In 2026, Christmas Day falls on a Friday. A payday on the 25th lands on a public holiday, and a weekly Friday payday lands on two in a row: 25 December and 1 January. EFT bank transfers run on business days and bank cut-off times, so set your December payout dates now, fund early and arrange cover for approvers.
This guide is for payroll, finance and operations teams at businesses that pay many people: employers, labour brokers, security and cleaning companies, retailers taking on festive-season staff, and teams that pay agent commissions or incentives. It covers the dates that matter, the rules on paying wages on time, where December runs go wrong, and a checklist.
Which dates affect December 2026 payouts?
Three public holidays fall between mid-December and the end of the year, and a fourth on 1 January 2027. Under the Public Holidays Act, when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday after it is also a public holiday. None of these falls on a Sunday, so the Day of Goodwill stays on Saturday, 26 December, and Monday, 28 December, is not a public holiday. The President can also declare extra public holidays under section 2A of the Act, as he did for the local government elections on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, so check gov.za before you lock your dates.
| Date | Day | Public holiday? | What it means for payouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 December 2026 | Wednesday | Yes: Day of Reconciliation | Mid-month runs: check your bank’s processing days around it. |
| 24 December 2026 | Thursday | No | The last weekday before Christmas. A payday due on the 25th can move here. |
| 25 December 2026 | Friday | Yes: Christmas Day | Paydays on the 25th and weekly Friday paydays both fall on this day. |
| 26 December 2026 | Saturday | Yes: Day of Goodwill | Falls on a Saturday, so Monday 28 December is not a public holiday. |
| 31 December 2026 | Thursday | No | The last weekday of the year. |
| 1 January 2027 | Friday | Yes: New Year’s Day | The second Friday payday in a row that falls on a public holiday. |
Source: South African Government, Public holidays in South Africa (2026 and 2027 lists, accessed 2 November 2026). Weekdays are our own calendar check.
When must wages be paid, and can December payday move?
Section 32 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) lets employers pay wages daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and says remuneration must be paid no later than seven days after the pay period ends. If a payday falls on a public holiday, one option is to pay on the weekday before it. Whatever you decide, tell people the date in writing before December, and check employment contracts and any sectoral determination or bargaining-council agreement that sets paydays.
If you pay employees a year-end or incentive bonus, SARS’s employer guide lists annual bonuses and incentive bonuses as examples of annual payments, which are subject to employees’ tax. Pay it as its own run, with its own reference, so it is easy to reconcile. Ask your payroll practitioner how to process it.
Independent contractors and commission agents are usually not employees under the BCEA, so their agreements set when they are paid. Tell them the December dates too. Our guide on how to pay sales commissions and incentives covers weekly agent runs.
What goes wrong with December payout runs?
- The file misses the bank’s cut-off. A payout file released late on the last weekday before a holiday can leave people waiting until the next business day. Our comparison of bulk EFT, PayShap and wallet payouts explains how timing differs by rail.
- Approvers are on leave. If a run needs one person to prepare it and another to approve it (maker-checker), name a back-up for each role before the office closes.
- The funding clears late. If you pay from a pre-funded account or float, the top-up is usually an EFT, which runs on bank business days and cut-off times.
- New staff have no usable payment details. Seasonal workers may have no bank account, or details that bounce. A returned payment can show up only after the holiday.
- Someone asks to change a payee’s bank details. Check any change by phone, on a number you already hold, before the run.
What should a December payout checklist include?
- Set every December and early-January payday now, and move any that fall on 16, 25 or 26 December or on 1 January.
- Ask your bank for its December cut-off times and processing days, and plan backwards from them.
- Tell staff, temporary workers and agents their payment dates in writing.
- Collect payment details from new seasonal staff in their first week, and check them before their first payday.
- Name a back-up approver for every payout run.
- Fund your payout account or float before the last business day you need, with room for late changes.
- Run bonuses and commissions as separate payouts, each with a clear reference.
- Reconcile each run before the office closes, and keep a contact person for payment questions over the holidays.
