This Year, Only December 31 and January 1 Will Be Non-Working Days

During the Armenian government's meeting on September 16, a bill proposing amendments to the Law on Holidays and Commemorative Days of the Republic of Armenia was discussed among the agenda items that were not reported. The government recommends that Article 1 of the Law on Holidays and Commemorative Days of the Republic of Armenia, adopted on June 24, 2001, be revised as follows:

“Article 1. New Year and Christmas holidays are celebrated from December 31 to January 1 inclusive (New Year) and on January 6 (Christmas and Theophany), which shall be non-working days.”

Article 2. Article 1.1 of the Law shall be deemed null and void.

Article 3. This law shall enter into force on the day following its official publication.”

The necessity of adopting the legal act is due to the proposed designation of January 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 as working days. According to the first part of Article 159 of the Labor Code, the annual minimum vacation duration for a five-day workweek is 20 working days, while for a six-day workweek, it is 24 working days. Currently, the number of paid non-working days provided to citizens of the Republic of Armenia exceeds that of many developed countries, and even more so that of developing countries.