Free Employee Holiday Planner

Use the free planner below to map out your company's holiday schedule, who's working, and who's off, then see it all fill in automatically on a calendar. Print it or copy it straight into Excel or Google Sheets. Every business eventually runs into the same scramble: a holiday is two weeks out and nobody has actually confirmed whether the office is closed, who's covering the phones, or whether anyone gets paid extra for working it. A planned holiday schedule, published early, ends that scramble before it starts.

What Is an Employee Holiday Planner?

An employee holiday planner is a shared reference that lays out every company-observed holiday for the year, whether the office is closed, open, or running reduced hours on each one, and who's actually working if coverage is needed. It's the difference between employees finding out the office is closed the morning of, and everyone knowing the full schedule months in advance.

Common U.S. Holidays to Plan Around

Most small businesses build their holiday schedule around some or all of the federal holidays, then add company-specific days on top.

Holiday	Typically Observed
New Year's Day	Jan 1
Memorial Day	Last Monday in May
Juneteenth	June 19
Independence Day	July 4
Labor Day	First Monday in September
Thanksgiving	Fourth Thursday in November
Day After Thanksgiving	Common but not federal
Christmas Day	Dec 25

Most small businesses in the U.S. offer between 6 and 10 paid holidays per year. There is no federal law requiring private employers to offer any of them, so the actual list is entirely a company policy decision.

🎉 Employee Holiday Planner

Add each holiday your company observes. The calendar below fills in automatically.

Holiday	Date	Office Status	Required	Employees Working	Coverage	Notes
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Month Year

Should Employees Get Paid for Holidays Off?

That's entirely a company policy decision. Federal law doesn't require private employers to offer paid holidays at all, which surprises a lot of people, but most small businesses offer some paid holidays anyway because it's expected and helps with retention. The decision that actually needs a clear, written policy is what happens when someone works a holiday: whether they get their regular rate, a premium rate like time and a half, or a floating day to use later. Whatever the policy is, write it down and apply it consistently, since an inconsistent unwritten practice is what creates disputes.

Planning Coverage for Always-Open Businesses

Retail, healthcare, hospitality, and any other business that can't simply close on a holiday need a different approach than the rest of the calendar. The most sustainable method is rotating who works major holidays year over year, so the same people aren't always the ones giving up Thanksgiving or Christmas. Publish the holiday schedule and coverage assignments as early as possible, ideally months ahead, so employees can plan personal commitments around it instead of finding out at the last minute. And document any holiday pay premium clearly in the same place as the schedule, so there's no ambiguity about what working that specific day actually pays.

How Updoot Helps With Holiday Scheduling

A printed planner works fine for getting the schedule agreed on, but the real test is whether it stays connected to actual scheduling and payroll once the holiday arrives. Updoot's scheduling tools let you build holiday coverage directly into the shift calendar, apply the correct pay rate or multiplier automatically for anyone working a designated holiday, and keep the whole team's availability, including PTO and travel, visible in one capacity view instead of a separate spreadsheet that goes stale the moment something changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an employee holiday planner? ▶

An employee holiday planner is a shared tool that maps out which days a company observes as paid holidays, whether the office is closed or operating on reduced hours, and which employees are scheduled to work or have the day off for each one.

How many paid holidays do most companies offer? ▶

Most small businesses in the U.S. offer between 6 and 10 paid holidays per year, typically including New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There is no federal law requiring private employers to offer paid holidays at all.

Are employers legally required to give employees holidays off? ▶

No. Federal law does not require private employers to close on any holiday or to pay employees for holidays not worked. Holiday pay and time off are determined entirely by company policy, except in specific circumstances covered by state law or union contracts.

Do employees who work on a holiday get extra pay? ▶

Only if company policy says so or if working that day pushes total hours over 40 in the workweek, which would trigger standard overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Premium holiday pay, such as time and a half for working on the actual holiday, is a common but voluntary practice, not a federal requirement.

How far in advance should a company publish its holiday schedule? ▶

Most businesses publish the full year's holiday schedule in December or January for the upcoming year, so employees can plan personal time around it and managers in industries that require holiday coverage can start building rotation schedules early.

How do businesses that can't close on holidays plan coverage? ▶

Retail, healthcare, hospitality, and other always-open businesses typically rotate holiday coverage so the same employees aren't always the ones working major holidays, publish the holiday schedule and coverage assignments well in advance, and clearly document any holiday pay premium tied to working that day.

Final Takeaway

A good holiday plan answers three questions for every observed date: is the office open, who's working if it needs to be, and what does that pay. Publish it early, keep it consistent year to year, and the scramble that usually hits two weeks before every major holiday just stops happening.