L.R.O. 1/2012
LAWS OF GUYANA
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS ACT
CHAPTER 19:07
Act
25 of 1919
Amended by
Current Authorised Pages
Pages
(inclusive)
Authorised
by L.R.O.
1 – 5 ... 1/2012
26 of 1969 6 of 1967
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2 19:07 Public Holidays
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Index
of

Note
on
Repeal
This Act repealed the Public Holidays Ordinance (1 of 1875).
Subsidiary Legislation
this publication.
All subsidiary legislation of this Chapter has been omitted from
LAWS OF GUYANA
Public Holidays Cap. 19:07 3
L.R.O. 1/2012
CHAPTER 19:07
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title.
2. What is a public holiday.
3. Public holidays.
4. Exclusion of certain offices, or departments.
5. Acts relating to negotiable instruments.
6. Appointment of holidays by the Minister.
7. Saving.
__________________________ 1929 Ed.
c. 270
1953 Ed.
c. 61 _______________________________________________________
25 of 1919 An Act to make provision for Public Holidays and
respecting obligations to make Payments and do other
Acts on such Public Holidays.
[13th September, 1919]
Short title.

What is a
public holiday.

Public
holidays.
[6 of 1967
[26 of 1969]
1. This Act may be cited as the Public Holidays Act.
2. In this Act “public holiday” means a day which
(subject to the provisions of section 4) is dies non, and which is
kept as a holiday by all banks, educational establishments,
public offices and government departments.
3. (1) The following days shall be public holidays
namely—
every Sunday; the first week-day of January; Republic Day,
that is to say such day in each year as shall, by notice
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4 19:07 Public Holidays
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Exclusion of
certain offices,
or departments.
Acts relating to
negotiable
instruments.
c. 90:13


Appointment
of holidays by
the Minister.
published in the Gazette, be appointed for the purpose by
the Minister responsible for public holidays; Good
Friday; Easter Monday; Labour Day, that is to say, the 1st
May, or, if that day is a Sunday, the following day;
Commonwealth Day, that is to say the first Monday in
August; Christmas Day, or, if that day is a Sunday, the
following day; the 26th December, or if that day is a
Sunday, the following day, unless Christmas Day falls
on a Sunday, and then the Tuesday following Christmas
Day;
Phagwah Day, or, if that day is a Sunday, the following day;
Deepavali Day, or, if that day is a Sunday, the following
day; Eid-Ul-Azha Day, or, if that day is a Sunday, the
following day; Youman Nabi Day, or, if that day is a
Sunday, the following day.
(2) During every year, the Minister responsible for
public holidays shall cause notices of the days constituted
public holidays in respect of that year’s Phagwah, Deepavali,
Eid-Ul-Azha and Youman Nabi by subsection (1) to be
published in the Gazette as soon as reasonably practicable
before the dates so notified, respectively.
4. The Minister may make regulations excluding any
public office or government department in whole or in part
from the operation of section 3.
5. Subject to the Bills of Exchange Act, it is not
necessary for anyone to make any payment or to do any other
act, including noting or protesting, relating to any negotiable
instrument on a public holiday, but all obligation to make
that payment or to do that other act shall apply to the next
following day not being itself a public holiday.
6. The Minister may by notification in the Gazette
appoint any day to be observed as a public holiday in
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Saving.
c. 91:04.
addition to or in substitution for any day mentioned in
section 3 and thereupon this Act applies to the added or
substituted day and ceases to apply to any day for which
another has been so substituted.
7. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed or construed to
derogate from or in any way affect the provisions of the
Shops Act.
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