Add Company Holidays

This feature is included in the Core, Pro, and Elite packages.

How do I add company holidays?

As of October 2025, we introduced the Global Holiday feature, which lets you add country-specific holidays in bulk. If you previously created custom holidays to accommodate global holiday needs, you will need to delete those and re-add them using the new bulk method. Otherwise, BambooHR's API will not update the observance dates for you each year.

Table of Contents

Need a little more help to become a company holiday expert? Check out our BambooHR Learning course!

Do you prefer hands-on learning? Our interactive guides will guide you through different aspects of your BambooHR experience. We have an interactive guide specifically designed to show you how to set up your company holidays. You can use the link below to access this guide. All you need to do is modify the "REPLACEME" with your BambooHR subdomain, and you can get started!


https://REPLACEME.bamboohr.com/home?pendo=ANeBQwuwtroRc4zooKtiClGA_e8&step=cLzQHHomfMZbVQAaP_Z2QCrW9pk

Guide Summary

Take control of your company’s time-off planning with BambooHR. This guide explains how to add, assign, and manage company holidays to keep payroll accurate, ensure employee visibility, and streamline holiday management across locations. You’ll learn how to add public holidays by country, create custom company holidays, organize your list with country filters and tags, assign holidays to specific employees or groups, and configure visibility and pay options.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for Full Admins, Account Owners, or custom access level users who manage company-wide settings. You must have permission to access Settings > Holidays.

Before you start

  1. Confirm your employees locations (determined in the Job Information table) are set correctly in BambooHR so that holidays can be filtered and assigned by country.
  2. Ensure you are a Full Admin, Account Owner, or have custom access to holiday settings.
  3. If using BambooHR Payroll, review federal holidays to anticipate payroll date adjustments.

Steps-by-Step for Adding Company Holidays

2. Add holidays in bulk

Expand or collapse content Add holidays by country
The left panel shows the Holidays page for the year 2026 with no holidays added. A message reads “No holidays have been added for 2026” with an option to Copy 2025 Holidays. The Add Holiday button in the top-right corner is highlighted, and the Holidays tab in the sidebar is also highlighted to indicate navigation.The right panel shows the Add Holiday pop-up window. The window title is “Add Holiday” and the prompt says, “Do you want to add a single holiday or multiple?” with two options: Single Holiday (to search for or create a custom holiday) and Add by Country (highlighted, for adding multiple holidays for one or more countries). A Next button in green is highlighted at the bottom right of the pop-up.
Screenshot of the Add Holidays setup page for 2026 in BambooHR. The progress bar at the top shows step 1 – Select Countries, followed by step 2 – Assign Employees. The interface includes a Search countries field and a list of selectable country cards, each displaying a flag, country name, code, and number of standard holidays. The United States (US) card is highlighted with a green check mark and shows “11 Standard Holidays.” Other visible options include Canada, United Kingdom, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, and Germany. At the bottom-left, a green Next button is highlighted, with a Cancel link beside it.
  1. Go to Settings > Holidays.
  2. Click Add Holiday.
  3. In the modal that appears, select Add by Country.
  4. On the Select Countries page, browse or search for countries.
    • Select one or more countries (up to 10 at a time).
    • Each card shows the flag, country code, and number of public holidays.
  5. Click Next to continue.
Expand or collapse content Assign employees to holidays
Screenshot of the Add Holidays page for 2026 in BambooHR, showing step 2 – Assign Employees. Each country section (United States, Canada, and United Kingdom) lists standard holidays with checkboxes and assigned employees.The United States section shows “11 Standard Holidays” such as New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. The location Draper, Utah is assigned, with 61 Employees noted.The Canada section lists holidays including Easter Monday, Civic/Provincial Day, Thanksgiving Day, Boxing Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, and Christmas Day. The dropdown shows options to Include Employees or Exclude Employees by Department, Division, Employment Status, Job Title, Location, or Specific People.The United Kingdom section is collapsed at the bottom with 0 Employees.At the bottom-left, a green button labeled Add 33 Holidays is highlighted, with Previous Step and Cancel buttons beside it.
  1. In the Assign Employees step, review the grouped holiday list for each country.
    • Determine which of the preloaded holidays you would like to include. You can unselect a holiday using the checkboxes.
  2. Under Who is this holiday for?, choose how to assign employees:
    • All Employees: Applies to everyone in your company.
    • Employee Groups: Use BambooHR standard filters to include or exclude employees.
    • Specific People: Manually select individual employees.
      • You can use "More Options" to include or exclude employees as needed.
      • If no employees are assigned, the system highlights the field when you attempt to save.
      • The employee assignment applies to all selected holidays for that country, but can be edited on an individual holiday level, if needed.
  3. Review your selections, then click Add # Holidays to confirm.
On the left, the Holidays list under Settings displays multiple holidays, including Boxing Day (listed twice for Canada and the United Kingdom) and Christmas Day (listed once, covering the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom). Each entry includes the holiday name, date, number of assigned employees, country, and holiday pay (e.g., “8 hrs”).On the right, the December 2026 monthly calendar highlights Christmas Day on December 25 and Boxing Day on December 28, both outlined in orange. Callout notes explain that “Boxing Day appears twice since there are separate holidays for Canada and the United Kingdom,” and “Christmas Day is listed once and includes three locations.”