How do you pay festive-season staff who don’t have a bank account?
Retail, hospitality, security and events teams often take on temporary staff for the season, and some of them will not have a usable bank account. World Bank Global Findex data put account ownership among South African adults at 81.1% in 2024. By our arithmetic, that leaves about one adult in five without an account. Source: World Bank, Global Findex 2025 (indicator FX.OWN.TOTL.ZS, South Africa, 2024).
If your festive staff come through a labour broker (a temporary employment service), agree in writing who pays them and on which dates. If you pay them yourself, our guide on how to pay casual and temporary workers sets out the payment methods the BCEA allows and how each works without a bank account.
How does MyMoolah fit a December payout run?
MyMoolah is a registered Third-Party Payment Provider (TPPP) sponsored by The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited. Businesses pre-fund a MyMoolah float with one EFT from their own bank account, then pay people into MyMoolah wallets by portal upload or REST API. Our guide to disbursement platforms explains how this kind of payout works.
Pay into MyMoolah wallets instantly and free of charge, from your funded float, within each recipient’s verification (KYC) limits.
Once your float is funded, you can release payouts into MyMoolah wallets on weekends and public holidays too. The float top-up is a bank EFT, so in December, fund it before your bank’s last processing day ahead of each holiday.
The people you pay open MyMoolah in their phone’s browser, so there is no app to download. Each wallet is in the person’s own name. Until identity checks are complete, a wallet can only receive money, so ask new staff to verify before their first December payday. Once verified, they can send money to other MyMoolah wallets, buy airtime, data and electricity, pay by QR at participating major retailers, send to a South African bank account, or cash out with a bank-issued cardless withdrawal PIN, where available. Free between MyMoolah wallets, up to R100,000, within your verification (KYC) limits. Fees apply to bank transfers and cash withdrawals.
Your business can also earn a share of the revenue from the wallets it pays into, under agreed commercial terms.
For employees, the BCEA allows wages to be paid by direct deposit into an account the employee designates in writing. A worker can choose to be paid into a MyMoolah wallet in their own name; record that choice in writing. Paying into a wallet doesn’t change your payslip, PAYE or UIF duties.
Information current as at 2 November 2026. This article is general information, not legal, tax or employment advice. Confirm current product terms and wallet limits before you integrate.
Planning your December payouts? Book a payout demo.
FAQ
Is 26 December 2026 a public holiday in South Africa?
Yes. The Day of Goodwill falls on Saturday, 26 December 2026. Because it is not a Sunday, Monday, 28 December, is not an extra public holiday.
What happens if payday falls on Christmas Day?
In 2026, 25 December is a Friday and a public holiday. One option is to pay on Thursday, 24 December. Tell staff the date in writing, and check your bank’s cut-off times for that day.
How soon must wages be paid in South Africa?
The BCEA says remuneration must be paid no later than seven days after the pay period ends. Check employment contracts and any sectoral determination or bargaining-council agreement that applies.
Is a December bonus taxed?
For employees, yes. SARS’s employer guide lists annual and incentive bonuses as annual payments, which are subject to employees’ tax. Ask your payroll practitioner how to process it.
Can I pay temporary staff into a digital wallet?
Yes, if the worker chooses it and you record that choice in writing. With MyMoolah, the wallet is in the worker’s own name, and limits depend on their verification (KYC) level. Until identity checks are complete, a wallet can only receive money.
Sources
- South African Government, Public holidays in South Africa (2026 and 2027 lists; Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994; accessed 2 November 2026).
- South African Government, President Cyril Ramaphosa declares Election Day – 4 November 2026 – as a public holiday, 15 September 2026 (accessed 2 November 2026).
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, section 32, Payment of remuneration (accessed 3 November 2026).
- SARS, PAYE-GEN-01-G21, Guide for Employers in respect of Employees’ Tax (2027 tax year), Revision 1 (“Annual payments/bonus”, p. 33; accessed 2 November 2026).
- World Bank, Global Findex 2025: account ownership, South Africa, 2024 (accessed 2 November 2026).
