Count or add Belgian working days
Choose a start and an end date to count the working days in between, or add a number of working days to a start date to find a deadline. Saturdays, Sundays and the statutory Belgian public holidays are skipped. You can include or exclude the start and end dates, and add your own days off, such as a company closure or a substitute holiday, as a list of dates. The calculation runs in your browser.
The 10 statutory Belgian public holidays
Belgium has ten legal public holidays. Seven have a fixed date: New Year (1 January), Labour Day (1 May), National Day (21 July), Assumption (15 August), All Saints (1 November), Armistice (11 November) and Christmas (25 December). Three move with Easter: Easter Monday, Ascension and Whit Monday.
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year | Thu 1 Jan | Fri 1 Jan |
| Easter Monday | Mon 6 Apr | Mon 29 Mar |
| Labour Day | Fri 1 May | Sat 1 May |
| Ascension | Thu 14 May | Thu 6 May |
| Whit Monday | Mon 25 May | Mon 17 May |
| National Day | Tue 21 Jul | Wed 21 Jul |
| Assumption | Sat 15 Aug | Sun 15 Aug |
| All Saints | Sun 1 Nov | Mon 1 Nov |
| Armistice | Wed 11 Nov | Thu 11 Nov |
| Christmas | Fri 25 Dec | Sat 25 Dec |
2026 has 261 weekdays and eight public holidays that fall on a weekday, which leaves 253 working days. 2027 also has 261 weekdays but only seven holidays on a weekday, so it has 254 working days.
Holidays on a weekend and substitute days
When a statutory holiday falls on a Sunday or another normal day of inactivity, Belgian rules require a replacement day. The actual date, however, is often decided by the sector or the company. The calculator therefore does not guess: add the real substitute date in the custom-days field. In 2026 this applies to Assumption (Saturday) and All Saints (Sunday), and in 2027 to Labour Day, Assumption and Christmas.
Typical uses
- Deadlines that are expressed in working days, such as payment, delivery or response terms in a contract.
- Planning a project timeline or a delivery date between two Belgian business partners.
- Checking the length of a period for payroll or leave planning.
- Combining with the notice period calculator, where the start of a registered notice depends on working days, and the school holiday calendar for family planning.
Limits
Regional and sector-specific days off, such as local fairs or sector agreements, are not part of the statutory list. Add them as custom days. Nothing you enter is sent to gratistools.be.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does Belgium have?
Ten statutory holidays: New Year, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension, Whit Monday, National Day on 21 July, Assumption, All Saints, Armistice on 11 November and Christmas.
How many working days does 2026 have in Belgium?
2026 has 261 weekdays and eight public holidays that fall on a weekday, which leaves 253 working days. Assumption falls on a Saturday and All Saints on a Sunday.
Is Saturday a working day in this calculator?
No. Saturday and Sunday are excluded as weekends. Some rules, such as the delivery of registered mail for notice periods, count Saturday differently, which is handled in the notice period tool.
What happens when a public holiday falls on a Sunday?
Belgian rules require a replacement day, but the date can be set by the sector or the company. Enter the real substitute date as a custom day.
Can I add my own days off?
Yes. Add dates separated by spaces or commas in the custom days field, for example a company closure.