.0×4 days
for 1 day of leave
Christmas & Day of Goodwill long weekend
Sat, Dec 25 – 28
4.0×4 days
for 1 day of leave
New Year long weekend
Fri, Dec 31 – Jan 2
3.0×3 days
for 1 day of leave
Planning for a team?
Everyone found the same week. Who's shipping the release?
Bridge days are no secret. When half the team books the same annual leave, you find out on the Monday. Forgot puts everyone's time off, holidays and release dates on one calendar, so you see the clash while there's time to plan around it.
- Holidays for every teammate's country, built in
- A warning when someone's away on a release date
- Your team never signs up. You keep the calendar.
Free for 14 days, no card. Then $9 once, no subscription.
Release on Mar 24 · your break: Mar 20 – 29
More days off, same annual leave.
- 01
Pick where you work
Public holidays for 200+ countries and their states and regions. Switch off the ones you work and add the days your company already gives you.
- 02
Say how many days of leave you have
Long weekends, a week off or one long trip. The planner tries every combination and keeps the one with the most days off.
- 03
Put it on your calendar
Add every break to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook in one click, or copy the dates and send them to your manager.
2027 holidays in South Africa, and how to stretch each one.
Public holidays in South Africa in 2027, and the cheapest way to turn each into a longer break. Weekends are Saturday and Sunday.
2027 at a glance
- 10 holidays fall on a workday in 2027, the same as in 2026.
- 7 long weekends with no days of leave needed: New Year's Day, Human Rights Day, Good Friday, Family Day and 3 more.
- 2 bridge days turn holidays into four days off: Freedom Day (take Mon Apr 26) and Day of Reconciliation (take Fri Dec 17).
- Youth Day falls midweek, so stretching it into a long weekend takes two days of leave.
- Workers' Day and Christmas Day fall on a weekend in 2027.
- 49 days off from 15 days of leave with the planner's balanced plan, 1 fewer than in 2026.
| Holiday | Date | Stretch it |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's DayFri, Jan 1 | Fri, Jan 1 | Already a 3-day weekend. Take Mon, Jan 4 off for 4 days in a row, or Dec 28 – 31 for 10. |
| Human Rights DaySun, Mar 21Observed Mon, Mar 22 | Sun, Mar 21 | Already a 3-day weekend. Take Tue, Mar 23 off for 4 days in a row, or Mar 23 – 25 for 10. |
| Good FridayFri, Mar 26 | Fri, Mar 26 | Already a 4-day weekend. Take Tue, Mar 30 off for 5 days in a row, or Mar 23 – 25 for 10. |
| Family DayMon, Mar 29 | Mon, Mar 29 | Already a 4-day weekend. Take Tue, Mar 30 off for 5 days in a row, or Mar 23 – 25 for 10. |
| Freedom DayTue, Apr 27 | Tue, Apr 27 | Take Mon, Apr 26 off for 4 days in a row, or Mon, Apr 26 and Apr 28 – 30 for 9. |
| Workers' DaySat, May 1 | Sat, May 1 | Falls on a Saturday this year. |
| Youth DayWed, Jun 16 | Wed, Jun 16 | Take Jun 17 – 18 off for 5 days in a row, or Jun 14 – 15 and Jun 17 – 18 for 9. |
| National Women's DayMon, Aug 9 | Mon, Aug 9 | Already a 3-day weekend. Take Tue, Aug 10 off for 4 days in a row, or Aug 10 – 13 for 9. |
| Heritage DayFri, Sep 24 | Fri, Sep 24 | Already a 3-day weekend. Take Mon, Sep 27 off for 4 days in a row, or Sep 20 – 23 for 9. |
| Day of ReconciliationThu, Dec 16 | Thu, Dec 16 | Take Fri, Dec 17 off for 4 days in a row, or Dec 13 – 15 and Fri, Dec 17 for 9. |
| Christmas DaySat, Dec 25 | Sat, Dec 25 | Falls on a Saturday this year. |
| Day of GoodwillSun, Dec 26Observed Mon, Dec 27 | Sun, Dec 26 | Already a 3-day weekend. Take Tue, Dec 28 off for 4 days in a row, or Dec 28 – 31 for 9. |
Holiday data from the open-source date-holidays project. Pick your state or region in the planner above for local holidays.
Annual leave in South Africa, under the BCEA.
21 days
Consecutive days of annual leave a cycle: 15 working days on a five-day week
12
Public holidays a year
Monday
Off when a public holiday falls on a Sunday
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act gives you 21 consecutive days of paid annual leave per leave cycle, which works out to 15 working days if you work five days a week. Your employer has to let you take it within six months of the end of the cycle, and can't pay you out instead unless you're leaving.
South Africa has 12 public holidays. When one falls on a Sunday, the Monday after is a public holiday too, but a Saturday holiday gives no extra day. The holiday table below shows which of them line up with a weekend this year.
Sources: Department of Employment and Labour, Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994. General information, not legal advice: your contract or local rules can differ.
Questions
How do I make the most of my annual leave in 2027?
Spend days of leave on the workdays between a holiday and a weekend, so each one unlocks days you'd have off anyway. The best deals in South Africa in 2027: New Year long weekend, Jan 1 – 4 (4 days off for 1 day of leave); Human Rights Day & Easter week, Mar 20 – 29 (10 days off for 3 days of leave); Youth Day week, Jun 12 – 20 (9 days off for 4 days of leave). The planner above finds every one of these for your allowance and puts them on your calendar.
What if a public holiday falls on a Saturday?
Nothing extra: only a Sunday holiday moves to the Monday. A Saturday holiday is simply lost that year, unless your contract says otherwise.
Do public holidays come out of my annual leave?
No. A public holiday during your leave is added to it, so your leave runs a day longer.
What is a bridge day?
A workday stuck between a public holiday and a weekend. Take it off and one day of leave gets you four days off in a row.
How many days off can I get with 15 days of leave?
In 2027, around the 12 holidays most people in South Africa get off: 10 days of leave become 37 days off, 15 days of leave become 49 days off, 20 days of leave become 60 days off. The exact number depends on the kind of breaks you pick and the holidays your employer gives.
What if my company's holidays are different?
Open "Holidays and weekend" to switch holidays on or off, or change which days are your weekend. Click any workday on the calendar to mark a day you already have off, like a company holiday or a shutdown week.
Is my plan saved anywhere?
Nothing is stored and there's no sign-up. The plan lives in the link in your address bar: bookmark it, or share it and whoever opens it sees the same plan.
Can I plan time off for my whole team?
This planner is for one person's year. If you manage a team, Forgot puts everyone's time off, public holidays and release dates on one calendar, so you see when too many people are out before it's a problem. It's free for 14 days, then a one-time payment.