If there is a holiday that multiple countries will celebrate that will have the same settings (e.g., visibility, holiday pay, etc.), we recommend deleting the holiday from all public holiday lists for all countries except one, the adding additional country tags for that holiday. This ensures that your holiday list is tidy, as there will be one holiday listed rather than multiple versions of the same holiday.

Once you've added your holidays in bulk, you will need to edit each holiday individually to determine specific holiday details.

Expand or collapse content 3. Add a single holiday
On the left, the Holidays settings page is open with a modal titled Add Holiday, offering two options: Single Holiday (highlighted) and Add by Country. The Add Holiday button in the top-right corner is also highlighted, with an arrow pointing to the selected Single Holiday option.On the right, the Add a Holiday form is displayed. Fields include Holiday Name, Date (with a calendar picker and link for “More than one day?”), and Country Tags. Below, a section labeled Who is this holiday for? allows selecting assigned employees. The Holiday Options section includes checkboxes for “Hide This Holiday” (to limit visibility) and “Holiday Pay” (to set hours or a special pay rate). A green Save button is highlighted at the bottom, next to a Cancel link.
  1. Click + Add Holidays > choose Single Holiday.
  2. In the Add a Holiday modal, add or edit holiday details.
  3. Click Save.
Expand or collapse content 4. Add or edit holiday details

Whether you've added your holidays in bulk by country or you are adding a single holiday, you will need to determine holiday settings.

When adding details for a new single holiday or editing an existing holiday (added individually or in bulk), you can do the following actions:

  1. Holiday Name: BambooHR will automatically suggest a public holiday when you begin to type. If your holiday does not align with any of the suggestions, you can add your own custom name.
  2. Observance Date: If you have added this holiday from the global holiday template, the observance date will fill in for you. If this is a custom holiday, you can enter the observance date here. If the holiday spans multiple days, click More than one day?, and an end date field will appear.
  3. Country Tags: Adding a country tag allows you to filter your view in holiday settings. If a holiday has more than one country tagged, the holiday will appear when any of the countries are selected.
  4. Assigned Employees: Here, you will see the total number of employees assigned to the holiday. Clicking on the number brings up a searchable list so you can make sure you aren't forgetting anyone.
  5. Who is this holiday for?: Choose who celebrates this holiday. The holiday can apply to All Employees, specific groups (determined by standard filters), or specific people. Click the plus icon to add more than one filter type (e.g., one filter by location and another by employment status), and even include or exclude specific people.
  6. Hide This Holiday: Check this box to limit the visibility in the Who's Out widget to only those assigned to the holiday.
  7. Holiday Pay:
Expand or collapse content 5. Manage and filter the holiday table
Screenshot of the Holidays settings page in BambooHR for 2026. The main table lists holidays with columns for Holiday, Date, For, Country, and Holiday Pay. The All Countries dropdown filter is open, showing options for United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. The row for Canada Day is highlighted.Numbered callouts indicate actions:1️⃣ The All Countries filter dropdown is used to view holidays for specific countries.2️⃣ The For column shows linked text “5 Employees,” indicating how many employees are assigned to the selected holiday.3️⃣ A pencil icon represents the edit button to modify holiday details.4️⃣ A trash can icon represents the delete button to remove the holiday.The Add Holiday button appears in the top-right corner, and the Holidays tab in the left sidebar is highlighted in green to indicate the current settings section.

