Public holidays in Malta Living: a paid day off on Malta's 14 holidays

Malta has 14 public holidays a year, more than most of Europe, and the public holidays in Malta Living fall on the same days. On a holiday nobody works a shift, and if it falls on one of your job's work days you're paid for it anyway. Here is how a day off works in Malta Living, what it pays, and where to see the next one coming.

The 14 days

The game keeps the list the government publishes, on the dates it gives for 2026 and 2027 (gov.mt, Public holidays): New Year's Day on 1 January, St Paul's Shipwreck on 10 February, St Joseph on 19 March, Freedom Day on 31 March, Good Friday, Workers' Day on 1 May, Sette Giugno on 7 June, Mnarja on 29 June, Santa Marija on 15 August, Victory Day on 8 September, Independence Day on 21 September, the Immaculate Conception on 8 December, Republic Day on 13 December and Christmas Day on 25 December.

Five of them are national days and nine are public holidays; the game treats all 14 the same way. Good Friday moves, so it is a date in the list: 3 April in 2026 and 26 March in 2027. Santa Marija is also the biggest festa of the summer. When the government publishes the next year's dates, the team adds them; a year that isn't in the list yet has no holidays.

No shifts on the day

A holiday runs from midnight to midnight, Malta time. In those 24 hours no shift starts, whether you tap Go to work yourself or your shifts run on their own. The Jobs app says so with a gold banner, "Public holiday: Christmas Day. No shifts today.", and the Go to work button reads "Closed for the holiday". A shift you started before midnight finishes and pays as usual, because a shift counts by when it starts.

Everything else is open. Shops, bars, clubs, the odd jobs in Earn and every place on the map keep their usual hours, and the island's residents keep their routines. Only paid work stops, so a holiday is a day for a long walk, a party or a game with friends. How shifts, ranks and promotions normally work is in the jobs and careers guide.

Paid in full at midnight

At the midnight after the holiday, if your job works that weekday, you're paid one shift at your rank in full. That is the whole shift, not the 80 percent a covered shift pays, because you weren't allowed to work. It arrives in the Bank as "Holiday pay: Christmas Day", with a line in Updates. A Commis Waiter at The Phoenicia on €55 a shift gets €55; once promoted to Waiter on €65, it's €65.

Holiday pay counts as one of the week's shifts, so a player who works their shifts earns the same week's pay with or without a holiday in it. It teaches nothing and moves no performance, since you didn't work, and your good shifts stay as they were. It comes with the same checks as a covered shift: you need a job, it's on or after your first day, you're not held at the lock-up, and a tourist's permit hasn't run out.

A holiday on a day your job doesn't work gives nothing extra, and there is no day off in lieu. Maltese workers have had an extra day of leave for a holiday that falls on a weekend since 2021, but the game has no leave, so it doesn't copy that. Hospitality at The Phoenicia works Monday to Saturday, so a Saturday holiday pays there and a Sunday one doesn't.

Seeing it coming

Open the Jobs app and look under Coming up: the holidays in the next three weeks are listed with their date and how far off they are, and each one on your job's work days carries a green Paid day off tag. A button, All public holidays, lists every holiday the game knows. The line about your next shift skips the holiday and says why: "Tuesday 8 December is a public holiday: a day off, paid".

Bonġu!, the phone's news, carries a slide the day before, "Tomorrow is Christmas Day", and one on the day, "Today is Christmas Day", each with a See my job button. With notifications on, you get one note the evening before, between 18:00 and 20:00, when the holiday is one of your work days: "Tomorrow is a public holiday". It sits under the shift reminders' switch, and nobody gets a shift reminder on the day itself.

Public holidays arrived in the game on 21 October 2026, with the rest of that month's smaller changes in More in Malta Living this October. For everything else in the game, start with the Malta life simulator guide.

Questions people ask

Which days are public holidays in Malta Living?

The same 14 as outside the game, from New Year's Day to Christmas Day, with Good Friday on its date each year. The Jobs app lists them all behind All public holidays.

What if a public holiday falls on a day I don't work?

Nothing changes. Holiday pay comes only for a holiday on one of your job's work days, and the game has no day off in lieu. A holiday on your day off is simply a day off.

Are shops and bars open on a public holiday in Malta Living?

Yes. Only shifts stop. Shops, bars, clubs, venues and the odd jobs in Earn keep their usual hours, and residents go about their day.

Does holiday pay count towards a promotion?

No. It counts as one of the week's shifts for your pay, but it teaches no skill, moves no performance and never counts as a good shift, either way. Your good shifts are kept exactly as they were.