Solomon Islands Public Holidays 2026: Employer Rules & Pay Guide

If you’re hiring someone in Solomon Islands, you need the holiday rules fast, and you need them right. This guide gives you the official 2026 public holiday calendar, the minimum pay rule when someone works on a gazetted holiday, and the details HR and finance teams usually need to keep payroll accurate.

In Solomon Islands, public holidays are set under the Public Holidays Act. The 2026 national and provincial public holiday dates are published in the Government Gazette, and the Labour Act sets the minimum premium pay rate for work performed on a gazetted public holiday. For employers using local employment contracts, those two sources are where to start.

Solomon Islands public holidays in 2026

When you’re handling holiday pay, the rule itself is not the hard part. The hard part is making sure your calendar, timekeeping, and payroll setup all follow the same logic.

Provincial holidays in Solomon Islands

Some provinces also observe an extra provincial public holiday. These can matter if your employee works in that province, reports to a site there, or your workplace policy follows the local provincial calendar.

Provincial holidays in 2026

• Choiseul Province Day, 25 February
• Isabel Province Day, 2 June
• Temotu Province Day, 8 June
• Central Province Day, 29 June
• Rennell and Bellona Province Day, 20 July
• Guadalcanal Province Day, 1 August, with 31 July observed as the public holiday
• Makira-Ulawa Province Day, 3 August
• Malaita Province Day, 15 August, with 14 August observed as the public holiday
• Western Province Day, 7 December

If you’re hiring in Solomon Islands, this is one of those details that can quietly create payroll mistakes. A province-specific holiday may apply to one employee and not another, especially when your team is remote or spread across different locations.

Days off and paid holiday expectations in Solomon Islands

A gazetted public holiday is generally treated as a non-working day.

If the holiday falls on a day the employee would normally work, many employers treat it as a paid day off when the business closes. If it falls on a day the employee would not normally work, it is usually handled as a normal non-working day.

That said, your contract and workplace policy still matter. The law is especially clear on premium pay for work performed on a public holiday. The paid-day-off approach should also be stated clearly in the employee’s contract, handbook, or internal policy so there is no confusion later.

For teams comparing policies across markets, it can also help to look at broader leave practices like paid vacation days by country.

Holiday pay for work on public holidays

The minimum rule is straightforward: for hours worked on a gazetted public holiday, you must pay not less than twice the employee’s regular hourly rate.

Remember, that is the statutory floor, not the ceiling. You can always choose to pay more generous rates if your contracts, internal policy, or business practice go beyond the minimum.

This is also a good time to make sure your payroll team agrees on what the employee’s regular hourly rate means in practice. If your payroll inputs are inconsistent, holiday pay mistakes tend to show up fast.

Substitute day rules for Solomon Islands public holidays

Solomon Islands law is clear on premium pay for working on a gazetted public holiday.

If you want to offer time off in lieu, spell it out in the employment contract or a written policy. That keeps expectations clear for employees and gives payroll and managers one shared rule to follow.

Don’t leave it to guesswork. A written rule is easier to explain, easier to administer, and easier to audit.

Scheduling and timekeeping tips for Solomon Islands holiday payroll

Holiday compliance usually breaks down in the same few places. Calendars are outdated. Managers are working from memory. Payroll cannot easily separate holiday hours from ordinary hours. None of that is hard to fix, but it does need structure.

• Maintain a country calendar in payroll. Include national holidays and any relevant provincial holidays.
• Define the regular hourly rate clearly. Make sure payroll knows what counts toward the rate used for holiday premium calculations.
• Track holiday hours separately. If an employee works on a public holiday, record those hours in a distinct pay code.
• Check the location before running payroll. A province-specific holiday may apply to one employee and not another.
• Keep managers in the loop. The people creating schedules should know which dates trigger premium pay.

If you already run global payroll across multiple countries, this kind of local setup matters even more. One missed calendar detail can create a payroll error that is small in amount and surprisingly annoying to unwind.

Solomon Islands public holiday compliance checklist for employers

Use this as a quick internal check before each holiday cycle.

• Use the official gazetted list. Update your holiday calendar every year.
• Avoid unnecessary holiday scheduling. Do not roster employees to work on public holidays unless the role genuinely requires it.
• Apply the minimum premium rate. If an employee works on a gazetted public holiday, pay at least 2x the regular hourly rate.
• Document any time off in lieu policy. Put it in writing so employees and payroll know exactly how it works.
• Keep clear payroll records. Your records should show holiday hours and the premium pay applied to them.
• Review local contract language. Make sure employment terms line up with your actual payroll practice.

Common scenarios

Employee was scheduled to work but you close for the holiday

In practice, many employers treat this as a paid day off if the employee would normally have worked that day. Your contract or policy should confirm how your business handles it.

Employee works only part of a shift on the holiday

The premium pay rule applies to the hours actually worked on the gazetted public holiday. Separate those hours in payroll so the premium can be calculated cleanly.

Employee is based in a province with a Province Day

Usually, yes, it can apply. That depends on where the employee works and how your local holiday calendar is set up. Provincial holidays are easy to miss when the employee is remote or when the manager sits in another country.

Employee does not normally work on the holiday date

That is usually treated as a normal non-working day. The bigger issue is making sure the schedule is recorded accurately so no one expects a premium rate where no holiday work occurred.

How an Employer of Record (EOR) can help

An employer of record is a third party that legally employs your team member in the Solomon Islands on your behalf. This allows you to hire without establishing a local entity, avoiding the hidden costs of entity establishment.

The EOR handles salary offers, employment contracts, payroll, tax withholding, statutory benefits, and all ongoing compliance. You manage the day-to-day work normally while the EOR takes care of just about everything else.

For employers testing the market or those who need to scale quickly, an EOR is usually the right choice. You get to reduce risk, move faster, and know all local laws and regulations will be followed.

Pebl handles holiday compliance

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve got your sights set on the Solomon Islands. Maybe you’ve even found the perfect talent. There’s a lot that needs to be taken care of before you can start hiring—researching taxes, finding experts in local labor law, finding a payroll processor, and more. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easier way?

With Pebl, there is.

Our EOR platform allows you to hire, pay, and manage employees in 185+ countries around the world without setting up your own local entity. That means your new talent starts in days, not months. We handle it all: onboarding, benefits, salary benchmarking, payroll, and compliance with all local regulations. Every public holiday, overtime or double time pay the law requires, we make sure it happens. All you have to do is stay focused on leading your team.

When you’re ready to do things the easy way, let us know.

This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or tax advice and is for general informational purposes only. The intent of this document is solely to provide general and preliminary information for private use. Do not rely on it as an alternative to legal, financial, taxation, or accountancy advice from an appropriately qualified professional. The content in this guide is provided “as is,” and no representations are made that the content is error-free.

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