Once added, holidays can be easily managed in the table view:

  1. Filter by Country: View only holidays tagged for a specific country.
  2. Employee Count: Click assigned employee counts to review who the holiday applies to.
  3. Edit: Click the edit icon to adjust the date, name, or employee filters.
  4. Delete: Click the trash can icon to remove unneeded holidays.
Expand or collapse content 6. Copy holidays to a new year

Important note for 2026 Holiday Setup:
With the launch of the country-specific bulk-add feature, avoid using the Copy 2025 Holidays button if you want your holidays to sync with BambooHR's API. This button copies your existing custom holidays, which will not automatically update their observance dates each year. Instead, use the Add Holiday button and choose the bulk-add method to ensure your holidays remain accurate going forward.

Screenshot of the Holidays settings page in BambooHR for the year 2026. The page displays a message reading “No holidays have been added for 2026,” along with text explaining that copying holidays from the previous year is quick and accurate, and that dates will be adjusted automatically.The year selector near the top-right corner shows navigation arrows and the selected year “2026.”A button labeled Copy 2025 Holidays is centered on the page, highlighted in orange, allowing users to import holidays from the prior year.The Add Holiday button appears in the top-right corner, and the Holidays tab in the left sidebar is highlighted in green to indicate the active section.

To roll holidays forward:

  1. Select the upcoming year from the year selector.
  2. Click Copy [Previous Year] Holidays.

Notes:

  • Custom holidays retain their exact dates.
  • Standard holidays update automatically to the new years correct observed dates and weekdays.
  • Filters and country tags carry forward for each copied holiday.

Holiday Pay and BambooHR Payroll

For customers using BambooHR Payroll, note that holiday hours and pay rates automatically sync.

However, bank closures on federal or regional holidays may shift payroll processing dates. Always review the Federal or Country-specific Holiday Calendar to confirm deposit timelines.

BambooHR supports three holiday pay options.

  1. Employees work and receive regular wages: If you want the holiday on your company calendar, but employees will still work as normal with no additional pay, leave the Add holiday hours or set a special pay rate multiplier for this holiday? box unchecked.
  2. Awarding Paid Time Off: If employees receive any paid holiday hours, check the Employees receive the following holiday hours for this holiday bubble. You can determine different hour amounts for different employment statuses.
  3. Awarding a Special Pay Rate for Hourly Employees: Check the Employees receive the following ay rate for any hours worked on this holiday bubble to determine the pay modifier.

Each holiday can only support one holiday pay method. If you need to award holiday hours for one group of employees and a special pay rate for another group, you will need to create two holidays in BambooHR.

Troubleshooting tips

IssueLikely CauseHow to Fix
“No employees assigned” error when saving.No employee group selected for a country during bulk add.Return to the Assign Employees step and select at least one group or person.
Holidays not showing for some employees.The employee’s location, department, or group filter excludes them.Edit the holiday, adjust filters under Who is this holiday for?, and confirm employee inclusion.
Holidays missing from next year’s list.Public holiday data not yet available for the selected year.Create a custom holiday manually or check back once API data is updated (available for up to 5 years ahead).
Payroll didn’t reflect a holiday.Payroll sync delay or invalid holiday pay configuration.Edit the holiday and ensure you’ve determined the Holiday Pay settings. If the issue persists, contact BambooHR Support.
“Public holiday data unavailable” message appears.API data not published for that year.Holidays can be added manually using hte Single Holiday option.
Unexpected errors in bulk add or data loss after refresh.Browser session expired or data not saved before exiting.Reopen Settings > Holidays. Unsaved data repopulates if the page wasn’t closed completely.
Holiday observed on the wrong date.Holiday fell on a weekend and wasn’t adjusted.Edit the holiday and update the observance date manually.

If your holiday configuration or payroll sync continues to show errors after reviewing these steps:

  • Verify that your Country Tags and Employee Assignments are set correctly.
  • Clear your browser cache and refresh Settings > Holidays.
  • Contact BambooHR Support with the affected year and country details.